Tree sitter comes to earth

BERKELEY, Calif. -- One of the four tree-sitters at the Memorial Stadium oak grove descended from the foliage Monday, leaving three protesters attempting to stop the University of California, Berkeley's plans to build a sports training center.

Jeffrey "Muskrat" Musgrave, 30, climbed out of the trees about 12:30 p.m., and was arrested by UC police. He was charged with trespassing, violating a court order, vandalism and possession of marijuana, said campus spokesman Dan Mogulof.

Musgrave was taken to Berkeley city jail, where he is expected to be cited and released, Mogulof said. Musgrave, who joined the 19-month-old tree-sit protest last week, came down due to a death in his family, said Eric Eisenberg, a member of the protesters' support crew.

UC Berkeley police are continuing to supply the tree-sitters with bottled water and 1,800 calories a day each.

On Thursday, a judge is scheduled to hear the university's request to lift the injunction barring development of the grove. If the judge lifts the injunction, construction at the grove could begin within a few days.

(E-mail Carolyn Jones at cjones(at)sfchronicle.com)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)