The following is an update from the Poplars Alliance, sent May 7th to the City’s Engage PT, Port and PUD electeds, The Leader, and the Port Townsend Free Press
——————————————
Dear Engage PT and Elected officials,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
It appears that the 9 member Stakeholder Committee that is supposed to have an open mind about our Gateway Poplars already has a predetermined bias against the Poplars. A majority are already on record to cut our community trees down.
The City’s website still says that one of the project goals is to cut the trees down.
• Replacement of Lombardy poplars, an emerging and eventual need for the City
The Port informed us that the selection process for the Stakeholder Committee was an open one, available to the general public. We were also told that all options were on the table. We subsequently requested copies and/or documentation of that notificiation to the general public for this committee formation…and the City was unable to provide us with any announcement for openings that was made available to the general public. The Stakeholder Committee members appear to have been hand-picked and with an existing bias against our poplars.
The Parks Board was able to choose 4 of the 9 members, and the City indicated from the outset that the Admiralty Audubon would be invited. The Port was guaranteed a spot as well. The general public was not allowed to serve on this hand-picked committee, which has been stacked with anti-poplar votes.
We expect our elected officials to engage in truly democratic processes backed by democratic principles. Clearly that is not what has occured.
Below are the slides from the Gateway Poplar Alliance workshop held on April 23, illustrating just this issue, one of many about this ill-conceived project. The entire presentation is available for download here.
By contrast, in a comment submitted ahead of the April 12 Stakeholder Committee meeting, committee member Joni Blanchard pushed back against the narrative that any future PUD trenching would need to kill the poplars. (Consulting arborist Katy Bigelow was contracted by the Port to provide assessment reports in 2013 and again in 2022.)
I just read Katy Bigelow’s Poplar tree assessment report.
I needed clarification on her remark in her summary that stated to the effect that ‘no matter where PUD undergrounding occurs, critical root damage would occur and likely cause the trees’ demise’. So, I wrote to her and asked for clarification. Here are my questions and her responses in blue:
If the PUD trenches along the existing Port fenceline (one of their options), which is 25′ away from the Poplars and beyond the 3′ stormwater ditch, that has already been dug between the Poplars and the fenceline, would it still likely kill the Poplars? No.
If the heavy machinery worked from the Port side to dig the trench and stayed off the main roots closer to the tree, wouldn’t that be a safe option for the PUD trenching? Sure.
I just thought that was an important correction that needed to be known as all options are still being considered for this whole project.
It is also good for us all to know that her assessment summary stated that ‘the Poplar trees will likely stand with low but increasing risk‘, and ‘I did not observe any large trunks or bases of trunks with a high potential to fall onto a target‘. (By the ISA hazard rating chart, which she used, low risk means: Insignificant minor issues with no concerns for years to come, and the eventual moderate risk to come would be: no concerns for 10 years or more). That ISA hazard chart was listed at the end of her 2013 Assessment report. Although she suspected basal rot in the 2013 trees, also, they were still classified as ‘low risk‘ of trunk failure.
Her suggestions for maintaining the health of the Poplars and mitigating their offenses (root invasions, sucker sprouts) were also quite helpful. Can be found at the end of her 2012 Assessment report, also. Perhaps if any trees are left standing, these suggestions could be heeded.
I agree with her in that it’s an unlikely location for any kind of a substantial wildlife habitat being a busy work area with lots of noise, along with all the busy traffic.
I also read the Kah Tai ’86 Landscape Plan where it is recommended to selectively thin the Poplars to keep an open view into the Park, and to do pruning and sucker mowing to keep the Poplars healthy and contained. This recommendation is keeping with the following Gateway Plan approved after in 1993 that the Kah Tai group were a part of creating. The Plan that Page 18 of 20 recommended replanting any aging or compromising Poplars with the younger ones that were purposely planted.
Thank you for providing such a comprehensive list of references for everyone’s overall understanding. This information will provide a good basis for working out a compromising plan for the better good of our whole community.
Annette Huenke
Annette Huenke studied International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to heading west, she was a manager for an Auckland-based international publisher of peer-reviewed drug information journals. In 1992 she moved to Port Townsend, opening Ancestral Spirits Gallery in 1993. She is past vice president of the Jeff Co EDC and board member of The Boiler Room. She researches, writes and wanders the forests around PT.
