Local Tree News, July 2, 2023

Volunteer in a local park this week – Shoreline Area News, July 1

The long road to access at Willamette Falls – High Country News, June 29

Edmonds mayoral candidates lay out priorities – Edmonds Beacon, June 29

The Tree of Life Is Falling Down – Seattle Met, June 28

Edmonds Planning Board agenda for June 28 includes work session with tree board – MyEdmonds News, June 26

Local activists call for forest protection – MyEdmonds News, June 26

PNW primed for wildfire as officials prepare for likely active season – SeaTimes, June 26

OPINION | Seattle’s Tree Ordinance Is an Affront to Climate Justice – South Seattle Emerald, June 24

Watch the Video: Frozen Frontiers – Nature Conservancy, June 22

Habitat on Lasqueti Island (BC) protected with conservation covenant: Islands Trust – The Province, June 20

Saving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave – SeaPI, June 20

Stormwater Heatmap Milestone: Impervious Surfaces at one square meter resolution – Nature Conservancy WA, June 15

Reader view: Saving trees on Dayton Street – MyEdmonds News, June 15

LFP Public Hearing on tree canopy preservation and enhancement – Shoreline Area News, June 14

Methow conservation group buys 1,200 acres above Winthrop – SeaTimes, June 16

Follow up to trees cut down near RB Saltwater Park – Shoreline Area News, June 9

Land Commissioner Hilary Franz: Where there is heat – there is death – Shoreline Area News, June 8

Large trees at entrance to RB Saltwater Park cut down – Shoreline Area News, June 8

King County invites comment on Comprehensive Plan updates – Queen Anne & Magnolia News, June 8

Chris Eck seeks Edmonds City Council Position 1 – Edmonds Beacon, May 25

Local Tree News – May 29, 2023

How wildfire risk is being managed in one WA forest – May 27, SeaTimes

City of Lynnwood releases results of Urban Forest Health Assessment – Lynnwood Today, May 27

Explore newly mapped trails in Seattle’s largest contiguous forest – May 26, SeaTimes

WEST SEATTLE PARKS: New ‘Tree Walk’ in Fauntleroy – West Seattle Blog, May 25

Tree Talk at Senior Center of West Seattle – West Seattle Blog, May 25

Seattle passes new tree ordinance amid calls to tweak legislation – KNKX, May 23

Seattle tree protection ordinance, years in the making, is up for a vote – SeaTimes, May 23

Seattle City Council passes tree ordinance after years of debate – SeaTimes, May 23

Seattle City Council passes new tree ordinance – May 23, Crosscut

Seattle speaks for its trees with overgrown set of new protections – Capitol Hill Blog, May 23

Applications invited for Edmonds Tree Board opening – MyEdmonds News May 22

Seattle’s proposed tree ordinance is the legislative equivalent of a chain saw – SeaTimes, May 19

Can Seattle balance its need for housing with its need for trees? – May 19, KNKX

‘Tree retention evaluation’ — City sorting out how to keep Cal Anderson’s maple trees and fix the sidewalk around the park – Capitol Hill Blog, May 17

Washington slates $50M for trees to shade salmon streams – May 16, Crosscut

Lake Forest Park neighbors denounce bus-lane plan that removes trees – SeaTimes, May 15

Reminder: Second community conversation about tree code updates scheduled May 15 – MyEdmonds News, May 13

Guest editorial: City should reconsider Discovery Park plan – May 11, Queen Anne News

City receives $29,500 grant to plant 100 street trees – MLT News, May 11

Keep funding projects that protect our state’s forests – Kitsap Sun, May 9

Bainbridge’s lip service to climate always yields to growth – Kitsap Sun, May 9

City Council considering more than 50 amendments to Seattle’s tree protections – Capitol Hill Blog, May 4

Living with Trees – Real Change News, May 3 (go Martha Baskin!)

