As some of you out there enjoy your farm-raised Christmas trees, here's a thought-provoking post about big, old, wild trees by guest blogger Gail, who also posts elsewhere under the name Azar.
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During
the winter holidays we enjoy our cut Christmas trees and evergreen boughs
fashioned into wreaths and swags. Evergreens brighten up the dark
winter days, scent the dry air and bring the beauty of the forest into our
homes. The City of Issaquah, WA USA, my home for over 35 years, prides itself
on its concern for the forests and proudly announces on its website the
designation by the Arbor Day Foundation as a "Tree City USA".
The
Arbor Day Foundation awards the "Tree City" designation to
communities who "meet their core standards of sound urban forestry
management". Sadly, preserving old, established urban forests does not
seem to figure into The Arbor Day Foundation's idea of urban forest management
or into the City of Issaquah's permitting plan that allows for "clear
cutting" of established forests within the city limits.
Earlier
this year the acre of forest upslope from our home was sold to a developer and
a city permit was issued for one large house. I had seen this developer
in action before as he clear-cut another lot in the vicinity. I was
concerned about the forest, potential runoff, and the habitat that would be
destroyed. I approached the city several times with my concerns and was
assured that they would be monitoring every step of the process and would
preserve as many of the large trees as possible. HA!
As
the old trees were felled and their roots were ripped out by backhoes. I felt
like I was experiencing a personal assault or a physical trauma. The smell of
"tree blood" was almost overwhelming. Eventually two large logging
trucks hauled away the remains of the huge cedars and firs. What I describe
below in a letter to the city is not an isolated incident but has been going on
in Issaquah for some time now. I knew that this "permitted"
destruction of forests and habitats was nasty and wrong but I just didn't know
how horrible it was until it literally happened "in my own backyard".
[Ellen's note: The following is a letter that Gail sent to the City of Issaquah]
November
7, 2013
Issaquah
promotes itself as a "Tree City USA" and posts that information on
its website. I would like to know what it means to be a "Tree
City" and wonder how Issaquah can consider itself to be tree friendly.
Over
the past three days the acre of old cedars and fir trees adjacent to our
property was permitted by the city to be basically "logged off" by a
developer. I'm sure a few of these felled trees were growing here well
before our house was built in 1969. I spoke with the city several times
before this happened hoping that, in line with the tree cutting permit process,
some of these large, old trees could be preserved. All that the city was able
to manage was the preservation of one large fir, several spindly Acer
macrophyllum and a couple of small cedars.
Yesterday
the air outside was thick with the odor of cedar and fir sap (the smell of tree
blood). Huge piles of logs and limbs were everywhere. A large female
bobcat and two almost fully grown kits were running around our yard in fear and
climbing our trees, while the backhoe on the adjacent lot ripped the cedar
roots from the slope. The day before, a large buck wandered through our
property looking frightened and puzzled. The whole scene reminded me of
the destruction depicted in Hayao Miyazaki's animated movie Princess Mononoke.
How can the city of Issaquah consider itself to be environmentally
friendly when it allows this kind of habitat destruction?
According
to Issaquah's website it looks like, with the loss of this acre of trees, we
will now have 13 more tons of dust and gas in the atmosphere. I know it
is too late, that the damage has been done and cannot be repaired, but I think
someone on the city staff should come out here and take a look at this mess
before the developer hauls it away! I would like someone on staff to see
what the permitting process allows to happen in "Tree City USA".
Sincerely,
Gail
(AKA Azar)
[All photos are Gail's, top to bottom, my captions and comments: 1) The back acre before, viewed from her yard; 2) Tree blood! 3) The corpses are hauled away; 4) The wasteland. Apparently the logging operation is called "TREPUS". Tree blood turned to tree pus??? Appalling.]
Posts
It's a sad story, and a common one.
ReplyDeleteOne day all too soon we will all discover that no one can eat, drink or breathe money.
Portia xx
You are so right, Portia! And money doesn't smell that great either (especially the old stuff). Happy Holidays.
DeleteAs long as government policies are dictated by the highest bidders (richest corporations), the focus will be on economic growth at all costs. As the population expands exponentially and consumes ever more resources, developers will continue to destroy nature one small bit at a time. Any biologist will tell you that it's simply a matter of time until the cumulative effects of this myopic strategy reach a critical point and some natural and/or man-made catastrophe wipes out a lot of the teeming herd. The tragedy is that the people who die probably won't be the ones responsible for causing the problem.
Delete