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HELLO! Where is the EIS, environmental impact statement that follows a study????
And, may I please know just where the housing is for the increased employment opportunities stated for the boat yard?
The whole thing seems to be improperly handled. The people have not been able to be fully involved.
Do I recall that there is money on the table to take these trees down? It’s time to get the word out visually. Some lawn signs up and down the corridor saying “Save the Poplars” (possibly timed for a big event like the Rhododendron Festival?) would let everyone know what was being planned behind their backs very quickly. Even if the signs were only out for a half-day before being removed. Additionally a rally to let people know and yard signs for homeowners. I’m sure I’m not the first one to suggest this but something has to be done to let more people know. Every time I bring it up with someone, it is news to them and they are horrified.
“If care is taken by the design team to strategically re-plant replacement trees, and incorporate other items to enhance the arrival experience in PT, folks will get over it much sooner.” (Russell Hill)
“The Rand Corporation in the early 1960s developed the Delphi technique for the purpose of maneuvering segments of the public into accepting predetermined government policies. In the 1970s and ’80s, it was used to convince land owners of the merits of accepting general plan maps.”
Just breathtaking to watch it happen
in real time.
It’s so interesting to me how we live in a time where we went through the #metoo movement
and we went through the #iaskconsent
movement and we hear over and over
that NO MEANS NO. But when the American taxpaying public puts their collective foot down
and says “Enough!”, these people keep right on
rolling. In any other context, this would
be considered an assault.
We shouldn’t worry too much about their timeline. After all, look at the money pit on the side of the hill above the lagoon. If you want to go back further, try to figure out how long ago the cattle trails they call streets in uptown were repaired? How are they going to take these trees down? They could go from the top down or they could just drop them. If I had a boat I would get it out of the Boat Haven as a tree might fall if they are cutting in the wind . They would also be smart to stop traffic at both ends of the road. I’m sure the businesses would be a more unhappy when sales dropped because of the change on getting to them. The city workers can’t patch a street without the patch being too high or too low. I wouldn’t’ definitely trust them with chain saws. Finally, How long has it taken to finish the job on Washington Street that’s supposed to slow traffic? With everything they try to do, it ends up cheap and half done, like lie the eyesores on Water Street. I only hope they don’t get a real deal on Cacktus.
Swan- you may be able to get an entry into the parade or definitely stage protest at the site. Awesome idea and also folks could show up at Chataqua and share the word there.
Excerpts from “The U.N. 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development, A Critique”
by The American Coalition for Sustainable Communites and Mary Baker, author of
“Citizen Ninja”. (http://themarybaker.com/)
“Agenda 2030 Here at Home
The premise for control is; People are not being good stewards and their poor decisions are
hurting mother earth.
The cause for Gaia’s pain: over consumption, over population, suburban sprawl, fossil fuels,
unfair economic policies, nationalism.
The result: a looming climate catastrophe and if nation states don’t do something to curb human
behavior and growth, future generations will not survive because the planet will die.
Headlines read! Greenhouse gases are out of control, rising sea levels, melting glaciers,
devastating weather patterns, etc.
The global solution: Global governance by the U.N, using the principles of sustainable
development and Agenda 21/2030 as the blueprint.
The national solution: Smart Growth and the Rewilding of America.
With Smart Growth you see an increase in densification: cities become megacities, suburban
towns are annexed into cities, and rural town
become ghost lowns.
You see an increase in the production of compact mixed use buildings and a decrease in thc
construction of single family homes.
You see a change of focus in transportation spending- less on roads and more on sidewalks
public transit, and bike lanes.
There may be talk about taking parking lots and turning them into community gardens or pocket
parks.
You see roads being partitioned and car lanes taken away so their use is now equally shared
between cars, pedestrans, bikers, and public transportation riders.
Your energy bills are increasing as the state shifts from fossil fuels to unreliable and expensive
renewable energy solutions like wind and solar.
You see more regional taxation. Mechanisms like Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) taxes and an
increase in toll roads for example. Revenues that most likely will never be spent to fix roads,
traffic congestion, and potholes but will fund sustainability projects.”
