www.saveshorelinetrees.com

TREES ALONG N 160TH WILL BE CUT DOWN

1st ANNUAL
SAVE SHORELINE TREES FUNDRAISER - SEPTEMBER 16

TREE OF THE MONTH

Sequoiadendron giganteum found near the center of Shoreline Community College.

by Melody Fosmore, Save Shoreline Trees Co-Chair

We might equate the Giant Sequoia tree with the Giant Sequoia in California, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains, but do you know these incredible trees can also be found in Washington State? Right here in Shoreline you can find several wonderful examples of these beautiful trees at Shoreline Community College campus. Their elegant trunks and cinnamon-red bark draw you close to experience the symmetry and beauty of their limbs and unique presence. These trees are a personal favorite because everything about them speaks of an intense desire to live, and, in fact, the Sequoiadendron giganteum is one of the longest living organisms on earth. They can be traced to the Triassic Period 200 million years ago when dinosaurs first appeared. It is said these trees are our present-day living dinosaurs with lifespans up to 3,000 years.

Click here for the complete article and more photos

EPIPHYTES by Stuart Niven

I am often invited to look at trees with “green moldy-looking stuff” growing on them and asked, “is it bad for my tree?” 99% of the time the mystery substance is moss, lichen or a combination of the two. These organisms are known as “epiphytes” and are completely harmless to trees.

An epiphyte grows on the surface of a tree and is sustained by the moisture and nutrients that it can access in the surrounding air, including from rain and from other woody debris that accumulates around it. In our temperate rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula, the trees are all adorned with large collections of epiphytes that are hundreds of years old and add amazing variations of hues of green to the forest given the size, age and numbers of species present, mainly because the air quality is so good with higher humidity and relatively low levels of pollution (see photo #1, taken in the Quinault Rain Forest).

Locally, epiphytic growth is in many of our trees, young and old and can provide an indication of our own air quality locally, as well as the general habitat value of our trees (see photo # 2, a crab apple in NE Seattle). Trees covered in epiphytes can provide perfect growing conditions for other plants including ferns and fungi, as well as sources of food and water for birds and insects. Lichen and mosses also provide perfect nesting material for birds, including hummingbirds (see photo #3, Anna’s hummingbird nesting in my magnolia last Spring). So, whenever you next look at trees, search for these amazing epiphytic organisms and do not worry about them but instead, revel in their wonderous existence and imagine the hidden life they sustain!

Stuart Niven, a transplant from Scotland, is a climbing and consulting arborist living in NE Seattle and owns PanorArbor, LLC, an environmentally conscious tree care company.

CONTROVERSY ABOUT NEW SIDEWALK WIDTHS

As part of the New Sidewalk Program, ten (10) new sidewalk programs will be constructed after the 5th Ave NE installation. According to City design plans, now at 60% for 5th Ave NE, 6-foot-wide sidewalks will be constructed along 5th Ave NE between N 175th and N 182 Ct. which will necessitate the removal of 23 significant trees. The New Sidewalk Program was approved by 52% of the voters in 2018 and is funded by a .02% increase in the Sales & Use Tax. This increase was initiated in 2019. Save Shoreline Trees supports new sidewalks but questions 6’ wide sidewalks in Single Family Residential. 

In 2018, Shoreline voters who approved the new sidewalks were not told that implementation of the program would require removal of existing trees because of the width of the new sidewalks. According to 2021 regulations, sidewalks in Single Family Residential (SFR) must be 6-feet-wide. At the City Council meeting on August 2, concern was expressed regarding this new standard for sidewalk width in SFR.  (See the “Letter to the Editor” published in Shoreline Area News on August 3, 2021.)  

The City's Comprehensive Plan which guides the regulations of the City, specifically Community Design CD37, states “Minimize the removal of existing vegetation, especially mature trees, when improving streets or developing property...”  Also, the City's Transportation Master Plan (TMP) encourages flexibility in design plans to save mature trees.  Whoever established City of Shoreline goals believed in and recognized the value of our trees.

