Amid Tree Uproar Tumwater Mayor Cancels Meeting of City’s Tree Advisory Board

For Immediate Release June 12, 2024

Court and background documents at https://www.davis-meeker-oak.org/ Media

Resources

Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-old-oak-tree-by-the-olympia-airport-

in-tumwater-wa

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1207869877018181/

Hashtag: #tumwateroak #savethetree

Amid Tree Uproar Tumwater Mayor Cancels Meeting of City’s Tree Advisory Board

TUMWATER—In what has become the city’s most contentious issue over trees in

memory, Tumwater Mayor Debbie Sullivan canceled the June meeting of the very

committee concerned with municipal trees.

Since public discovery of the mayor’s plans to cut down the historic 400-year-old Davis

Meeker Garry Oak that is listed on the city’s historic register, citizens have been

petitioning the city to preserve and care for the tree.

“This is a subversion of the public process,” said Michelle Peterson, a lifelong

Tumwater-Olympia resident, of the cancellation. “Mayor Sullivan has demonstrated that

she has no interest in the will of the people.”

In an email dated May 28, 2024 and obtained by Save the Davis Meeker Garry Oak,

Tumwater city staffer Alyssa Jones Wood, at the direction of the mayor, informed the

board that “Neither the Chair nor I have anything for you all to discuss at our June

meeting. As such, the Tree Board meeting will be cancelled.”

May 28 was four days after a Thurston County Superior Court judge issued a restraining

order against the city, preventing them from cutting down the tree before the issue could

be decided in court.

Nearly a hundred citizens turned out in person and online to a city council meeting on

June 4 and 39 testified against Mayor Sullivan’s plan to kill the tree and the babies of

the migratory kestrels currently nesting there.

However, and in light of the unprecedented citizen turn out to comment on preserving

the tree, and despite many letters in support, the Tumwater Tree Board meeting was not

rescheduled. The mayor is actively working against citizen efforts to preserve the historic oak.

It is located on the old Cowlitz Trail, used for millennia by Indigenous People and later by

setters on what became a northern branch of the Oregon Trail. The tree was a landmark

for travelers. Garry oaks are Washington’s only native species of oak and Garry oak habitat is protected under state law. Mayor Sullivan overrode the Historic Preservation Commission’s refusal to remove the tree from the Tumwater Historic Register, claimed she had emergency authority to skip getting the required permit for taking down the tree, got bids for the removal

without opportunity for review or comment, and went to court to remove a temporary

restraining order sparing the tree obtained by Save the Davis Meeker Garry Oak

(SDMGO) citizens group.

SDMGO asks citizens to reach out directly to Tumwater city officials by emailing

council@ci.tumwater.wa.us

Amid Tree Uproar Tumwater Mayor Cancels Meeting of City's Tree Advisory Board

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Citizens Gather to Continue to Support the Historic Garry Oak in City of Tumwater

For Immediate Release June 9, 2024

Hashtag: #tumwateroak

Citizens Gather to Continue to Support the Historic Garry Oak in City of Tumwater

OLYMPIA— On Saturday, June 8, 2024 from 4pm to 7pm, more than 50 concerned citizens gathered at the Davis Meeker Garry Oak on Highway 99 in Tumwater, WA.

The event was a celebration of this week’s success, an opportunity to spread the word, and a chance to discuss steps toward permanent protection. People of all ages came out to admire the tree and share stories about its meaning to the community.

The Davis-Meeker Oak was granted a reprieve from a planned removal ordered by the Tumwater Mayor after an overwhelming number of citizens appealed to the city council on Tuesday evening. The action is on hold while a new assessment of the health of the tree is conducted. “We are here and the tree still stands,” said Wendy Eisler, a concerned Tumwater resident who came to show her support.

The gathering was quiet but positive, as people reviewed the emotional week. “It’s been really hard, but I think we are in a good place,” said Shani Duncan, a member of Save the Davis-Meeker Gary Oak (SDMGO) citizens group.

Several families with children attended the event. It was a beautiful day to admire the oak and wonder at how many generations of children have lingered under her branches.

Teri Graves, a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, shared stories of the meaning of the Davis-Meeker Oak to her people. And with her encouragement, red prayer flags were tied to the fence surrounding the tree. “The trees are our first teachers,” said Graves. “The Ancestors can see red.”

On Thursday day a pair of kestrels was confirmed to be nesting in the tree by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. These small raptors are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so no action can be taken that could disturb the tree until the fledglings leave the nest.

Spread the word! Join SDMGO and help save The Davis-Meeker Oak. Visit www.davis-meekeroak.org for more information, donate at gofund.me/ab467b73, and follow Save The Old Oak Tree, The Davis Meeker Garry Oak Tree in Tumwater WA on Facebook to find out about the next gathering and volunteer. Everyone is welcome in this community.

