Photo by Nadananda, of Friends of the Eel River, who got a call about the banner and hurried out there to check it out.

Amy Arcuri -- she of that peacemaking, old-growth treesitting crew who forged love-and-promises ties with the new owners of Pacific Lumber Company last summer -- called this afternoon to let me know that if I were to drive south on Highway 101 right now, down into Richardson Grove, and if I were to look through the middle of my windshield and really high up into the trees just after I'd passed the visitors' center, I'd see a huge, huge banner.

"It says Respect Old Growth Roots," Arcuri said.

Oh? Did she put it up?

"No, I personally didn't...but I might know a few birds who did," she said, laughing. "And I believe it's only been up since last night."

But she, like those birds, believes that Caltrans' proposed Richardson Grove widening project is untenable as it stands.

"We shouldn't cut any of the old growth roots at all," she said. "And we can't even pull back that pavement because it's going to rip out all the roots when it's peeled back. So, a more progressive method needs to be come up with for that area.

"I think Caltrans is trying hard to please everyone, but they still can't commit to not cutting the old growth roots."