India, Oct. 31 -- Two people spent 28 days in the canopy of an ancient western red cedar in Tofino, British Columbia, to protest plans to cut it down. The protest brought national attention to the tree and prompted efforts to find an alternative to removing it. One proposed solution involved using engineering expertise to design a metal brace anchored into the bedrock beneath the tree.

Minutes from the District of Tofino Council Meeting on May 14, 2001, indicate the official response to the dispute. Through Resolution 301-01, council members deferred cutting the cedar tree for no more than 45 days, allowing Eik Landing Inc., the developer of adjacent lands, to prepare a rezoning application proposing support structures. The resolution re...