5 of 7 Arborists Believe
the Tree Should Not Be Cut Down.
Two risk assessments have been done on the tree, but only one has been done by an arborist with a deep understanding of oaks (Paul Dubois), and he found the risk to be only moderate. The city's arborist, Kevin McFarland, lacks such experience. In addition to the two risk assessments, 5 arborists have issued opinions disagreeing with Kevin's report. Only Kevin's friend from the City of Olympia agreed with his report.
Report of independent Arborist Paul Dubois concludes that the tree is moderate risk and can be made low risk easily with some cabling and selective pruning. Mr. Dubois has 40 years of experience, with much of that time working with oaks.
What's So Special About Oaks?
Oaks, especially mature oaks, can live hundreds of years with a hollow stem. They should not be assessed for risk in the same way other trees are assessed for risk. It is apples to oranges.
Mature oaks are usually hollow, but the new wood formed in response to decay or injury is denser and more durable than the original wood. The new wood is called "reaction wood" and helps to reinforce the tree structure. See Shigo, A. L. (1986). A New Tree Biology Dictionary: Terms, Topics, and Treatments for Trees and Their Problems and Proper Care. Durham, NH: Shigo and Trees, Associates.
Even with significant decay, mature trees "can be more stable than younger and completely intact trees." See Understanding size-related principles of tree growth for better tree-risk evaluation, by Frank Rinn, Western Arborist, Winter 2015, at 18.
"I know the tree well . . . . Even though the tree is hollow, it has a healthy crown, so will continue to produce good wood." Professor Robert Van Pelt, forest ecologist and global authority on champion trees. He specializes in quantitative ecology at the University of Washington's School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.
City's Evaluations
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Report of Kevin McFarland, City of Tumwater Arborist.
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Report of Tree Solutions that is p.11 of Kevin McFarland's report.
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Unreleased email of Kevin McFarland contradicting his later report by stating tree is not high risk
What Do Other Arborists Say?
Opinion of certified arborist Ray Gleason
(See this video of Ray discussing the tree: Historic Oak near airport to get the chop, Tumwater mayor says | The Olympian)
https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article288523115.html
The tree is healthy. If it were in decline, you'd start seeing gaps in the canopy, the leaf size at the top would become smaller, also the tone of the leaf would be lighter. The canopy would become less dense. You'd start seeing a higher percentage of fruit that is non-viable. A lot of fruit would be produced but a high percentage would be not completely formed, the nuts would be smaller than normal, and the ones near the bottom of the tree would be usually larger than the ones at the top of the tree. In unhealthy trees, the top of the tree dies first. That's what would show that a tree is physiologically failing.
The Davis Meeker oak has none of those signs. There are some holes in the tree canopy that are due to lack of tree maintenance, such as pruning, but those are starting to fill in. I see small branches filling in those openings. That's a normal process that does not indicate any decline. If the tree was in decline, the tree would not have the energy to fill in those holes in the canopy. The canopy would be ever shrinking. As a branch breaks off, nothing would fill in the hole it left.
There is no visible mycelium nor staining that validates the city's statement of decay. And the way the xylem tissue fractured shows it was structurally competent.
The tree photo with a red line that the mayor has been providing everyone was done by Kevin McFarland. I think it is not accurate. None of the tools he used would have had the ability to determine that the rot extends the entire length of that red line. The tool that can definitely determine rot was only used on the bottom three feet of the trunk. Above that was merely a sounding device that he used. Sounding devices are not accurate and need to be verified with a follow-up device for accuracy.
Oaks compartmentalize so effectively that the likelihood is these cavities are compartmentalized. The tree is physiologically so healthy that it is growing so rapidly. It’s not showing any reaction wood. As long as the cylinder is intact, it is extremely structurally competent.
To get the whole thing done correctly (pruning and installing support cables) would be less expensive than would be the cost of the removal of the tree. And if it were pruned rather than removed, some of the branch material that was pruned should be large enough to do woodwork on. That wood could be given to the tribes for carving. Corrective pruning and cabling supports goes above and beyond what is needed in this case. Tree Solutions already has a plan from what I've been told. They're just waiting for the city to ask them.
This can be a positive experience for Tumwater.
Opinion by Scott D. Baker, Registered Consulting Arborist
Open letter to Tumwater Mayor Debbie Sullivan and City Administrator Lisa Parks
(Published in the JOLT News, Monday, April 29, 2024)
In the early 1980s, The Davis Meeker Oak – a 400-year-old oak tree beside Old Highway 99 next to the Olympia airport – was in danger of being removed to improve the highway.
I was approached then by Thurston County Commissioner George Barner on behalf of Jack Davis and other older community members, who were aware of the Davis Meeker oak tree’s historic significance. It stands beside the northern part of the Oregon Trail that brought settlers to Tumwater and Olympia; for many years before that it was along the same trail when it was used by countless generations of Native people.
In the 1980s, I was operating Capitol Tree Service with my partner, Mark James. To my knowledge, we were the first arborists (Members of the International Society of Arboriculture) in Thurston County. We were able to work with others to get the road improved and save the tree. I have continued to observe this tree regularly, and the company I founded has provided advice and structural testing to help advise the tree managers.