Kubota Garden is a South Seattle gem. Keeping it free is a challenge – SeaTimes, May 2

Every Tree Helps – The Nature Conservancy and Tacoma’s GRIT, May 2

Sherwood state forest: Environmental impact – SeaTimes, April 28

Why must a small Mason County forest be harvested? – Kitsap Sun, April 28

WA budgets $2B to cut greenhouse gas emissions; here’s where money will go – SeaTimes April 27

Climate Action Shoreline: Act Now – Shoreline Area News, April 26

A ‘150-acre wonderland of forest and flowers’ awaits on Bainbridge Island – HeraldNet, April 26

Tell your Seattle City Council to pass strong tree protections – SeaTimes, April 25

Seattle can’t protect its urban forest without a census of its largest trees – SeaTimes, April 20

Careful tree thinning – April 19, Queen Anne News

5 types of all-season crabapples that thrive in the Pacific Northwest – SeaTimes, April 15

A trek into Spring in the mountains of eastern Washington – April 14, KNKX

WA, Seattle launch campaign to plant thousands of urban trees – SeaTimes, April 14

Washington launches new statewide tree-equity collaboration – April 13, Crosscut

Second annual Cherry Blossom Festival a blooming success – DailyUW, April 12

You might be responsible for a Seattle street tree and not know it – April 12, Crosscut

Podcast | Who owns the trees outside your window? – April 12, Crosscut

Forest Service wins Stillaguamish logging suit over conservation group – HeraldNet, April 12

Join the LFP tree board to plant a tree in Horizon View Park Saturday – Shoreline Area News, April 11

MEET JUSTIN URRESTI: TNC WASHINGTON’S WESTERN FORESTER – April 11, TNC

Design review: Tree preservation, parking, and new housing — A 13th Ave project with something for everyone on Capitol Hill – April 10, Capitol Hill Blog

Comment: Mature forests do more for climate, wildlife, water – HeraldNet, April 8

UW cherry blossoms reach peak bloom – SeaTimes, April 6

County zoning plans will destroy rural life in Kitsap – Kitsap Sun, April 4

Balancing the health of its ‘urban forest’ with ‘a critical need for more housing,’ Seattle shaping new tree protections – Capitol Hill Blog, March 30

Local tree news update, 4-8-23

Edmonds Tree Code Amendment Project: Public Survey – valid through May 19 – make your voice heard!

Carkeek Park Earth Day Celebration – Broadview Seattle, 4/6

UW cherry blossoms reach peak bloom – SeaTimes, 4/6

Community Work Party at Twin Ponds North Saturday, April 8, 2023 – Shoreline Area News, 4/2

Where to see cherry blossoms in the Seattle area – SeaTimes, 3/30

Balancing the health of its ‘urban forest’ with ‘a critical need for more housing,’ Seattle shaping new tree protections – Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, 3/30

WA to burn thousands of acres of forest ahead of fire season – SeaTimes, 3/28

City launches tree code update process with focus on private property – MyEdmonds News, 3/28

Lone tree at Richmond Beach – Shoreline Area News, 3/28

Poetry: Climbing the Tree of Life – Shoreline Area News, 3/24

Reminder: City sponsoring community conversation March 27 about changes to Edmonds tree code – MyEdmonds News, 3/24

Trees, housing and climate goals are intertwined as Seattle debates canopy – SeaTimes, 3/21

Editorial: Use state forestlands to ‘farm’ carbon credits – Everett Herald, 3/21

Ballinger Creek Restoration Project – Shoreline Area News, 3/20

Provide input on the Shoreline’s Urban Forest Strategic Plan and Forest Management Plan – Shoreline Area News, 3/17

Pinehurst Pocket Park Work Party 4/8/2023 – Pinehurst Seattle, 3/15

Pacific Northwest forests are heating up and drying out – High Country News, 3/14

Cherry tree removal on Pike Street underway after compromise – SeaTimes, 3/14

WA rivers, lake nominated to receive new environmental protections – SeaTimes, 3/12

