PHOTOS: Seattle activist climbs cedar tree 'Luma' in effort to keep it from being cut down

SEATTLE - A showdown above ground began Friday when a Seattle activist climbed up a tree in an effort to keep the cedar known as "Luma" from being cut down.

The activist, named Droplet, climbed the tree Friday morning and planned for a "long occupation" up there.

"The tree is still up, that’s sort of the point of having someone up here is so that it doesn’t become a moot point whether the tree should or should not be cut, if it’s already down it doesn’t matter much," said Droplet.

It appeared that construction crews would not be removing the Western Red Cedar tree on Friday. The lot on NE 88th St. in Seattle's Wedgewood neighborhood is slated to be turned into several housing units by a Bellevue developer.

Neighbors say they are in this together, and they don't want to see the tree go. They say an architect involved in the development told the closest neighbors to this property that they planned six units on this lot around the tree, but their concern is that developers decided against that and wanted to take it down.

Activists say the tree is one of the oldest cedars in the city at more than 150 years old. It's survived previous development and is still a healthy tree supporting the ecosystem, they say.

They also say the Snoqualmie Tribe has been to the tree and they posted signs the tree was used by their ancestors as a marker. An ancient practice by the tribe to trim, bind and weight some of the tree limbs so that they would point to bodies of water in our area.

Earlier in the week, there was a gratitude gathering at the tree. As of Friday afternoon, nobody from the city had come to ask the activist to come down.