Aachen, Germany (dpa) - German police have cleared the final remaining tree houses built by activists to forestall the felling of trees and start of coal mining in a western German forest.The owner of Hambach Forest, energy company RWE, is now preparing to clear the area to allow for further coal extraction - something it has long had permission to do."We will not tolerate people... forcing their way in and re-occupying the forest," an RWE spokesman said Tuesday, adding that the forest was now protected by a trench, a rope and warning tape.Environmental activists have been living in tree houses in Hambach Forest for years in an attempt to stop the razing of the last remaining 100 hectares of the woods, which contain centuries-old trees and protected animal species.Police began the operation to clear the 86 tree houses some three weeks ago. The clearances were temporarily halted when a journalist fell to his death there on September 19.