Duwamish Tribe Cultural Preservation Officer consults with Shoreline Historical Museum re the Miyawaki Urban Forest History Project – Shoreline Area News, 3/11

How You Can Foster a Baby Forest – Seattle Greenlaker, 3/11

State’s forests: Protect ‘carbon workhorses’ SeaTimes, 3/10

Seattle Mayor directs city to replace Pike Place market trees with triple the number of cherry blossoms – NW Asian Weekly, 3/10

A rogue, unpermitted palm tree at Alki Beach raises hackles – SeaTimes, 3/10

Sponsor a tree, help a wetland – and a student! -West Seattle Blog, 3/10

Pike Street: Importance of cherry trees – SeaTimes, 3/10

Citing wildfire risk, Spokane to thin 1,000 acres of urban forest – KNKX, 3/9

New protections for Seattle’s trees are inching forward – KNKX, 3/8

Mayor and Councilmember Strauss working to protect and expand tree canopy – Westside Seattle, 3/7

Save the cherry trees – NW Asian Weekly, 3/7

Allow sale of credits for carbon stored in WA-owned lands – SeaTimes, 3/7

DEVELOPMENT: Tree concerns dominate hearing on Delridge proposal – West Seattle Blog, 3/4

Op-Ed: Sound Transit bus lane through LFP would deforest Bothell Way and shift the road west into 110 properties – Shoreline Area News, 3/4

Tree Talk: A name to master, a tree to grow – Madison Park Times, 3/3

Tree canopy: Lack of follow-up – SeaTimes, 3/3

Forest sale: ‘Shame on us’ – SeaTimes, 3/2

Seattle has a Green Lake-sized hole in its tree canopy, study shows – Crosscut, 3/2

Seattle has lost 255 acres of tree canopy. Here’s why – SeaTimes, 3/2

Seattle tree protections update includes plan for new arborist work and removal map by 2024 – Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, 3/1

Plan begins to replace failing street trees in Everett – Everett Herald, 2/28

Planting the seeds for Washington’s forest restoration efforts – Crosscut, 2/27

Two wins for Burien’s Tree Equity – Westside Seattle, 2/25

In the once-cool forests of the Pacific Northwest, heat poses a new threat– HCN, 2/24

Scene at Meadowdale Beach Park: Winter trees – Lynnwood Today, 2/19

Q&A with SCC District 4 Rep Alex Pedersen– Wallyhood blog, 2/11

Grant dollars are seeding the urban forestry push in Washington – Crosscut, 2/10

WATCH THE VIDEO: ONE MILLION TREES – G.R.I.T. in Tacoma, The Nature Conservancy, 1/25

White Center Tree Clearing Prompts Tree Protection Actions in Unincorporated King County – South Seattle Emerald, 1/20

Tree Talk: From tiny acorns grow … – Queen Anne News, 1/18

The best explanation of why one-off tree planting isn’t good enough

from Duncan Slater on LinkedIn:

No. 993: Tree Planting Shouldn’t Be A “One-Hit Wonder”

It requires more than an initial physical effort & financial contribution to grow a tree successfully. We should never accept a count of “trees planted” as a meaningful statistic for urban greening – it should be “trees well-established in suitable locations” – or “sustainable canopy cover added to our city after a decade”: although, few involved seem to want to wait for such a metric! 😔

Urban locations are often challenging to plant up with trees, & three key factors are associated with planting failure:

🔹The planting location is unsuited to the species planted in it (e.g., soil compaction, soil volume accessible, soil pH, dryness/wetness).

🔹The technical aspects of the planting are carried out poorly (e.g., planting at the wrong depth, planted in the wrong season, transplant has an inadequate root system in the first place).

🔹After-care is not implemented when it is needed (e.g., no irrigation or weed control in place).