Penny and Nani Stewart from Rainier, WA Wendy Eisler, photographer

Savanna and Phoenix Stewart from Tenino Penny Stewart from Rainier (no relation) Wendy Eisler, photographer

(from right to left) Art and Barbara Wuerth from Tumwater Stewart Hartman from Lacey Chad Kramer from Tumwater Michelle Peterson’s two dogs Nani Stewart from Rainier Tom Oliva from Tumwater Marles Blackbird from Olympia Chris Kautsky, photographer

Not Today Colonizer. Respect Existence or Expect Resistance. Cowlitz Tribe members Teri Graves of Carbonado and Sahra Forespring of Tacoma stand in front of the Davis Meeker oak. June 8, 2024. Photo by Ronda Larson Kramer

Marles Blackbird of Olympia ties a red ribbon at the oak tree. The Davis Meeker oak is a headstone for the Native Americans buried there. According to some tribes, red is the only color the ancestors can see. June 8, 2024. Photo by Ronda Larson Kramer

Protect Living History. Marles Blackbird of Olympia holds a sign while Chad Kramer of Olympia (with dog Gus) and Stewart Hartman of Tumwater watch on, next to the Davis Meeker oak and the historic hangar. June 8, 2024. Photo by Ronda Larson Kramer

Rob Stewart and Phoenix Stewart of Tenino in front of the Davis Meeker oak June 8, 2024. Photo by Ronda Larson Kramer

Community Gathers in Support of Meeker Oak

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Court of Appeals Declines to Hear Davis Meeker Gary Oak Plea

For Immediate Release June 3, 2024

Court and background documents at https://www.davis-meeker-oak.org/ Media Resources

Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-old-oak-tree-by-the-olympia-airport-in-tumwater-wa

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1207869877018181/

Hashtag: #tumwateroak

Court of Appeals Declines to Hear Davis Meeker Gary Oak Plea

Olympia—An appeals court Monday declined to take up the issue of the imminent death of the historic Davis Meeker Garry Oak next to the Olympia airport.

The healthy 400-year-old oak lies on a trail used for millennia by Indigenous people and later also by settlers. It supports a variety of wildlife including the federally protected migratory kestrels currently nesting in it.

The citizens’ group Save the Davis Meeker Garry Oak on Friday sought emergency review by the Washington State Appeals Court (Div. II) after a lower-court judge dissolved a protective order the group obtained on May 24.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Egeler issued a ruling, also on Friday stating that the court was giving the citizens’ group "reasonable time" to do an "emergency motion on appeal". But there is no such thing as an “emergency motion” to start an appeal in

Washington state courts.

This procedure does not exist. It is unclear whether Judge Egeler was aware that such a procedure does not exist.

She was appointed to the bench in January 2023 after having practiced appellate law for many years at the Washington Attorney General’s Office. Because the procedure does not exist, the Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Monday summarily rejecting the citizens’ group’s request for emergency review.

With the ruling, the city can begin to cut the tree down on or after Wednesday, June 5 at 5:01 p.m. Tumwater Mayor Debbie Sullivan has vowed to do so.

“To actually have a reasonable time for an appeal, Judge Egeler would have had to give us months to do the appeal, not days,” said Ronda Larson Kramer, attorney for the group. “She gave us false hope.”

The group will be out in force Tuesday evening at the Tumwater City Council, asking the council to take action to override Mayor Sullivan’s determination to kill the tree and the ecosystem it supports.

The meeting will be held at the Tumwater City Hall on Tuesday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. 555 Israel Rd. SW, Tumwater, Wash. 98501

Go to http://www.zoom.us/join and enter the Webinar ID 867 2542 1395 and Passcode 325962.

“I don’t want to erase history,” said Michelle Peterson, a lifelong Olympia-Tumwater resident. “This tree is viable and the city has not been listening to its residents. It will be up to the council to act.”

The case against Mayor Sullivan rests on four points:

1. Mayor Sullivan gave the tribes only two weeks’ notice of her plan to cut the tree, though she received the flawed report she relied on seven months earlier in October of 2023. This violates requirements to offer early and appropriate consultation with tribes.

2. Because the oak is listed in the historic register, (Tumwater Municipal Code 2.62.060) a permit is required for removal. Mayor Sullivan claims that the code allows an exception to the permit requirement if an emergency exists. The code clearly states that the emergency exception only allows repairs, not destruction (TMC 2.62.030(K)). Cutting a tree down is not a repair.

3. There is a mating pair of kestrels in a cavity in the tree. The Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits interference until the chicks have fledged.

4. The city relied on an arborist’s report that was flawed, both as to the risk the tree posed and to the recommendation to cut it down. A subcontracted expert arborist who did an analysis of the oak’s trunk concluded that pruning, rather than removal, was the recommended action.

Attorney Larson Kramer said the group is considering its legal options.

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