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American Kestrels Fledge from the Davis Meeker Oak

  • Jul 26, 2024



For Immediate Release                                                                      26 July 2024

 

Contact:

Michelle Peterson, 360-878-7689, michellepeterson.RN@gmail.com 

Ronda Larson Kramer, 360-259-3076, rlarsonkramer@gmail.com

 

Reports and background documents under Media Resources  www.TumwaterOak.org 

 

Information Links: http://linktr.ee/TumwaterOak

Kestrel photos and videos

 

 

 

American Kestrels Fledge from the Davis Meeker Oak


DATELINE— TUMWATER, WA

Three kestrel chicks are about to fledge from the nest cavity in the Davis Meeker oak, a tree that has been at the center of one of the biggest tree controversies in Tumwater’s history. If Tumwater mayor Debbie Sullivan had succeeded in her plan to cut the tree down in May, the three chicks would not have survived.


On June 7, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service sent the city a letter stating, “It has come to our attention that the City of Tumwater, without a permit, intends to knowingly violate federal wildlife law by the removal” of the oak tree. The letter explained that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act does not allow cutting a tree down without a permit if the tree contains nesting migratory birds.


Professional tree risk assessment specialist Beowulf Browers noted in a legal declaration on July 2 that the City of Tumwater’s arborist had failed in his duty of care and diligence by neglecting “to recommend a biological survey of the tree to protect wildlife critical habitat.”


Steve Layman is a raptor biologist who visited the tree and saw the kestrel parents.  He said in a legal declaration that kestrels use nest cavities year after year, down through the generations. He explained that the availability of vacant holes is waning as old trees disappear from the landscape.


According to a March 31, 2019, article on All About Birds by Lauren Chambliss, kestrels nest in holes, and the scarcity of trees old enough to contain nest cavities is likely one cause in the population decline of our smallest falcon. The article documents data showing declines nearing 50 percent in American kestrel populations in North America.


An article in the New York Times by Catrin Einhorn on June 5, 2023, explains how kestrels are still common but their population numbers are declining every year, in contrast to other raptors such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons who have largely recovered after the elimination of DDT in the 1970s. Scientists are racing to learn more about where the birds might be having trouble.


“The future of all wildlife is in proximity to people,” said raptor biologist Layman. In his view, the Davis Meeker oak presents an opportunity: “Schoolchildren could be brought there and taught about ecology and could take its acorns and plant them in their yards and in parks.”


Whether the tree will remain standing remains unclear, however. The citizen group Save the Davis Meeker Garry Oak (SDMGO) is raising funds to hire an environmental attorney to try and save it. “The mayor says she wants another arborist to assess the tree. But her most recent actions reflect anything but a desire for objectivity,” said SDMGO spokesperson Michelle Peterson.


At a June 4 city council meeting, the mayor responded to pressure from citizens and council members and agreed to get a second assessment, after the city arborist’s first risk assessment was roundly criticized. Several weeks later, at the council meeting on July 16, between 1:01:00 to 1:05:25 in the recording, the mayor rebuffed requests by Councilmembers Kelly Von Holz and Joan Cathey to allow transparency during the interviews of the arborists applying to conduct the follow-up assessment.  


Von Holz and Cathey suggested that the mayor allow members of the Tumwater Tree Board and Tumwater Historical Commission to be on the interview panel. The mayor declined. Instead, the panel will consist solely of the mayor, City Administrator Lisa Parks, and City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick.


“The documents we obtained through public records requests demonstrate that these three people, more than anyone else in the city, have been behind the flawed process threatening the oak tree for the past year,” SDMGO spokesperson Peterson said. “By barring anyone else from the interview room, they are continuing the same pattern of secrecy. It’s anti-democratic,” she said.  



Photos and videos by Melinda Wood of Olympia, July 10, 2024


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Court of Appeals Grants Temporary Stay to Tumwater Oak Group

  • Jul 5, 2024



For Immediate Release                                                                               July 3, 2024

 

Contact:

Ronda Larson Kramer, 360 259-3076, ronda@larsonlawpllc.com

 

Resources and links: http://linktr.ee.TumwaterOak

 

 

 

 

 

Washington State Court of Appeals Grants Temporary Stay to Tumwater Oak Group

OLYMPIA—The group standing between a historic 400-year-old Garry oak and the City of Tumwater’s plans to destroy the tree filed late July 2 in the Washington State Court of Appeals to stop action by the city until the group’s appeal is reviewed by the court.

This morning the court granted a Temporary Stay of the TRO Dissolution.


On May 31, Judge Anne Egeler of Thurston County Superior Court dissolved a temporary restraining order obtained by the group on May 24 from Judge Sharonda Amamilo of the same court.


The temporary stay, granted this morning, will be in effect pending the outcome of the July 2 request for injunctive relief to the appeals court from Save the Davis Meeker Oak. A response to the SMDGO motion from the City of Tumwater is due on July 15 and reply from SDMGO is due July 18, according to court order

.