And then, the “Great Reset” as some here
have already mentioned:
“Shift in Governance
In order for Sustainable Development to be entrenched in America, they must fundamentally
transform ideas and laws that support decentralized government, rule of law, and natural law.
Proponents of sustainable development say it’s a local to global initiative, but their documents
will state repeatedly, a locality that seeks to implement this lifestyle within its community cannot
do so without the regulatory and legislative support of the state and pressure rom civil socicty
(NGOs).
This is a top-down directive being implemented at the local level through the use of grants,
public private partnerships, propaganda, the media, Hollywood, and non-elected appointed
regional boards, and regulatory agencies.
Self govemment, a govemment of the people, for the people, and by the people, is transitioning
into regional governance: a bureaueratic regime of non-elected state employees working in
partnership with favored corporations and selected NGOs.”
Lastly, on the issue of “Citizen Stakeholders”…
“What we see and feel now is a government that governs over us. It is an overweighted and top-heavy federal government that exerts so much influence and authority, self-government is squashed and diminished.”
[…]
“We see that it is governance by non-elected, appointed regional associations and commissions, and regulatory agencies partnering with favored businesses and selected NGO stakeholders. Instead of integrating all the stakeholders – business, regional boards, NGOs, and citizens – there is a consolidation of powers that often excludes the citizen.”
“The answer to this shift from self government to governance by stakeholders is for you to claim your seat at the stakeholder table. You achieved this by participating and interacting in the public square early in the planning process, and by adapting how you engage so you can effectively stand up and claim your power. In our constitutional republic we are the power! We just need to exercise it.”
“citizens must engage and insert their voice, we must not only hold our public servants accountable to their oath of office, we must support them when they are faced with progressive utopian demagogues who are pushing for this sustainable development agenda. Our silence is our tacit agreement to these transformative plans.”
We are seeing the very topics these people are talking about, in our neighborhoods, in our counties, and definitely throughout our state. There have to be other groups already working on this within our state. We need to find them and connect with them. This is so much bigger than just our town, and the people in our town forcing the stuff on us, have help beyond what we can handle, alone. On the other hand, they can’t win every seat on every commission and council. They can’t fill every volunteer vacancy. Representative democracy is still alive in the United States.
But it won’t be for long, if we don’t show up.
Katy Bigelow is a consulting arborist who was hired by the Port in 2013 and again in 2022. Her 2013 scope of work was restricted to 5 poplars planted at the entrance to the Port, between Highway 20/Sims Way and the brewery building. The purpose of the assessment was to address roots growing underneath the building cracking the concrete floor. Bigelow recommended two remedies, short of cutting the trees down, to prevent the roots from growing underneath the building, and in addition she recommended safety and maintenance monitoring measures that the Port has never enacted for any of the poplars planted along the south side of Sims Way.
The City has never enacted any similar measures for the poplars on the north side, in violation of its own policies, policies that are required for the City to display that it is a member of the National Arbor Foundation’s Tree City USA program:
The City manages the Urban Forest in the right of way with the goals of tree preservation and forest health. Care and pruning under supervision of a certified arborist can help save trees that would otherwise be removed. Permits are required for any tree work in the right of way.
In this report Katy Bigelow says that poplars are “relatively short lived” trees, without providing any context. It is our understanding that the Water Street trees (all non-native) have a life span as street trees of about 30 years. Poplars are 50 years plus. So we do not believe we are getting a comprehensive report discussing factors such as these.
In the 2022 report, again with a narrow focus on just the trees on the south side, and not a comprehensive contextual analysis considering the long history of these trees in this community, or the fact that cutting the poplars on the north side does not remove the poplars within Kah Tai, which is a stated objective the Admiralty Audubon— and the fact that this is a busy highway with over 10,000 average vehicle trips per day and not suitable for attracting wildlife. She seems a bit…confused…excerpts from her 2022 report:
” I only observed three trees that had dead trunks in which bird nesting holes had been formed. I did not see any birds entering the nest trunks or perching in the trees during my site visit. Overall due to their location between a busy work area, transmission lines and a busy road I would consider this row of trees to provide poor placement for wildlife habitat using this tree species. As a mono-species vegetation buffer, its function as wildlife habitat is low.
