East Gippsland, Australia; 1/13/09

Australia: Arrests in Another treesit campaign, this time in E ...Police have climbed two 35-metre trees in a Victorian forest and arrested two protesters locked to the canopy. Victoria Police confirmed four search and rescue officershad flown to the area on Tuesday. The protesters claim Stoney Creekand its state forest, located adjacent to the protected Snowy River,is an unusual example of a dense rainforest that includes stands ofboth mountain ash and alpine ash trees. “It is better, in the face ofclimate change, to maintain the integrity of the parks system so it isnot fragmented and nature can be more resilient with species able tomove, water flows more intact,” Ms Reynolds said. She said the Laborstate government had broken a 2006 election promise to protect 41,000hectares of old-growth and iconic forests in East Gippsland.