A PROTESTER has strapped himself up a tree and says he will not come down until council workers stop chopping down dozens of eucalypts on a busy Perth street.

Mimicking Thornlie protester Richard Pennicuik - who spent 108 days up a gum tree outside his house in 2010 - Forest Rescue campaigner George Oelsnik says he is set to be Perth's next 'Tree Man', after strapping himself onto a platform high up in a Manning Road gum to stop workers from chopping it down.

Four people were arrested this morning after protesters and local residents chained themselves underneath cherry pickers and up trees that line a median strip in Bentley.

Mr Pennicuik has picketed along-side the protesters.

The protesters and biologist and cockatoo rescue centre manager Chris Phillips say the 40-year-old trees are a vital feeding source for the endangered red tailed black cockatoos, which are fighting for survival because of land clearing across Perth.

But a City of Canning spokeswoman said bird and tree studies and advise from the Department of Environment and Conservation concluded that the endangered birds are not roosting at the site.

Council officials ordered the removal of 168 eucalyptus trees along the busy road after receiving complaints from residents that roots were lifting the road surface and causing traffic vibration. It plans to replace the trees with spotted gums.

But two engineering studies on the issue concluded: "contrary to expectations, there was no or minimal root invasion of the road subsurface."

Forest Rescue spokesman Cameron Johnson said about 30 people picketed the site from 6.30am in a bid to save the trees.

Most of the protesters had been forced to leave by 11am after police issued 12 move-on notices.

However Mr Oelsnik, 18, today said he will not come down from his platform until the work stops.

“I have food and water up here and I’m not going down,” he said. “I’m up here as long as it takes.”

Local resident and Bentley Waldecks manager Bryn Holton said he was outraged the trees are being removed.

“The real reason they are chopping them down is because of the leaf litter,” Mr Holton said. “The residents are complaining about the leaf litter.”

“The City of Canning says is due to the roots causing vibration on the road, but that is absolutely not correct. They have had two scientific studies on whether or not the tree roots cause vibration and both are completely inconclusive.”

The council spokeswoman said city policy dictates that trees would not be removed because of leaf litter and that there had been no complaints over that issue.

Meanwhile, Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren has urged federal and state environment ministers to intervene.

“Today, we have a chance to help threatened cockatoos by protecting at least some of these mature trees from destruction,” Ms MacLaren said.

"I spoke with the Mayor the night before urging him to take action. It is clear that any offsets the City of Canning has planned do not satisfy Red Tailed Cockatoo expert Chris Phillips.”

The Council spokeswoman said all due diligence had been followed and Federal environment departments were happy with cockatoo habitat studies done prior to work commencing.

Ms MacLaren expressed concern that the Police Tactical Response Group was being used to deal with activists on Wednesday who had taken nonviolent action.

“It is worrying that an armed response group is being utilised against nonviolent activists. Police authorities must show restraint towards the activists,” Ms MacLaren said.

Mr Holton said he had observed 25 black cockatoos using the trees today.

Yesterday, Mr Phillips, who today was arrested for not complying with a move-on order, said the trees were most certainly foraging habitat.

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