In April 2024, along with other members of the Arboriculture community, I provided written comments in response to the tree being condemned recently. Well-qualified arborists, including Beowulf Brower, also commented in person. Social media brought interest in the tree from highly regarded arborists from all over the U.S.
We pointed out that the report stating that the tree presented a high risk was flawed in many ways. I teach the International Qualification for Tree Risk Assessment and am a respected educator in the field of arboriculture. In my professional opinion, the report should not be used as the basis for a bureaucratic decision to remove the tree. See article in The JOLT, April 19, 2024 for details.
The tree does not present a high risk if the assessment method is used correctly. Management methods to reduce risk from the tree are available. Science-based testing methods are available that would help better inform any decision about the management of the tree.
I am writing this opinion because I think it would be terrible – but sadly typical – to see a decision to remove the tree made by the Mayor or City Administrator based on flawed information or fear of liability. I hope the local community can push to see reason and science prevail.
Scott D. Baker, RCA
Registered Consulting Arborist
Board Certified Master Arborist
Honorary Life Member, International Society of Arboriculture
Ancient Forest Society
Seattle, Washington
Opinion of certified arborist Beowulf Brower:
See Beowulf's full report here.
I’m an ISA certified arborist and tree risk assessor for Washington State Parks. All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect any official position of the WSPRC. My job is relevant because we manage more old-growth and heritage trees than any other state agency.
Let me be clear, I love trees. That said, I have felled thousands of them that were untenable to keep around developed recreation sites.
The report from city arborist Kevin McFarland condemning this tree contains a litany of errors unbecoming of an ISA Certified Arborist. It ignores good science and technology in favor of inaccurate and rudimentary methods which do not constitute an advanced assessment. Furthermore, Mr. McFarland misrepresented both the nature and required frequency of advanced assessments in testimony to the Historic Board on April 18th and to the City Council at several meetings.
It is an established fact that this tree has had a fungal pathogen since at least the 1990’s. Since then, the open cavity has decreased in size as the tree grew and compartmentalized the decay. This new wood is physically stronger and chemically more resistant to decay. Its thickened cells are fully capable of preventing the spread of decay and of keeping the tree standing.
Trees self-optimize their structure to cope with decay and changes to their environment. Cedars experience die-back of their highest branches in dry weather, Douglas Fir ends up short and stout over the centuries, and all trees drop branches. In a forest, this is inconsequential. On a road however, the retention of veteran trees calls for experienced arborists to help the tree optimize in a controlled manner.
If this pruning and maintenance is done, trees such as this oak can be retained almost indefinitely. The city has not worked on upkeep of this tree in decades. The limb drop that happened last year and that the mayor relies so heavily on in her rush to remove the tree could have been prevented by preemptive pruning beforehand. It is not too late to start now! A 15% reduction in length or height affects a 50% decrease in load on a given branch. By combining well-informed pruning and a simple cable system, any risk that the mayor believes exists can be eliminated.
Beowulf Brower
ISA Certified Arborist
Tree Risk Assessment Qualification
PN-9801A
Opinion of certified arborist Jesse Brighten:
5/22/24
A Letter in protest of the City of Tumwater’s decision of euthanasia on the Davis-Meeker Garry Oak.
My name is Jesse Brighten, ISA certified arborist and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified. Attending the Tumwater City Council meeting on 5/21/24, I was frankly appalled with the presentation by Lisa Parks, city administrator, and the irrational decisions made to fast track the removal of the historic oak tree, known as the Davis Meeker Garry Oak.
Born and raised within Washington State and living the vast majority of my life within the states of Oregon and Washington, my entire career, nearing two decades within arboriculture, has been exclusively within the Puget Sound Basin.
Garry oak, Quercus garryana, has a very limited natural range. While maps show that it ranges from just across the border in Canada and extending southward into the San Juaquin valley in California, this paints an overly broad picture. This is Washington’s—and British Columbia’s--only native species of oak.
The species is a relic of endangered prairie grasslands and currently mainly exists in isolated pockets or small groupings of what use to be broad First Nations ‘agricultural’ grounds. It is a fire-dependent species where fire ecological records suggest regular historic control burns by First Nations with an estimated schedule of 8-12 year intervals, which I am sure varied regionally and seasonally.
This keystone species provides high levels of protein and many medicinal uses. Well beyond human consumption, it was utilized by fauna and created a rich and diverse ecosystem unique to our region. The presence of Garry oak literally increased the amount of wildlife within these Oak Savannas which have all but become lost though its entire range.
Due to the fertile soils within this ecosystem, these areas were the first choice of settlers, hence the importance given by the Oregon Trail Association to the Davis Meeker Oak as a landmark tree and all that has followed post-European settler contact.