If the trees are removed, a wider range of trees, shrubs and groundcovers can be replanted in their stead offering in the long term a better functioning area for wildlife of more types than are attracted to the poplar stand. Portions of trunks from tree removal may also be able to be used to enhance the area offering an even more diverse area for the future. ”
So on one hand Katy Bigelow seems to be saying that this is not an ideal place to be attracting wildlife, and then she goes on to criticize these trees for not providing enough. There are “only” 3 woodpecker cavities – what does that mean? Removing these trees would destroy habitat for 3 nesting pairs of woodpeckers…6-15 birds. Where will they go? Their narrative that these trees don’t provide habitat is false, and besides, this isn’t a great place to attract wildlife. Who enjoys hitting a bird?
Gateway Poplar Alliance
Announces the
Adopt-A-Poplar Program
150 Poplars Available for Adoption – In Need of Good & Loving Advocates
Please help save the Poplars!
Port Townsend— May 17, 2022 — The Gateway Poplar Alliance, and the non-profit Quimper Conservancy, announced today the launch of the Adopt-A-Poplar program, for Friends of the Poplars to adopt and advocate for the endangered lives of the legacy Port Townsend poplars.
The City of Port Townsend, Port of Port Townsend, and Jefferson County PUD want to cut all of the Sims Way poplars down, with no legitimate justification. Poplars have been planted and re-planted here since the 1930s, almost 100 years. Why are these agencies proposing to destroy our Gateway and the lives of at least 150 well-established and beautiful trees?
People who have been left out of the process controlled by these three agencies can now Adopt-A-Poplar, and help fund the Gateway Poplar Alliance’s legal effort to save the trees, as well as become a tree Advocate. Further manipulation by the City is evident in the formation of its “Stakeholder Committee,” which the City claimed would provide a comprehensive, unbiased review of all aspects and points of view. Unfortunately 5 of the 9 Committee Members had publically announced that they want the poplars cut down before the Committee was formed, or held a single meeting.
“This is an opportunity for those in this community who are just as confused as we are about why these three public agencies want to destroy our Gateway and heritage poplars, to stand up for these beautiful trees and help retain legal counsel to stop this ill-conceived and expensive project,” said Andrea Hegland, Gateway Poplar Alliance co-founder, and Quimper Conservancy non-profit Board Member.
“We ask that each tree Adopter become an advocate for our legacy trees, and document all the wildlife that these agencies say isn’t there,” said David Goldman, Quimper Conservancy Board Member. “These agencies have lost sight of the fact that this is not a park, but a high volume transportation corridor, with an average daily trip count of 10,000 vehicles. They claim that wildlife doesn’t use these trees and they can plant better wildlife trees here, we point out that both claims are flawed. Wildlife does in fact use these trees and secondly, it would be irresponsible to attract more wildlife to this transportation corridor.”
Andrea Hegland said, “Each Adopter can choose which poplar they want to adopt, along with a female Italian name painted on a name tag that will be affixed to their Adopted tree. Why Italian female names? Evidently some City decision makers believe these poplars represent white male European colonization. The thinking goes that cutting them down is part of the broader decolonization movement, and replanting with native trees would be more feminine.” Hegland added, “This seems to be a high-jacking of legitimate movements, such as decolonization and feminism, to justify the destruction of the poplars.”
“If anyone wants to name their tree with a male Italian name, we’re offering those sponsorships at a premium level of $100 instead of $50. ‘Fabio’ is already taken. Let’s show these agencies we value our historic trees which provide an appropriate amount of habitat along this highway, AND a transparent public process. Adopt-A-Poplar and help us do just that,” Hegland added.
For more information on how to Adopt-A-Poplar, please visit http://www.poplaralliance.org. Please contact us info@poplaralliance.org.
If tears would help, I’d cry.
As it is, it’s just hard to take in how the people we trusted to run our city government have turned it into their own personal little fascist compound.
HELLO! Where is the EIS, environmental impact statement that follows a study????
And, may I please know just where the housing is for the increased employment opportunities stated for the boat yard?
The whole thing seems to be improperly handled. The people have not been able to be fully involved.
