For Immediate Release 2 September 2024
Contact:
Michelle Peterson, 360 878-7689, michellepeterson.RN@gmail.com
Ronda Larson Kramer, 360 259-3076, ronda@larsonlawpllc.com
Reports and background documents under Media Resources Save the Davis Meeker Garry Oak
Information Links: http://linktr.ee/TumwaterOak
Donation Link: https://www.davis-meeker-oak.org/donate
Hashtags: #tumwateroak #SaveTheTree
Judge to Decide If Tumwater Oak Can Get an Automatic Stay
DATELINE— TUMWATER, WA
In the fight to save one of the most culturally valued trees in Washington state, the citizen action group that sued the city of Tumwater readies for another court battle involving a 400-year-old Garry oak tree called the Davis Meeker oak.
Both sides have filed competing motions. “The mayor filed a motion to try to make us pay $13,000 of her legal fees,” said Ronda Larson Kramer, one of the attorneys for the group. “And we filed a motion to try to get an automatic stay of the mayor’s plans to cut down the tree—a stay that would last for the duration of our appeal.”
The Attorney General’s Office wrote a lengthy letter to the mayor in July telling her that she has to get a permit from the state Department of Archaeology if she wants to do anything to the tree.
The citizen action group discovered through a public records request that soon after the mayor received that letter, her attorney began researching what the monetary and criminal penalties would be for violating the permit requirement.
“When I saw that, it sent chills down my spine,” said Michelle Peterson, the group’s spokesperson. “It suggests that even the law might not be enough to save the tree from the mayor’s determination to cut it down.”
Ray Gleason, a certified arborist who has been working for decades to keep the tree safe said, “Ironically, research by one of the most well-respected tree physicists in the world shows that even strongly hollowed trees can be safer than young intact trees without any defects." Gleason was referring to research by Frank Rinn, a German physicist and tree specialist who invented the Resistograph, which is used worldwide to assess decay in trees. “That research shows that oftentimes, the older a tree gets, the sturdier it gets. But most people think it’s the opposite.”
The City of Tumwater’s arborist issued a report in 2023 concluding that the Davis Meeker oak should be cut down. A company called Tree Solutions helped the city's arborist with that assessment but disagreed so strongly with his conclusion that the company's owner, board certified master arborist Scott Baker, wrote an email to the assistant city attorney to say that the final report was “an embarrassment to any knowledgeable arborist.”
Gleason said, "Scott Baker is one of the fathers of modern-day tree risk assessment methodology. That makes his criticism all the more significant."
The mayor bowed to public pressure on June 4th and promised to get a second assessment. The city has contracted with a new company but the second assessment has yet to be performed.
Meanwhile, an independent risk assessment was done by Paul Dubois of Keyport, Washington, who has 40 years of experience, much of that with oak trees. He concluded that the Davis Meeker oak poses only a moderate risk and it can be made low risk with simple pruning and cabling.
The citizen action group is holding a fundraiser on Sunday and another one on Thursday, September 26, to raise money for legal expenses. Anyone wishing to watch the court hearing on Friday at 9:00 a.m. can do so on Zoom or in person.
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