A mix of these three factors accounts for the majority of failed urban tree plantings & this is compounded by a further factor that I have found to be very common in my revisits to sites:

🔹Few failed trees are replaced – the planting was a “one-hit wonder”

Obvs, if the site condition doesn’t suit the species planted, or is inhospitable to most tree growth, it is understandable not to try again on the same spot. However, there are means to make most urban locations more suitable for tree planting by soil amendment or artificial creation of underground soil resources. Potentially expensive, but, if it’s a good spot for a tree in an urban area of poor canopy coverage, it may well be worthwhile to amend the site conditions to achieve good tree establishment.

That the planting may have been poorly enacted or that there was no aftercare in place are more easily overcome by education. I have a current MSc student investigating the benefits of empowering local residents to carry out basic aftercare for trees outside their houses – and the findings look good! 😊🌳🚿

My time-lapse shows a failed urban planting: pit created, metal guard in place, tree planted (all at quite a cost to the taxpayer) – but no re-attempt to do a replacement planting: the initial tree is still there, shattered into pieces on the ground!

LESSON LEARNT: Urban foresters are not just ‘guardians of the trees’ – but, by necessity, they must be ‘guardians of the soil’ too. Soil conditions drive what can be planted & achieved on any site, making some sites unsuitable for tree establishment entirely, unless amended. All urban forests are an “experiment in action” – as the concept of an urban forest is fairly new – as is the science behind their establishment & care. Where an experiment fails, don’t give up by default: review – and learn the lessons of each failure!

Tree news elsewhere, Dec 11, 2022

New York City’s Popular Online Tree Map Gets a Big Update

What is attacking PNW Maples?

From the Kitsap Sun – subscription required:
A white, powdery fungus attacking the northwest’s maple trees has spread across Kitsap

From Dept. of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington:
Bigleaf Maple Decline in Western Washington (research study results at link to left)

Primary Goal: Examine the association between biotic and abiotic factors, and bigleaf maple decline.
Outcome: Determining cause of the decline will guide potential mitigation and management options.

Bigleaf maple decline continues to be a scientific mystery
Forest pathologists in Washington have been investigating the decline of bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) in the Pacific Northwest since it emerged in 2010. Recently, Dave Shaw, OSU Extension forest health specialist, has noticed the maple’s decline in Oregon has intensified and hypothesized that it may be attributed to something other than drought, winter weather, canker diseases, squirrel damage or other common culprits. Bigleaf maple decline has been reported throughout the tree’s entire geographic range, including in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia……(more at link above)

The edges of the leaves in the upper crown of this bigleaf maple are chlorotic and very distinct.

These leaves from the crown of a bigleaf maple are small, leathery and have chlorotic edges.

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Tree protest in North Seattle, 5-29-22

TreePAC and The Last 6,000 prevented (for now) a pair of exceptional Doug Firs from being cut down this weekend. Ideally this will force a permit from the landowner at minimum (and potential fines) but watch this space for more.

From KIRO 7, on the scene today:

Seattle Audubon tree petition!

Our friends at Seattle Audubon have put up a great tree petition – please take action and sign the petition!

Protect trees for a climate-resilient city.

The heatwave our region experienced at the end of June 2021 made clear that the deadly impacts of climate change are here. We must act now to improve our resilience and prepare for the future. An equitably distributed and protected urban forest is one of our best hopes for becoming a climate-resilient city. Join us in urging Seattle city leaders to improve urban forest protections today.

New TreePAC newsletter on the site!

The latest Spring 2022 TreePAC newsletter is now on the site – click here to check it out! Highlights include the recent Seattle City Council passing legislation to require Tree Service Provider registration, some great news from Save Shoreline Trees and Trees4Livability in Bellevue , and the usual digest of local and worldwide tree news. Enjoy!

kevin orme
TreePAC

TreePAC Intervention approved in MBAKS Hearing Examiner Appeal

As this is public record now, here’s the official filing of our Motion to Intervene in the recent Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Hearing Examiner appeal of the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections’ draft Tree Protection Ordinance Determination of Non-Significance after their SEPA evaluation.  – you can read their original SEPA appeal here.. The hearing Examiner has approved TreePAC’s intervention.