Do I recall that there is money on the table to take these trees down? It’s time to get the word out visually. Some lawn signs up and down the corridor saying “Save the Poplars” (possibly timed for a big event like the Rhododendron Festival?) would let everyone know what was being planned behind their backs very quickly. Even if the signs were only out for a half-day before being removed. Additionally a rally to let people know and yard signs for homeowners. I’m sure I’m not the first one to suggest this but something has to be done to let more people know. Every time I bring it up with someone, it is news to them and they are horrified.
“If care is taken by the design team to strategically re-plant replacement trees, and incorporate other items to enhance the arrival experience in PT, folks will get over it much sooner.” (Russell Hill)
“The Rand Corporation in the early 1960s developed the Delphi technique for the purpose of maneuvering segments of the public into accepting predetermined government policies. In the 1970s and ’80s, it was used to convince land owners of the merits of accepting general plan maps.”
https://www.rand.org/topics/delphi-method.html
http://www.iror.org/delphi_info.asp
Just breathtaking to watch it happen
in real time.
It’s so interesting to me how we live in a time where we went through the #metoo movement
and we went through the #iaskconsent
movement and we hear over and over
that NO MEANS NO. But when the American taxpaying public puts their collective foot down
and says “Enough!”, these people keep right on
rolling. In any other context, this would
be considered an assault.
We shouldn’t worry too much about their timeline. After all, look at the money pit on the side of the hill above the lagoon. If you want to go back further, try to figure out how long ago the cattle trails they call streets in uptown were repaired? How are they going to take these trees down? They could go from the top down or they could just drop them. If I had a boat I would get it out of the Boat Haven as a tree might fall if they are cutting in the wind . They would also be smart to stop traffic at both ends of the road. I’m sure the businesses would be a more unhappy when sales dropped because of the change on getting to them. The city workers can’t patch a street without the patch being too high or too low. I wouldn’t’ definitely trust them with chain saws. Finally, How long has it taken to finish the job on Washington Street that’s supposed to slow traffic? With everything they try to do, it ends up cheap and half done, like lie the eyesores on Water Street. I only hope they don’t get a real deal on Cacktus.
It takes 30 seconds to cut a tree like that down, and 30 years to grow it back. Think twice before cutting once.
Swan- you may be able to get an entry into the parade or definitely stage protest at the site. Awesome idea and also folks could show up at Chataqua and share the word there.
T-shirts and headgear might be a good idea too. If you want to go real far, march in the parade. Just a thought.
BOHICA
https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/port-townsend-city-council-evaluating-water-systems/
Excerpts from “The U.N. 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development, A Critique”
by The American Coalition for Sustainable Communites and Mary Baker, author of
“Citizen Ninja”. (http://themarybaker.com/)
“Agenda 2030 Here at Home
The premise for control is; People are not being good stewards and their poor decisions are
hurting mother earth.
The cause for Gaia’s pain: over consumption, over population, suburban sprawl, fossil fuels,
unfair economic policies, nationalism.
The result: a looming climate catastrophe and if nation states don’t do something to curb human
behavior and growth, future generations will not survive because the planet will die.
Headlines read! Greenhouse gases are out of control, rising sea levels, melting glaciers,
devastating weather patterns, etc.
The global solution: Global governance by the U.N, using the principles of sustainable
development and Agenda 21/2030 as the blueprint.
The national solution: Smart Growth and the Rewilding of America.
With Smart Growth you see an increase in densification: cities become megacities, suburban
towns are annexed into cities, and rural town
become ghost lowns.
You see an increase in the production of compact mixed use buildings and a decrease in thc
construction of single family homes.
You see a change of focus in transportation spending- less on roads and more on sidewalks
public transit, and bike lanes.
There may be talk about taking parking lots and turning them into community gardens or pocket
parks.
You see roads being partitioned and car lanes taken away so their use is now equally shared
between cars, pedestrans, bikers, and public transportation riders.
Your energy bills are increasing as the state shifts from fossil fuels to unreliable and expensive
renewable energy solutions like wind and solar.
You see more regional taxation. Mechanisms like Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) taxes and an
increase in toll roads for example. Revenues that most likely will never be spent to fix roads,
traffic congestion, and potholes but will fund sustainability projects.”
