Despite a 10 p.m. Thursday deadline to vacate, a protester remained in an elm tree slated for removal at Eighth and New Hampshire streets.

Supporters of Aeon, a woman who has been perched in the tree since Tuesday, had vacated the grounds after officials from 8th & New Hampshire LLC, the group that is developing the property, issued a “final notice” to the protesters Thursday afternoon to vacate the premises by 10 p.m. Thursday.

Aeon, however, stayed put and vowed to remain.

Hunter Harris, an employee of Harris construction, one of the property owners, was on hand to issue the notice. He said the 10 p.m. deadline was a measure of good faith, and that the two parties had arranged to meet at 3 p.m. today to further discuss the matter.

“We put the ball in their court,” Harris said. “I felt the document was worded pleasantly in the spirit of cooperation and agreement.”

Harris said his organization would only use law enforcement to remove the tree sitter as a final recourse.

“We hope we can work out a resolution without coming to drastic measures,” he said.

The notice indicated the green space where the tree now stands still would exist in the southeast corner of the future development in the form of a “pocket park.”

The protesters’ initial reaction to the notice was surprise.

“We were all kind of stumped,” said Kristin, a protester who would not give her last name. “We’re going to take our stuff down and move out of camp, but we’re not leaving the area.”

Kristen said she was willing to be arrested in order to save the tree.

The protest began early last week when a woman named Sihka climbed up in the tree to live. Sihka has since been relieved by Aeon, with a host of supporters on the ground.

The protesters are trying to preserve the tree, which they say is a symbol of their opposition to big business and commercialization in Lawrence.

Although most of the people camped around the tree call themselves nomads with no home, they say Lawrence is a central spot where many nomads meet up.

“This is a town built on nomads; it’s a stop between coasts,” Kristin said.