SAVE THE DAVIS-MEEKER GARRY OAK
Background
"The tree has become more than just a tree. It has become a symbol for justice and transparency. The tree has brought the community together." Marianne Tompkins
History of the Cowlitz Trail at the base of the tree
At the base of the Davis Meeker oak is Capitol Boulevard/Old Highway 99. If you follow Old Highway 99 southeast from the tree, it follows the path of the Cowlitz Trail. The tree sat on a bend in the trail that is not reflected in the present-day route of Capitol Boulevard. Follow Bonniewood Drive SE if you want to follow the path of the Cowlitz Trail northward.
The Cowlitz trail was a north-south trail used for thousands of years by Native Americans and then became a spur of the Oregon Trail. The trail is to be distinguished from the Cowlitz to Yakima Trail, which is an east-west trail intersecting with it and running across the mountains to Yakima. The Cowlitz to Yakima Trail is often called the Cowlitz Trail, which can be confusing. See here for more information on the north-south trail that was at the base of the Meeker oak.
Saving the Davis Meeker Oak, the First Time Around
This is not the first time the Davis Meeker oak has been at risk of being cut down for the sake of road improvements. In 1984, the county, rather than Tumwater, was in charge of the road. The road department wanted to make safety improvements to Old Highway 99 and asked the county commissioners for permission to cut down the tree.
Jack Davis was an eminent leader of environmental issues in the area. He was soft spoken and well-respected. He and others provided public testimony to the county commissioners. The commissioners included Karen Fraser, who later became Senator Fraser. She recently recalled how it came about: "So those of us who live there, we saw that if you cut the tree down, it changes the whole landscape. So we directed the road department to save the tree and do what they could and to put up a safety barrier. It passed unanimously. It wasn't a big controversy. It was a concern. And Jack Davis had a lot of credibility and everyone respected his perspective."
There are few remaining historical landmarks in the Tumwater area. The Davis Meeker oak is one. See here for more of this history by local historian Don Trosper. Below are the minutes of the commissioners meeting when the tree was saved in 1984.
Photo credit: Don Trosper
Garry Oaks Are a Vanishing Legacy
Garry oak (Quercus garryana, also called Oregon white oak) in Tumwater city proper number around 14. Garry oak communities are now one of North America's most imperiled vegetation types, and Garry oak ecosystems have been identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a habitat that is critically imperiled and at risk of extinction. As much as 99% of the native prairie oak ecosystem has been lost due to development, economic activity, the growth of invasive species such as ivy, and constantly advancing conifer trees.
At least there are a few other Garry oaks around the Davis Meeker oak. The main reason that the Davis Meeker oak is still putting out copious numbers of acorns is likely because it's near other Garry oaks. Garry oaks are wind pollinated and they can't pollinate themselves.
Regretfully, since 2010, three or four large Garry oaks were cut down on the Port-owned property that forms the triangle-shaped intersection of Bonniewood Drive and Old Highway 99. See photo below. They were right across Old Highway 99 from the Davis Meeker oak and were probably progeny of that tree.
To halt the loss of any more Garry oaks from this remnant prairie oak habitat, we are requesting that the city of Tumwater approve a survey of all nearby public and private lands for Garry oaks to learn how many of them actually remain, especially now that Garry oaks have gained a modicum of protection under Washington state law. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's State Wildlife Action Plan identifies the Garry oak ecosystem as an ecosystem of concern and a Habitat of Greatest Conservation Need for its value to a disproportionately high number of Washington's Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The agency has put out a best management practices guide for managing Garry oak.
Individual Garry oak trees can be considered a priority habitat if they provide considerable value to wildlife.
Many of the Garry oak ecosystems we see today are of Native American origin. Since time immemorial, Native Americans tended Garry oak ecosystems and encouraged their growth. Because Garry oak is often an indicator of culturally important sites in western Washington, the loss of these communities could also mean a loss of artifacts, historical evidence, as well as an appreciation or understanding of the practices of Native people.
Garry oak is native to the Pacific Coast of North America. They can grow to be quite large, with mushroom-shaped canopies of green leaves and sturdy trunks wrapped in bark that is white to grayish in color and distinctly furrowed. You will find them growing from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to Southern California. Garry oak is the only native oak in Washington and British Columbia and the principle native oak of Oregon. Garry oak ecosystems provide an incredibly rich habitat for wildlife.
Photo credit: Nancy Partlow
The Bush Family Farm
Below is an overlay map of the 1854 survey and aerial map. The red dot is the Davis Meeker oak. To its right is the Cowlitz Trail. Then to its right is part of the George and Isabella Bush family's farmland, denoted by a scalloped border.
Map created by Karen Johnson of the Tumwater Historical Association
1911 Postcard: Largest Oak Tree in WA (near Tacoma)
How Norway Saves Its Ancient Oaks
How to
save an oak
Kestrel Nesting Behavior
Kestrels often reuse the same nest site every year, and their offspring can continue to use that same nest site down through the generations. Also, kestrels will use their nesting cavities as roosting sites outside of the breeding season.
"American Kestrels are secondary cavity nesters that nest in existing natural and man-made cavities. The species prefers nest sites that are surrounded by suitable hunting grounds and that have unobstructed entrances. In some areas, the lack of available nest cavities limits the number of breeding pairs...
"The male often 'flutter-glides' and calls as he approaches the nest site when delivering prey. When he does, the female flies out of the nest cavity and “flutter-glides” with him. [See the video above of the white kestrel and her mate exhibiting this exact behavior, and turn your audio up loud to hear the male call to the female and to hear her respond to him right before she exits the cavity to flutter-glide with him].
"Pairs reuse nest sites particularly if they have successfully raised a brood there previously. Kestrels typically are monogamous and some pairs remain together across years. In sedentary populations, kestrels often remain at the nest site for the entire year.
"Young kestrels depend on their parents for food for two to three weeks after they fledge. During this time, the young sometimes return to the nest cavity to roost...
"Although kestrels are well-adapted to human-dominated environments, measures that decrease the amount of foraging habitat and the number of nest sites, such as changes in farming practices, loss of agricultural areas, and increased suburbanization and urbanization negatively impact them. American Kestrels suffer from competition with other species for nest sites as well." See https://www.hawkmountain.org/raptors/american-kestrel....