The July 2 request to the appeals court aims to prevent any damage to the tree by the city, which has vowed to take it down and has resulted in a sustained public outcry and the formation last May of Save the Davis Meeker Garry Oak.


The appellate court has the authority to grant a stay when there are debatable issues and if there is a danger that the outcome of the appeal would become moot due to actions of one of the parties.


The motion asks the court to enjoin the mayor from cutting the tree pending the court’s final resolution of the appeal. No date has been set for that review.


The tree is historically, culturally and ecologically irreplaceable, according to the group. Through filed statements, SDMGO documents each of these factors.


The Tree Was and is Important to Native Americans


The declaration of Laura Young, a professional archivist from a sixth-generation Washington pioneer family whose children are enrolled members of an area Indigenous tribe, states that “This tree is known as one of the few territorial trees in the area used to hang Indigenous People as a method of forced property eviction before and during the regional Indian War of 1855-1856. After settlers arrived, vigilantes used it to hang Native Americans from one of its branches.”


Young added that there are also sensitive issues regarding Indigenous burial sites and grave desecration and theft of buried objects.


Young states “Not far from the tree was an intersection to an east-west trail called the Cowlitz to Yakama Trail, which went over the mountains to eastern Washington, and northwest to the Hood Canal area of the Twana and Skokomish Tribes, and the Quinault Nation. Shade next to a major trading route in the middle of a prairie where there was otherwise little shade would have been vitally important for travelers who needed to cool off and rest.”


This native oak is believed to be one of the very few still standing, noted Young. For it to be destroyed would be devastating to her family’s pioneer and Indigenous roots.

“It would prevent us from ever visiting our family’s living history again,” said Young.

An overlay map done by the Tacoma Historical Society of the 1854 survey and current aerial map shows the location of the tree in relation to the Cowlitz Trail. (Document titled Bush Family Farm).


A Pair of Kestrels is Nesting in the Tree


Raptor biologist Steve Layman documented the biological and environmental value of the oak in his declaration and the damage that removing the tree would cause to American kestrels protected by the international Migratory Bird Treaty Act.


“A family of kestrels will often reuse nest cavities year after year, down through the generations. Holes are in short supply. They evolved when there were all sorts of ages of trees, with holes mostly created by woodpeckers . . . ,” said Layman. “There are not very many trees with vacant holes anymore.”


Airport Expansion


Community activist Janet Witt’s declaration details the Port of Olympia’s planning documents that indicate the tree and the adjacent historic airplane hangar lie in the way of airport expansion. The expansion has been discussed for more than 20 years. However the port has not done an Environmental Impact Statement, only piecemeal assessments that do not address any impacts on the tree or hangar. The tree has been on Tumwater Register of Historic Places since the mid-1990s.


The City Relied on a Flawed Arborist’s Report


Beowulf Brower, a certified risk-assessment arborist, documented in his declaration the faulty information and process the City of Tumwater used to reach its flawed conclusion about the health of the tree and its decision to destroy the historic oak.



“It should, of all trees, have every conceivable thing done for it to avoid having to remove it,” said Brower. “The city arborist’s lack of consideration of any mitigation efforts other than full removal constitutes a breach in the expected duty of care assigned to a historic tree. By combining a scientifically-backed assessment, well-informed pruning and a simple cable system, any risk that exists can be mitigated to an acceptable level.”

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City Administrator Directs Staff to Keep Quiet About Plans to Cut Down Oak Tree

  • Jun 28, 2024

Updated: Jul 4, 2024



 

Contact:

Michelle Peterson, 360 878-7689, michellepeterson.RN@gmail.com

Ronda Larson Kramer, 360 259-3076, ronda@larsonlawpllc.com

 

Selected documents obtained by SDMGO through public records requests at: Public Records (Media Resources/Public Records Requests)

 

Website: Save the Davis Meeker Oak: https://www.davis-meeker-oak.org/

 

 

 

State Legislator Addresses City Administrator’s Directive for Silence on Oak’s Fate


TUMWATER—In what has become the City of Tumwater’s most contentious issue over trees in memory, City Administrator Lisa Parks told staff in an internal email last October to keep from the public the city’s plans to remove a 400-year-old tree next to the Olympia Airport.


Washington State Representative Beth Doglio said of Parks’s internal email, “I think the city should pause, reflect and reassess the public process concerning this historic tree, given the tremendous community and tribal concern that has come to light.”


Doglio represents the state’s 22nd Legislative District, which includes Tumwater.


Lack of Public Process


In an October 27, 2023 email obtained by Save the Davis Meeker Garry Oak, Parks wrote to staffers, “. . . there shouldn’t be any agendas that have this topic as an item listed . . . I would ask that any . . . conversations about the topic remain internal to this group.”


Later in the same email chain, another city employee explained the reason for keeping it a secret was to “get ahead of any backlash.” Tumwater Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Denney responded that Parks was disregarding “all kinds of things that need to get done.” Denney said, “Mum’s the word I guess—we are not ‘sharing’ the possibility that the tree may be removed to anyone yet.”