And then, the “Great Reset” as some here
have already mentioned:
“Shift in Governance
In order for Sustainable Development to be entrenched in America, they must fundamentally
transform ideas and laws that support decentralized government, rule of law, and natural law.
Proponents of sustainable development say it’s a local to global initiative, but their documents
will state repeatedly, a locality that seeks to implement this lifestyle within its community cannot
do so without the regulatory and legislative support of the state and pressure rom civil socicty
(NGOs).
This is a top-down directive being implemented at the local level through the use of grants,
public private partnerships, propaganda, the media, Hollywood, and non-elected appointed
regional boards, and regulatory agencies.
Self govemment, a govemment of the people, for the people, and by the people, is transitioning
into regional governance: a bureaueratic regime of non-elected state employees working in
partnership with favored corporations and selected NGOs.”
Lastly, on the issue of “Citizen Stakeholders”…
“What we see and feel now is a government that governs over us. It is an overweighted and top-heavy federal government that exerts so much influence and authority, self-government is squashed and diminished.”
[…]
“We see that it is governance by non-elected, appointed regional associations and commissions, and regulatory agencies partnering with favored businesses and selected NGO stakeholders. Instead of integrating all the stakeholders – business, regional boards, NGOs, and citizens – there is a consolidation of powers that often excludes the citizen.”
“The answer to this shift from self government to governance by stakeholders is for you to claim your seat at the stakeholder table. You achieved this by participating and interacting in the public square early in the planning process, and by adapting how you engage so you can effectively stand up and claim your power. In our constitutional republic we are the power! We just need to exercise it.”
“citizens must engage and insert their voice, we must not only hold our public servants accountable to their oath of office, we must support them when they are faced with progressive utopian demagogues who are pushing for this sustainable development agenda. Our silence is our tacit agreement to these transformative plans.”
See also:
http://iagenda21.com/
We are seeing the very topics these people are talking about, in our neighborhoods, in our counties, and definitely throughout our state. There have to be other groups already working on this within our state. We need to find them and connect with them. This is so much bigger than just our town, and the people in our town forcing the stuff on us, have help beyond what we can handle, alone. On the other hand, they can’t win every seat on every commission and council. They can’t fill every volunteer vacancy. Representative democracy is still alive in the United States.
But it won’t be for long, if we don’t show up.
Katy Bigelow is a consulting arborist who was hired by the Port in 2013 and again in 2022. Her 2013 scope of work was restricted to 5 poplars planted at the entrance to the Port, between Highway 20/Sims Way and the brewery building. The purpose of the assessment was to address roots growing underneath the building cracking the concrete floor. Bigelow recommended two remedies, short of cutting the trees down, to prevent the roots from growing underneath the building, and in addition she recommended safety and maintenance monitoring measures that the Port has never enacted for any of the poplars planted along the south side of Sims Way.
The City has never enacted any similar measures for the poplars on the north side, in violation of its own policies, policies that are required for the City to display that it is a member of the National Arbor Foundation’s Tree City USA program:
The City manages the Urban Forest in the right of way with the goals of tree preservation and forest health. Care and pruning under supervision of a certified arborist can help save trees that would otherwise be removed. Permits are required for any tree work in the right of way.
In this report Katy Bigelow says that poplars are “relatively short lived” trees, without providing any context. It is our understanding that the Water Street trees (all non-native) have a life span as street trees of about 30 years. Poplars are 50 years plus. So we do not believe we are getting a comprehensive report discussing factors such as these.
In the 2022 report, again with a narrow focus on just the trees on the south side, and not a comprehensive contextual analysis considering the long history of these trees in this community, or the fact that cutting the poplars on the north side does not remove the poplars within Kah Tai, which is a stated objective the Admiralty Audubon— and the fact that this is a busy highway with over 10,000 average vehicle trips per day and not suitable for attracting wildlife. She seems a bit…confused…excerpts from her 2022 report:
” I only observed three trees that had dead trunks in which bird nesting holes had been formed. I did not see any birds entering the nest trunks or perching in the trees during my site visit. Overall due to their location between a busy work area, transmission lines and a busy road I would consider this row of trees to provide poor placement for wildlife habitat using this tree species. As a mono-species vegetation buffer, its function as wildlife habitat is low.
