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©1999 Times-Standard Sun, Dec 19, 1999 ; A1 Butterfly lands safely By Carla Martinez The Times-Standard STAFFORD -- With the history of her two years living in a redwood tree etched in blood and mud on her hands and bare feet -- and the strong emotions of the moment reflected in her grin -- Julia "Butterfly" Hill spent a surreal first day on the ground. After her climb down, just sitting in a simple chair behind a table adorned with bright roses inspired a moment of reflection from Hill. "This is for me, huh? I'm supposed to sit there? I haven't sat on one of these in two years," she said It was a time for rediscovering ordinary things -- she remarked how strange her first car ride would be and spoke of how great it was feeling the earth under her feet. But Hill kept focused on her unique protest and the fruits of her labor. "To make magic happen, I had to give up a few things," she said. That magic was coming to an agreement with Pacific Lumber Co. over the preservation of the 200-foot tall, 15-foot diameter, 1,000-year-old tree named Luna. The "few things" she gave up, if listed, would fill volumes. "If there's one thought that will describe how we feel, it is glad it's resolved," PL Director of Public Relations Mary Bullwinkel said. "It's a reasonable agreement that brought this controversy to an end. What she was engaged in was an illegal activity and dangerous." In March, PL made a $480 million agreement with federal and state government for an old-growth grove in the Headwaters Forest to be turned into a public reserve. But the deal did not include the land where Luna stands. Hill's sit continued. Negotiations finally ended with an agreement that both parties could accept. Hill and her supporters raised $50,000 to ensure the permanent protection of Luna and a 200-foot buffer zone as part of a Preservation Agreement and Covenant. The money will be given to Humboldt State University to fund scientific research. "We have reached this preservation agreement in order to end this controversy and focus positive public attention on Pacific Lumber's very real commitment to the environment, the community, and job preservation," PL President and CEO John Campbell said in the company's public statement. "We are reaching out to the environmental community with an outstretched hand, and hope that they will join us in an effort to work together to preserve 1,300 jobs and protect the environment." Sharon Duggan, a San Francisco attorney for the Circle of Life Foundation, which emerged from Julia's experiences, said they negotiated for nine months. They were close to a deal over the summer but it fell through. "I think this is a very unique circumstance. In the end, reasonable minds prevailed," Duggan said. The attorney for PL was on vacation and not available for comment. "I did have to draw a line. I could not sign away my rights, my beliefs, my values, my morals and my truths," Hill said. "I understand that this is a really big move for them, I understand that this is not something that they would typically do. And I honor them for being willing to do the right thing," Hill added. Hill's father, Dale Hill, didn't know she had climbed the tree until after she had been up there for a while. He waited for her at the foot of the tree Saturday and walked her down the mountain, along with about 10 supporters, where a group of about 30 supporters and reporters met her. "I approached it one day at a time," he said, reflecting on the first anniversary. "One year didn't mean anything special to me." In July 1998 he came out to see his daughter and climbed the tree. Once he saw the beauty of the landscape, he moved to Garberville this past summer. "I moved here more for the area than I did for the fact that she's living in a tree," he said. Hill's tree-sit was controversial all the way to the end. One man, Patrick Lancilin, who lives on a ranch in Stafford tried to disrupt the news conference by yelling and waving a package of mail for Hill. Lancilin used to host Headwaters rallies and provided parking space for Hill's visitors. That was until things apparently unraveled. "You environmentalists are the biggest hypocrites in this whole thing," he said, before rushing the news conference several times. He had to be tackled by Hill's supporters. Lancilin was later detained by police and spent the remainder of the news conference in a police car. Tears ran down wind-reddened cheeks when Hill heard comments about her sit that lasted for 738 days. "The goal was when I first climbed up there, was that I wanted to do something for the forest," Hill said. "There's no way of being in the presence of these ancient beings and not have a new understanding of who we are as people." "No matter how controversial an issue is, no matter how intense, no matter how far apart we seem, we can find our common ground," Hill added. Times-Standard City Editor Nate Ferguson contributed to this report.
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