Occupy the Farm protesters continue to break into Gill Tract

http://www.dailycal.org/2012/08/08/occupy-the-farm-protesters-continue-to-break-into-gill-tract/

Occupy the Farm protesters continue to trespass on UC-owned research land in Albany, illegally harvesting and weeding the crops that they planted on the Gill Tract earlier this spring, and campus officials say they lack the resources to keep the protesters away.

In order to tend to crops they planted during their occupation of the tract, protesters have cut the lock off the gate on three occasions — most recently on Sunday — since the encampment was broken up by police on May 14.

The project, passed by the Albany City Council on July 9, entails the construction of a Whole Foods Market, a senior housing center and a retail center on a portion of the Gill Tract south of the research land.

The university filed a lawsuit against 15 members of Occupy the Farm on May 9. However, the lawsuit — which alleged that the protesters’ presence on the land interfered with research — was dropped on June 6 due to legal costs and the concern over the length of the process.

UC Berkeley researcher Damon Lisch, who grows corn for research on the Gill Tract, said the protesters have respected requests to leave his research intact, but he does not support the movement.