Tree that was protester's home for two years cut by chainsaw

Environmentalist Julia "Butterfly" Hill, in a 1999 photo, stands in a 1000-year old redwood that was recently damaged by a chainsaw

STAFFORD, California (AP) -- A thousand-year-old redwood tree which served as a pulpit for environmentalist activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill has been cut by a chainsaw, authorities said.

Hill drew worldwide attention for two years as she perched on top of the tree she called Luna -- 18 stories high -- to protest timber logging. She descended last December after its owners, Pacific Lumber, agreed to spare the tree and a surrounding buffer zone.

One of Hill's supporters discovered the damage over the Thanksgiving weekend. Humboldt County sheriff's deputies said the chainsaw had cut a quarter of the way through the trunk.

The tree is still standing, but Hill's organization, Circle of Life Foundation, said the cut had left Luna vulnerable to windstorms.

Hill described the vandalism as a personal blow.

"I feel this vicious attack on Luna as surely as if the chainsaw was going through me," she said in a statement Monday. "... I am as committed as ever to do everything in my power to protect Luna and the remaining ancient forests."

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A spokeswoman for Pacific Lumber did not return a telephone call from The Associated Press.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Luna cut
The Pacific Lumber Company
Luna
Circle of Life Foundation

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