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
Hashtags: #tumwateroak #SaveTheTree
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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