While the settlers struggled with agriculture in areas dominated by old growth conifers, forests, the oak savannas of the Pacific Northwest were quickly mowed down to make room for farming. The remaining fragmentation of this special ecosystem is still occurring today with urban expansion into what used to be the Pacific Northwest’s breadbasket. This consists of a vast Garry oak woodland throughout the
Willamette Valley, South Sound, pockets in the mid and northern Salish Sea, and by 1900 only 10% remained.
The City of Tumwater is aware of the cultural significance of this tree yet has failed to act appropriately to consider this. From their website which admits they are aware this tree could be considered ‘Culturally Modified.’ “The Coastal Salish also used oak for digging sticks to harvest root foodstuffs and to manufacture yellow face paint made from the decaying bark of the oak tree as well as for hide scraping tools, braces for dip nets and firewood.” Additionally, it's a well-known fact this tree is a trail marker for the Cowlitz trail which has been estimated to have been in use for an excess of 9,000 years by the traditional peoples of the area.
https://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/48/3381
I ask why have the tribes not been consulted regarding the decision to remove this estimated 400-year-old oak tree as they have known this tree 200 years before Issac Stevens stepped foot onto this land?
The Davis Meeker Oak tree is a historic and multicultural relic and was voted as such by the City of Tumwater in 1995. Unfortunately, from my understanding of the city’s code, this is ‘unique’ as this tree is the only organic life form on the city’s register of historic places. The code, which was written for buildings, structures and the like, DOES allows for variances that recognize their importance. Commonly these buildings are not required to meet modern safety code standards in order to allow for their preservation. An example would be codes for earthquake mitigation where these buildings are likely exempt. This raises some interesting points as it relates to what, by all accounts, appears to be a very healthy tree, yet may have some structural concern. Unlike buildings, trees are self-optimizing structures, which even shed limbs as part of this optimization. I’ll touch down on this more later, but for a teaser, risk or consequences of failure is weighed against historic preservation. Within Lisa Parks’s emotional presentation at the Tumwater City Council meeting, what became apparent was an absolute zero risk policy as it relates to this tree. Many oblique statements were made and exaggerated as if loss of life was imminent or occurring due to this tree sitting alongside a roadway. Comments about a very large limb of 18” in diameter falling from 50’ and striking the roadway were repeated and emphasized, yet I did notice that it was also mentioned that the tips of the limb crossed the fog line. Garry oak is a heavy dense wood, arguably one of the heaviest of our native species. Yet I can personally attest that there is a huge difference from being slapped by the ends of a falling limb and being stuck by the large heavy part (I have a sizable scar as a reminder).
Reputable statistics don’t lie, but they can be manipulated to meet an agenda. It’s accurate that civilian (non-tree work accident) tree-related casualties occur in relation to vehicles. The study cited by city administration officials, can be found here
Its findings state there were 407 deaths from tree/wind related failures over the course of 12 years, including tropical cyclones, tornado, and thunderstorms. These are weather events than can bring any tree down. This shows how statistics can be spun to meet any agenda. Most tree failures occur during extreme weather events, and it is rational to compare numbers to other statistics for perspective. In fact the national average of lighting strike related fatalities are 20 events per year and extrapolated over 12 years about 240 deaths nationally. Odds are about the same statistically speaking, of being killed by a tree breaking or struck by lighting.
Arboriculture as it relates to the care and management of trees, which includes assessments, is as much of a science as it is an art form. Tree Risk Assessments have some significant shortcomings and opportunities exist for errors. This is pointed out fairly clearly by my colleague Beowolf Brower’s review of the City’s arborist risk assessment report so I won’t go into much detail about it other than in substance its very accurate. However, I would like to make a few additional points. Unfortunately cultural, social, and environmental significance are elective within our scope of work when assessing trees as our role is specific to the state of the tree itself. Other methods such as Tree Appraisal to aid in determining monetary damages can touch down on this further. This tree meets all of the criteria as it is the only registered Historic Tree within the City of Tumwater. The report itself suggests infighting between the expert subcontractor who provided the sonic tomography. The city arborist hired a third-party consulting firm for an advanced assessment on only one portion of the lower trunk of the tree. We have other tools within the tool box for assessment, such as Static Pull Testing, Root Inspections, and Ground Penetrating
Radar. Tree Solutions’s recommendation was to mitigate the tree with some fairly drastic pruning. Yet this was overridden by the city’s arborist who has consistently and stubbornly maintained their recommendation for removal.
As a working professional in the industry, while it is our place to offer recommendations, it ultimately is not our decision but the tree manager’s. Unless the situation is dire and imminent we are trained to offer a series of mitigation options and residual risk ratings for each option. An arbitrary example is a tree classified as high risk that could have a mitigation of installing a cabling system would be reduced to a low risk as long as that cabling system is regularly inspected and maintained.
This is my plea for a rational decision for accommodations to be made for retaining the historic and important Davis Meeker Oak.
Respectfully,
Jesse Brighten
ISA Certified Arborist PN-7585A
ISA Tree Risk Qualified
ISA Member, PNW-ISA Member
The city arborist's report "is an embarrassment to any knowledgeable arborist."
--Scott Baker (one of the fathers of modern-day tree risk assessments), in an email to the city.