Finally

After 20 long months the tree-sitters have finally come down.

Four tree-sitters climbed down from an 80-foot-tall redwood tree near Memorial Stadium this afternoon, bringing a peaceful ending to a nearly 2-year-long standoff that attracted national attention.

The conclusion of their aerial protest, a defiant stand on a campus known for radicalism, came after UC Berkeley officials agreed to create a committee that will oversee future campus development, a protest spokesman said.

UC officials declined to comment on the reported deal, saying they will talk later this afternoon about how the protest was resolved.

Before climbing down from a wooden crow's nest attached to the top of the tree, one of the protesters, nicknamed Huck, pumped his fist and shouted, "We love you," to cheering supporters below.

Police arrested each of the protesters when they climbed out of the tree top. The tree-sitters' deal with the university did not include amnesty from criminal charges, said their spokesman, Erik Eisenberg.

Photo by Flickr user meganpru used under a Creative Commons License