Last Week
This Week
As part of my art class I was required to find a spot in nature to do my practice drawings each week. I picked Potlatch State Park because it is close to home and there are some large Douglas-firs down by the water.
Last week I wandered into the campground and drew an old moss covered Maple tree. The tree had been savagely pruned over the years so it had a funny shape to it. Today after my Mother's Day breakfast my family went to Potlatch to hang out and I headed back into the campground to do some drawing. What I saw today horrified angered and saddened me. Sometime this week the Park butchered the old maple tree. They cut it off about 15 feet above ground; they also cut down a smaller nearby maple tree.
I am so disgusted by this act of vandalism. I'm sure the park has rationalized this destruction by claiming the tree was rotten and might fall on someone. The tree was not rotten and I bet most of it is sitting in a firewood pile right now. The park sells bundles of camp-fire wood. Have you ever wondered where some state parks get all that wood to sell?
The tree had a large burl on it and that burl is now sitting in the campground host's site. Maybe someone thought they could make a burl table out of it? Was the tree murdered for its burl or to make room for a new road or for firewood? Do they need to make a new road going to the walk-in campsites? At the rate Potlatch State Park is going there will soon be no trees left. This is not the first time I have seen them needlessly cutting trees.
The park gets uglier every year. They might as well close the park down and re-install the waterfront sawmill.
Just had to comment on your post about Potlatch State Park.
ReplyDeleteTree "Trimming" (and I use that word sarcastically) must be done by the same untrained people throughout the area.
I live North of Hoodsport on Highway 101, and they have managed to kill several large trees in front of our place that act as a sound/polution barrier to the highway. Granted, the trees are on the highway right of way, but they don't "prune" them they butcher them until they die. Anyone with any sense knows if you remove half the heigth of a 2-foot diameter fir tree, then remove all the branches on one side (some 6" diameter) the tree is not going to make it. And did I mention they just leave the downed wood lying in my flowerbeds (native plants) for ME to clean up? Calls to PUD don't help, they just say it's to keep the lines clear. I understand that, but there are ways to accomplish the same thing without killing the trees.
By the way, if you DO need to have a tree removed PUD will do it for FREE! Great you say? forget it! We had an old Pine that was too close to the house and cracking the foundation as well as interferring with powerlines. They showed up at 7AM and cut the 2' diameter tree into 6-8 foot sections, dropped them and all the branches right where they fell--in my flowerbeds and yard. When I asked if they would be putting the limbs through a chipper they said no, they had other jobs to do! I spent several weeks wading theough waist deep limbs with loppers, then a small chain saw to clean up the mess. I had to hire someone to come cut the "logs" into smaller, manageable pieces. I'm 60 years old and disabled, by the way.
Way to go Mason County and Washington State! Maybe they want this side of the mountain to look like the East side? Personally, I live here because I LIKE my trees! Take a picture, it may not be there when you return!
Thanks for the Blog mossymom, I enjoy reading it. Spent many years hiking the area and I'm almost afraid to go back in. Probably get a ticket for not having the required permit to travel in the area!
Took a stroll through your site mossy... Love the pics and writing... Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteMonty Mahan