If you care about trees, please read “In Our View: Increasing our tree canopy a worthwhile goal” (The Columbian, Nov. 23). As stated in the article, the city’s goal is to increase Vancouver’s tree canopy. And yet, in different parts of Vancouver, acres of healthy, mature trees are being cut down for new development.
As citizens, we can urge our city’s leaders to review codes, and enforce them. We can attend meetings of Urban Forestry, the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation, and City Council (see www.cityofvancouver.us/meetings). At the state level, the Commissioner of Public Lands just announced the “Keep Washington Evergreen” initiative, which will conserve working forests and address communities with limited tree cover. As Mike Stevens of The Nature Conservancy noted, “healthy forests and urban trees are integral to our physical, mental and communal well-being all across Washington.”
We are fortunate to have beautiful trees where we live. Let’s speak up to keep them.