If the trees are removed, a wider range of trees, shrubs and groundcovers can be replanted in their stead offering in the long term a better functioning area for wildlife of more types than are attracted to the poplar stand. Portions of trunks from tree removal may also be able to be used to enhance the area offering an even more diverse area for the future. ”
So on one hand Katy Bigelow seems to be saying that this is not an ideal place to be attracting wildlife, and then she goes on to criticize these trees for not providing enough. There are “only” 3 woodpecker cavities – what does that mean? Removing these trees would destroy habitat for 3 nesting pairs of woodpeckers…6-15 birds. Where will they go? Their narrative that these trees don’t provide habitat is false, and besides, this isn’t a great place to attract wildlife. Who enjoys hitting a bird?
Gateway Poplar Alliance
Announces the
Adopt-A-Poplar Program
150 Poplars Available for Adoption – In Need of Good & Loving Advocates
Please help save the Poplars!
Port Townsend— May 17, 2022 — The Gateway Poplar Alliance, and the non-profit Quimper Conservancy, announced today the launch of the Adopt-A-Poplar program, for Friends of the Poplars to adopt and advocate for the endangered lives of the legacy Port Townsend poplars.
The City of Port Townsend, Port of Port Townsend, and Jefferson County PUD want to cut all of the Sims Way poplars down, with no legitimate justification. Poplars have been planted and re-planted here since the 1930s, almost 100 years. Why are these agencies proposing to destroy our Gateway and the lives of at least 150 well-established and beautiful trees?
People who have been left out of the process controlled by these three agencies can now Adopt-A-Poplar, and help fund the Gateway Poplar Alliance’s legal effort to save the trees, as well as become a tree Advocate. Further manipulation by the City is evident in the formation of its “Stakeholder Committee,” which the City claimed would provide a comprehensive, unbiased review of all aspects and points of view. Unfortunately 5 of the 9 Committee Members had publically announced that they want the poplars cut down before the Committee was formed, or held a single meeting.
“This is an opportunity for those in this community who are just as confused as we are about why these three public agencies want to destroy our Gateway and heritage poplars, to stand up for these beautiful trees and help retain legal counsel to stop this ill-conceived and expensive project,” said Andrea Hegland, Gateway Poplar Alliance co-founder, and Quimper Conservancy non-profit Board Member.
“We ask that each tree Adopter become an advocate for our legacy trees, and document all the wildlife that these agencies say isn’t there,” said David Goldman, Quimper Conservancy Board Member. “These agencies have lost sight of the fact that this is not a park, but a high volume transportation corridor, with an average daily trip count of 10,000 vehicles. They claim that wildlife doesn’t use these trees and they can plant better wildlife trees here, we point out that both claims are flawed. Wildlife does in fact use these trees and secondly, it would be irresponsible to attract more wildlife to this transportation corridor.”
Andrea Hegland said, “Each Adopter can choose which poplar they want to adopt, along with a female Italian name painted on a name tag that will be affixed to their Adopted tree. Why Italian female names? Evidently some City decision makers believe these poplars represent white male European colonization. The thinking goes that cutting them down is part of the broader decolonization movement, and replanting with native trees would be more feminine.” Hegland added, “This seems to be a high-jacking of legitimate movements, such as decolonization and feminism, to justify the destruction of the poplars.”
“If anyone wants to name their tree with a male Italian name, we’re offering those sponsorships at a premium level of $100 instead of $50. ‘Fabio’ is already taken. Let’s show these agencies we value our historic trees which provide an appropriate amount of habitat along this highway, AND a transparent public process. Adopt-A-Poplar and help us do just that,” Hegland added.
For more information on how to Adopt-A-Poplar, please visit http://www.poplaralliance.org. Please contact us info@poplaralliance.org.
Just wanted to take a moment to say you’re doing a great job with the signs on the Poplars. ‘Really makes me smile when I drive by! <3
https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/advisory-board-supports-removal-of-port-townsend-poplars/
If tears would help, I’d cry.
As it is, it’s just hard to take in how the people we trusted to run our city government have turned it into their own personal little fascist compound.