MVP and Federal Marshals Force New Tree-Sitter to Abandon Post

The following report comes from those at Little Teel Crossing, a tree sit that is resisting the destruction of wildness and family farms in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).

At 8am on May 28th, Mountain Valley Pipeline employees were forced to cease construction yet again at Little Teel Crossing. A new aerial blockade 60 feet in the air was established last night just outside the easement, tethered to multiple trees located directly in the path of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The new tree-sitter, called “Sprout,” stated, “The ropes attached to trees directly in the path of the proposed MVP are supporting my platform. If even one of these ropes is cut, I could sustain a serious or even fatal injury. My life is on the line to defend these trees from MVP’s destruction.” Dozens of supporters gathered this Memorial Day morning to support Sprout as she hung in the balance between two trees over the muddy creek, dirtied by sediment from MVP construction.

Less than four hours after Sprout ascended to the new tree-sit, Federal Marshals delivered the same notice of civil contempt served to Ink. In an unprecedented move, the marshal ordered her to appear in court today at 1pm as she hung suspended in the air, leaving her only one hour to respond. One Franklin County community member said, “I am astounded by the lengths that MVP will go to in order to construct this pipeline. First Ink, now Sprout? This is state repression weaponized for corporate profit. I’m grateful to the tree-sitters for putting their bodies on the line to protect the environment we all share.”

Sprout was forced to descend from her tree-sit at 12:30 PM today. Her supporters gathered at the base of her tree to assist her descent. Though we are on the ground, the fight is not yet over. We will win!

A statement from Ink stated:

“After 38 days, the tree sit at the little teel crossing has come down. And i have come down with it. i don’t care to say much about why. Instead i’ll tell you, as honestly as i can, why i chose to be here.

i do not see “me” and then the “environment.” What i see is a world that I am moving through. That i inhabit. One that creates me as i create it. i am made just as much up by the rustling leaves, the cool flow of the creeks, the smell of rain, the misty nights, as i am made up of any definable self.

So this was never about “protecting” the “environment.” The separation implied in such a relationship is both the cause and the outcome of the destruction that has surrounded me these past weeks.

This is about the relationships, the consistency of experience, pain, love, uncertainty, perception, that has provoked little decisions that became bigger ones that led me to this sit.

What i see is a world in collapse. It’s been going on for a while now. They are taking everything from us. And i know that I can’t comprehend fully how bad it can get. But without massive transformation we will surely find out.

There is no point in waiting for the right moment or the right conditions. There is no front line to watch from afar or wait to find. The front line cuts through the middle of all of us.

So, if i leave you with any impression after all that has gone down, let it be this: i am more than the electromagnetic impulses you have been experiencing me as through this online medium. i am a fleshy, conflicted, living being. The only real difference between the two of us is that we are on opposite sides of the screen (and i learned some knots).

Do not wait. Get going.
–ink”