ACTIVIST REMOVED FROM TREE QUIGLEY FREED AFTER DAYLONG ORDEAL.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writers

SANTA CLARITA - The battle over an ancient oak tree - home to tree-sitter John Quigley for 10 weeks - came to a dramatic but peaceful close late Friday as sheriff's deputies forced the chained protester from his perch.

Quigley stepped from the 400-year-old oak - a massive tree that stands in the path of a planned highway widening project - onto a county Fire Department ``cherry picker'' and then walked onto solid ground about 11 p.m.

``The tree is still standing ... The community has been awakened,'' Quigley told a crowd of several hundred supporters who greeted him with cheers and hugs. ``I think the landscape up here has been changed forever. It's not over yet.''

Quigley, who carried a folded American flag, shook the hand of a Fire Department official as he reached the ground and later praised deputies for their professional conduct.

He was not arrested after his ouster. He remained on the scene late into the night, kissing his girlfriend, Susan Cox, talking with supporters and reassuring children that he had honored his pledge to remain in the oak as long as he could.

``We've just begun this campaign,'' he told them. ``Our job is to keep going.

Bill Rattazi, president of developer John Laing Homes, said he would meet with arborists today to discuss removing the tree this weekend.

Any delays, he warned, could threaten its successful removal.

``I think that it became very obvious that we could not realign the road around the tree, and the continued presence of John and tree supporters became a safety problem for the community,'' he said.

Earlier in the evening, Quigley had chained himself to the oak, placing his arms up to his elbows in a ``sleeping dragon'' - a metal tube used by protesters so they can't be handcuffed.

But deputies cut through the metal and led him from his perch.

Hours earlier, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Quigley, 42, out of the centuries-old oak, but the tree-sitter vowed to resist.

About 8:30 p.m., a long line of Sheriff's Department vehicles, a paramedic van and a hook-and-ladder truck converged on the site.

Their arrival alarmed supporters, some skirting a chain-link fence and moving closer to the tree, yelling their support to Quigley.

Quigley's girlfriend and another person ran toward the oak, falling to the ground - and other supporters prepared to rush the fence.

Anthony Zinnanti, an attorney representing Quigley, moved to calm the crowd, addressing them with a bullhorn.

``This guy has been in the tree for 70 days with a peaceful message,'' Zinnanti told them. ``Is this the way you want it to end? The last thing you want is for this message to be marred by anything unpeaceful.''

Over the next several hours, Quigley was presented a copy of the court order, given a deadline to leave the tree, and then forced to leave.

Quigley said that before descending, he had spoken with his father, 82, ailing and awaiting surgery in Washington, D.C.

The court order opened the door for developer John Laing Homes to have Quigley physically removed from the tree to end his 71-day peaceful protest.

``John Quigley is ordered to vacate and leave this oak tree and remain outside the perimeter of this fence,'' Superior Court Judge John P. Shook said.

Time is crucial to the development company, which plans to move the oak during its winter dormancy. Already, green leaves are sprouting and, according to Friday's court motion, the relocation process must begin by Wednesday or the work will be delayed about nine months.

On Friday, the weary crew of activists who have held vigil at the tree since Nov. 1, supplying Quigley with food, water, cell phones and moral support, stood by as time ran out for them to file an appeal. The group set up camp at the entrance to a new tract of high-priced homes that will be served by a widened Pico Canyon Road. To widen the road, the developer plans to remove the tree.

The temporary restraining order approved by Shook ordered the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to remove Quigley from the tree. A hearing was scheduled for Feb. 4 on John Laing's civil charge of trespassing against Quigley.

Zinnanti had questioned what a few more days or weeks would matter so a full hearing could be heard on the tree's welfare. Zinnanti stepped in to replace attorney Jennifer Kilpatrick, who suffered severe spinal injuries in a Metrolink train collision Monday.

Anticipating the end of the standoff, a crowd of 30 or 40 gathered outside a barrier erected around the tree early Thursday when Quigley was served with the civil complaint of trespassing and ordered to appear in court Friday.

``Save our oak! Save our oak,'' shouted a small group of neighborhood children who had spent the holidays with Quigley at the tree. They cheered and sang patriotic songs as the sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau planned its ``North County operation.''

``John, John, he's our man. He can do it. Yes he can!'' the youngsters cheered. ``John, we love you!''

The county is withholding $7 million in bond financing until John Laing Homes finishes the section of highway. Local environmentalists and Laing had sought a compromise, but the county, led by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, insisted that the tree be removed. Plans to actually move the tree, rather than cutting it down, came later, but several experts said the tedious process of gathering up Old Glory's roots would kill the oak.

Rattazi said on several occasions he had hoped to save the tree, but was under a county order to expand the highway.

``We are in the business of building communities, not tearing things down,'' said Stacy McDaniel, Laing Homes general counsel. ``We've vigorously sought alternative solutions ... and we had no option but to seek this court order to remove Mr. Quigley so we could act now to preserve the tree by relocating it.''

The expanded Pico Canyon Road is necessary to serve the growing Stevenson Ranch area as well as the planned - but not yet approved - Newhall Ranch project, which would bring 21,600 homes.

Staff writers Kathleen Sweeney and Bhavna Mistry contributed to this report.

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Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Above, John Quigley raises his arms in victory after spending 71 days in the tree called ``Old Glory,'' as firefighters lower him to the ground using a cherry picker late Friday night. At left, Quigley greets supporters on Pico Canyon Road after being removed from the tree.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer