GLENDALE - A Greenpeace encampment in Curry County remained in an old-growth section of forest outside of Glendale today, even though a U.S. Bureau of Land Management-imposed deadline to leave the tent village came and went by Saturday morning.

Members of the international environmental organization went about the weekend normally, though they acknowledged the overriding possibility of BLM enforcement officers carrying out the eviction. The 48-hour deadline to leave the solar-powered geodesic dome camp was announced Thursday.

Medford-based BLM spokeswoman Karen Gillespie said Greenpeace violated an agreement with the branch of the U.S. Department of Interior not to conduct "ecotage" on BLM land in the Kelsey-Whiskey timber sale, among others. Members of the camp, located on the edge of Curry County, and dubbed "Forest Rescue Station," blocked logging of old-growth Douglas fir trees last Tuesday.

Protesters locked themselves inside a three-ton steel shipping container secured to the ground by a metal pole. A logging crew contracted by Swanson Superior and BLM enforcement officers attempted to remove the container and pass. The protest delayed logging for at least seven hours.

At least two Greenpeace members at the camp were arrested, including Kingman "Woods" Lim, 23, of Berkeley, Calif., and Anthony "Ant" Villagomez, 22, of Hood River, both of whom were inside the container. Jennifer Kirby, 26, of Washington, D.C., whose arm was fastened to the outside of the container by a concrete box, also was arrested. The three were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and interfering with agricultural operations.

That's why the BLM revoked an initially approved permit extension on the elaborate encampment, which Greenpeace spokeswoman Kerul Dyer said is used only for public education about the forest and to highlight logging in ancient forests on the nation's public lands.

"That incident was outside of the permit area," said Ginger Cassady, camp coordinator, adding that the camp is in full compliance with the permit after the addition of a portable bathroom and fire ring. "The activity on Tuesday was civil disobedience, a part of our (American) culture."

Cassady contended her organization is "asserting the public will" to stop logging in the Zane Grey Roadless Area and other old-growth timber sales under the jurisdiction of the BLM's Medford bureau.

The camp was set up June 1 and the extension permit would have allowed Greenpeace to stay until June 28, Cassady said. That agreement was thrown into turmoil shortly after the protest last Tuesday and the 10 staff members along with approximately 20 local supporters who came to the camp Saturday were well aware they were being watched.

"We continue to monitor their activities but it's a little preliminary to know what the BLM will do at this time," Gillespie said Monday adding that unless Greenpeace engages in illegal activity or poses a major threat to timber resources, BLM will wait to take direct action.

Gillespie said there is no such thing as a permit "area" to which Cassady referred, and the temporary permit with Greenpeace applies to all BLM land, making the steel container incident in violation of a written and verbal agreement.

"We were told initially that this was an educational encampment, and we felt we had come to an agreement on what activities would be planned, we issued a temporary permit with Greenpeace," Gillespie said.

At least one BLM officer drove by the outpost Saturday and continued to patrol around the gravel roads high in the mountains just outside the camp.

Meanwhile, some camp dwellers led members of the public into the old-growth forest to talk about the ecosystem and what they believe are threats to its continued existence. The group squatted beneath one of the ancient moss-covered trees marked with pink spray paint, designating its future harvest.

"There is a short-term economic incentive to log this land as fast as possible," said Jay Lininger, adding stock market structures contribute to the lack of long-term consideration for conservation of the forests. "They're selling public lands to Swanson Superior, selling our land."

Members moved a fire truck from the camp Saturday, emptying water into metal barrels, and also took down a few tents near the front of the camp. Dyer, Cassady and other Greenpeace staff said they would stay despite the deadline. Camp staff told their departing colleagues Saturday they may be arrested by the end of the week.

They maintain private logging on public land is clearly a misuse and in the forest, is virtually invisible to the public.

Hence the big production.

"I'm not going to sit around and wait while timber beasts come and liquefy the last of our ancient forest," Dyer said.