“Trees are a key ally in fighting climate change” was a great editorial (The Columbian, Sept. 1). But why doesn’t the city of Vancouver agree? For the past several months I have seen healthy old growth trees felled, and in one case a stack of trunks was hauled away on a timber big rig. Who makes these decisions? The Foley property is being developed and many large trees of a variety are now gone. The biggest one by far was a conifer with a hugely massive trunk. How can somebody in good conscience cut that?
Close by, on another piece of property kitty corner to where I live, the new owners cut three massive trees. When those massive trunks hit the ground, they jolted the foundation of my house. I tried to stop her, but I’m afraid I didn’t do a very good job. She was totally unaware of how many hundreds of years it takes for a tree to get that large. I specifically asked her, “How many generations old do you think those trees are?” The concept was apparently new to her. An old-timer I met explained to me 30 years ago, when houses were built, great pains were taken to make sure older trees were left intact. Why isn’t that still being done?
