Berkeley, Calif. — Four tree-sitters climbed down from a 90-foot redwood tree this afternoon on the edge of the University of California campus here, ending a two-year dispute over whether the university could clear a grove of trees to build an athletics center.

As a crowd of several hundred people watched and news helicopters circled overhead, the four young men voluntarily climbed onto a metal staircase that the university had put around the tree in preparation to force them down. They were escorted to the ground by the campus police and immediately arrested.

By the time the protesters gave in, Berkeley had already cut down nearly every other tree on the site. But a spokesman for the protesters, Erik (Ayr) Eisenberg, claimed a victory of sorts, saying that campus officials had agreed to establish a committee to oversee land use and development. University officials declined to comment before an afternoon news conference.

The protest brought national news-media attention and an eclectic collection of live-in protesters to the small grove of oak and redwood trees adjacent to the university’s football stadium. Campus officials have estimated that the tree-sitting, along with a series of lawsuits filed against the project, cost more than $20-million in expenses for police officers, lawyers, and construction delays.

Construction on the $124-million athletics center, which will provide locker rooms and offices for 14 varsity sports, will begin immediately and will take an estimated two and a half years to complete. —Josh Keller