Tree Huggers Save Redwoods

"Treehuggers" might not be the right label for Nadia Berg and Billy Stoetzer. The two sat in redwood trees in Humbold County, California's Nanning Creek grove for 11 months to protect the majestic icons from a timber company planning to cut the trees down. 

The two environmentalists sat 200 feet off the ground in the limbs of the redwoods. Their efforts were part of a 20 year protest aimed at protecting the redwood forest. The trees are at least 1,500 years old and are part of California's identity. 

Over the course of the 11 month "sit-in" there were moments of violence and tension, but despite the bitter dispute over the fate of the redwoods, the resolution was peaceful. Humboldt Redwood Co., formerly known as Pacific Lumber Co., sent its president and chief forester on a hike into the redwood forest to meet the tree-sitters. He says he looked around at the forest and told the protesters that it would be the policy of his company not to cut the redwoods down. 

As the tree-sitters take apart their platforms and return to their lives, they are cautiously optimistic about the timber company's promise not to destroy the redwoods they fought to protect.