Though Parks’s email had noted that there were several internal steps needed before a public process was begun, these steps were not taken. Instead, Mayor Debbie Sullivan made a unilateral decision before a March 11, 2024, council work session to destroy the tree with minimal public process and notification.


Councilmember Joan Cathey remarked during that work session that the council should have been brought into the process earlier to afford time to consider options and review the issue with the community.


City Arborist Unqualified to Assess Tree Risk


Parks claimed in a May 14, 2024, memo to the city council that City Arborist Kevin McFarland who recommended removal had the credentials to do a tree risk assessment (“TRAQ”). This qualification provides assurance that an arborist has the training needed to accurately assess risk. The city arborist’s signature block states that he has this qualification. But a website listing arborist credentials indicates he lacks the qualification.


Paul Dubois of Keyport, Washington, a certified tree-risk-assessment arborist, found the danger level for injury from the Davis Meeker Garry Oak to be moderate at most, and found that it could easily be reduced to low with selective pruning and a support system. Dubois volunteered his time to perform an independent assessment of the tree on June 19, 2024.


The results of Dubois’s risk assessment are consistent with a June 2023 email from McFarland to Tumwater’s operations supervisor stating the risk was not high. The city council was never made aware of McFarland’s internal statement that directly conflicts with the conclusion in his October 2023 report to the city. In his October report, he recommended destroying the tree. McFarland has not responded to a request for comment on his contradictory statements.


Because the Davis Meeker Oak is on the Tumwater Register of Historic Places, the city must get a “waiver of a certificate of appropriateness” from the Tumwater Historic Commission before it is allowed to remove the tree—something the city has not obtained, in violation of the city’s own ordinances.


The city has not filed for a required permit from the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP). DAHP has concluded that based on the historic and tribal association of the tree, it is an archaeological site.


Airport Expansion


Before becoming city administrator on June 16, 2023, Lisa Parks was the executive services director at the Port of Olympia, which operates the Olympia Airport next to where the tree stands.


The port is currently updating the airport’s master plan. The unadopted draft preferred alternative plan projects significant future land developed for general aviation (114 acres), aviation-related/compatible industry (245 acres), and additional area for parallel taxiways.


Local airport activist Jan Witt summarized the airport development plans that she and others were told about at an open house in 2023 held by the Port of Olympia: “The plans would reconfigure the airport to accommodate commercial passenger and freight air service by constructing a new passenger terminal and 500 parking spaces and room for more and by making taxiway changes to increase capacity and refurbishing a portion of the main runway, likely including strengthening it to accommodate heavier aircraft. Plus the plans would add a new turf runway parallel to the main north/south runway,” Witt explained.


Warren Hendrickson, the airport’s senior manager, explained to the Tumwater City Council at a February 28, 2023 work session that by 2040, the forecast potential is 20,000 passengers per month using the airport. He suggested that if the airport was not expanded to meet a forecasted deficit in the aviation industry, it would result in losing out on $31 billion in economic gains and jobs.


The Davis Meeker oak is adjacent to the end of Runway 17/35 at the airport. A 2003 environmental impact study found that the tree hinders flexibility in the use of that runway because it constitutes an “obstruction” that dictates “precision instrument approach minimums” to the runway. Part of the 2013 master plan update also mentioned infrastructure improvements to Old Highway 99 at the tree, including widening the road to four or five lanes and improving the intersection at Bonniewood Drive SE where the tree stands. That work has not been done to date.


The city maintains that airport expansion and road improvements are unrelated to the decision to remove the tree. Thurston County resident Sharron Coontz voiced skepticism: “The mayor stated unequivocally that the oak is coming down, as if there are no other options such as pruning,” said Coontz.


“That only makes me more convinced that the city has hidden motives, whether to do with the widening of Old Highway 99 or airport expansion or some other plans. The mayor has claimed that she wants an ‘unbiased’ evaluation of the tree. If so, wouldn’t she say, ‘Perhaps this tree could be saved without compromising public safety. Let’s investigate that’? Instead, she seems to have already made up her mind.”


Foregone Conclusion by City


The mayor promised at a June 4 city council meeting attended by an overflow crowd to get an unbiased evaluation in the form of a follow-up risk assessment. However, destruction of the 400-year-old tree appears predetermined, as Sullivan later told the Olympian newspaper on June 12 that the tree will not be there in the end: “It’s an historic place and will stay an historic place, it just won’t have the tree standing there,” said Sullivan.


The mayor put a request for qualifications for the follow-up assessment on the city council agenda for its July 2nd meeting.


The Davis Meeker Garry Oak is located on the old Cowlitz Trail, which was used for millennia by indigenous peoples and later by settlers on what became a northern branch of the Oregon Trail. The tree was a landmark for travelers.





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Photo credit: Open Knowledge Foundation.

 
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