By Brenda Norrell
Photos by Dawn Dyer
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Protect the Peaks activists say a tree sitter’s life is in danger as police and equipment cutters are attempting to extract him from a tree, by cutting his life line anchors, today, Tuesday.
Two people have locked themselves to the Ponderosa Pine to protect the tree sitter. Their actions are to halt pipeline construction for the Arizona Snowbowl which plans to desecrate sacred San Francisco Peaks with sewage water to make snow for tourists.
Tree sitter James Kennedy said at 11:30 am, "Two supporters, Eric and Alex, have locked down on heavy construction equipment, where my lifeline is anchored. They did this after police and Snowbowl employees alongside Police Chief Treadway said they would attempt a dangerous relocation of my lifeline. I am not harnessed into the platform or tree. any movement will send me falling nearly 80 feet."
On Monday, Kennedy began the action “to protect our community and our children from the City of Flagstaff’s sanctioning and use of hazardous treated sewage, which contains antibiotic resistant genes, in our public spaces.”
The ropes securing the tree-sit stretch across the projected path of the City of Flagstaff’s and Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort's treated sewage effluent pipeline, currently under construction on Mars Hill near Thorpe Park.
K
ennedy, a student at Northern Arizona University, climbed into a large ponderosa pine tree early in the morning securing himself to pipeline trench digging equipment with a "lifeline" that, if moved, would threaten his life.
The Peaks are sacred to 13 area Indian Nations, including the Navajo Nation, Hopi, Havasupai, Hualapai and Zuni Pueblo, who are all struggling to defend the Peaks from desecration.
Protect the Peaks issued the following statements:
"Today was nothing short of amazing, I think we have sent a clear message on the urgency of protecting our communities and environment," stated James on Monday. "I am not sure how a city that sells millions of gallons of water to corporate interests will respond, but with so much recent research indicating the dangers of contact with wastewater, I am optimistic. I will be here until I see tangible results to the listed demands, however long it takes until this rigging is unsafe to use." James said.
According to the Arizona Daily Sun Lt. Lance Roberts, of Flagstaff Police Department stated on Monday, “We’re not going to go up there and get him at this time… We’re just going to let them do their thing and hopefully it won’t rain today.”
At approximately 3:00 PM five Fire Department officials arrived on the site. They carelessly ignored ground supporters who cautioned them not to touch a "lifeline" that connects the tree-sitter to a large machine used for digging pipeline trench.
Tree-sitter and ground crew need the continuous presence of supporters throughout the day and night to bare witness and ensure the safety of this peaceful act of resistance. People are welcome all day, please visit
www.ProtectThePeaks.orgfor directions and for more ways to support.
We invite those of you who believe in the safety and health of our children, the sanctity of our environment, and the protection of public water to demand that:
- The City of Flagstaff rescind the wastewater contract with Snowbowl!
- An immediate moratorium on the City of Flagstaff's use of treated sewage effluent in public spaces where any person may come in contact with reclaimed wastewater, until new research and technology is available to mitigate long-term environmental & community health risks.
-The use of public water in this desert climate of Flagstaff with only a projected 25-38 years of water left for people’s consumption, should be cleaned and used for people to drink, not for a private corporation to make a profit.
-President Obama fulfill campaign promises to protect human rights and sacred sites.
Monday morning:
We erected a tree-sit to protect our community and our children from the City of Flagstaff’s sanctioning and use of hazardous treated sewage, which contains antibiotic resistant genes, in our public spaces. The ropes securing this tree-sit stretch across the projected path of the City of Flagstaff’s and Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort's treated sewage effluent pipeline, currently under construction on Mars Hill near Thorpe Park.
After years of construction delays, court challenges, and resistance from community members, a 14-mile sewage pipeline that Snowbowl would like to see carrying millions of gallons of treated sewage effluent yearly from the City of Flagstaff to Snowbowl is near completion. Snowmaking is scheduled to begin at the end of November, when a combination of pharmaceutical, industrial, commercial, and household discharge will be sprayed from snow machines onto the San Francisco Peaks.
“If they choose to continue construction, they must publicly account for my life among the diversity of human and non-human beings their ecocide threatens.” said James Kennedy, the NAU student who currently sits atop the more than 75ft tall ponderosa pine tree. “For the purity of our water, for the safety of our community, and for the health of a fragile alpine ecosystem, we must halt this pipeline!”
Xander Vautrin, an on the ground supporter of the tree-sit believes “The City of Flagstaff, the Forest Service, and the Snowbowl Corporation are recklessly disregarding the safety of the greater public, of wildlife, our water and our environment by refusing to consider the long-term impact of exposure to wastewater.
Recently published research conducted on treated sewage effluent in Flagstaff has found antibiotic resistant bacteria after completion of the treatment process. Though reduced by treatment, the bacteria “dramatically rebounded at the point of use.”1This pipeline constitutes an urgent public health risk, as antibiotic resistance renders modern drugs ineffective against dangerous bacterial infections. This threatens the life of those in our community already at risk: the elderly, the sick, and the very young.
Additional research recently published in the Flagstaff Noise demonstrated a clear danger to plant life irrigated with wastewater, illustrating a serious threat to Groundsel, an endangered plant found only on the San Francisco Peaks.
“All water is connected. It is illogical and dangerous to believe that the effects of antibiotics, contraceptive hormones, industrial contaminants, and microbial pathogens —all found in Flagstaff’s treated sewage effluent—will be limited to a few runs on Snowbowl or to the Lowell Observatory grounds,” stated Derek Minnobloom another on-the-ground supporter of the tree-sit.
“Our public officials have failed all of us - not only to ensure our public safety, a clean healthy future for our water and our children - but also to protect the rights of indigenous peoples whose land we’re on,” stated Ariana Sauer, a volunteer with
ProtectThePeaks.organd a tree-sit supporter. “This action is in solidarity with the thirteen indigenous nations who hold this mountain sacred.”
We invite those of you who believe in the safety and health of our children, the sanctity of our environment, and the protection of public water to demand that:
- The City of Flagstaff rescind the wastewater contract with Snowbowl!
- An immediate moratorium on the City of Flagstaff's use of treated sewage effluent in public spaces where any person may come in contact with reclaimed wastewater, until new research and technology is available to mitigate long-term environmental & community health risks.
-The use of public water in this desert climate of Flagstaff with only a projected 25-38 years of water left for people’s consumption, should be cleaned and used for people to drink, not for a private corporation to make a profit.
-President Obama fulfill campaign promises to protect human rights and sacred sites.
The incident unfolded Saturday afternoon when college student Ronald Weekley Jr. was riding his skateboard in the street when officers sought to detain him, police said. Weekley's attorney alleges that police grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Weekley suffered a broken nose, concussion and fractured cheekbone, said Ryan Julison, a spokesperson for attorney Benjamin Crump.