TREES AND HOUSING CAN CO-EXIST

by Claudia Turner. 
Shoreline Area News, July 27, 2021.

Both Forest Villa and Ballinger Commons are excellent examples of what we now call ‘environmentally conscious planning’. Not only are these treed complexes pleasing but retained trees provide cooling shade and wildlife habitat, cleansing the air of carbon and preventing soil erosion. The City of Shoreline’s tree protection codes should be revised to preserve our mature trees while fulfilling multi-family housing goals.

Claudia Turner is a member of the Tree Preservation Code Team.

AURORA AVE N AT 198TH ST - TREES AT RISK

The City of Shoreline, King County and Catholic Housing Services are in partnership to build an affordable housing project on three land parcels at 19806 Aurora Ave N, 19804 Aurora Ave N and 1116 N 198th St. A 100-unit apartment complex will be constructed on these land parcels owned by the City of Shoreline. There are a total of 14 significant trees located on these parcels. The combined properties have two zoning codes, MB (mixed business) and R-48. The MB zoning means that potentially nine (9) mature trees will be removed without penalty or tree replacement per City Code. However, the R-48 zoned parcel property where there are five trees requires tree retention. According to City Code, the developer must retain 20% of the trees. The developer may decide to remove three (3) of the (5) mature tall trees, leaving two (2) trees, a Pacific Madrone (36” DBH) and a Western Red Cedar (26” DBH) both in good condition. If this is determined to be a critical area due to the slope on the property, then tree retention will be greater.

Four groups (1) Friends of Echo Lake, (2) Echo Lake Waterfront Condominium Homeowners Association, (3) Echo Lake residents, and (4) Save Shoreline Trees are trying to prevent the potential loss of these tall conifers and native trees by submitting written comments pursuant to the published 7/29/21 Notice of of Permit Application including Optional SEPA DNS Process for this project. To read applicant's filed responses to the SEPA checklist, go to SEPA Checklist. Public comments are due by August 12, 2021 by 5:00pm and can be emailed to the City project manager, Elise Keim. For more information about this project, email Shoreline residents Ann Michel of Friends of Echo Lake or Martha Diesner of the ELWC HOA.

TREE FACTS

We are always looking for interesting facts about trees to share with readers. The two items below appear on the website of Precision Landscape and Tree in Little Canada, MN. If you have an interesting tree fact to share, email saveshorelinetrees@gmail.com and include the source.

Trees cleanse the air we breathe by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Just how effective are trees in carbon storage and oxygen generation?

• One acre of trees removes 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. It takes ten years for a newly planted tree to reach its most productive stage of carbon storage.

• The amount of oxygen produced by one acre of trees equals the amount consumed by eighteen people annually. One tree alone produces 260 pounds of oxygen each year. (Courtesy: Woodland Tree Service, LLC.)

Speaking of trees and their ability to sequester carbon dioxide, you may have read an interview with Jerry Forest Franklin, PhD, in The Seattle Times’s Pacific NW Magazine (Sunday, July 18, 2021). Dr. Franklin, professor emeritus of forest ecosystems in the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, was interviewed by Environment Reporter Lynda V. Mapes who said that Franklin “was among the first to discover the unique ecological value of old-growth trees and forest ecosystems.”

Mapes noted that “while young trees grow faster, the sheer size of old trees means they sock away more carbon than a smaller tree as they continue to grow. Douglas fir is just hitting its stride at 40 and 50 years old - right at the time when industrial forest lands are typically logged." You can access the article at the link below.

(Lynda Mapes will be the featured speaker at Save Shoreline Trees First Annual Fundraiser on Sept 16)

For more information:
https://www.woodlandtree.com

seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/reign-of-elders-washingtons-old-growth-forests-and-the-eminent-scientist-now-84-who-vowed-as-a-boy-to-protect-them/

BRIEFS

• Save the Date! League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County and Save Shoreline Trees are co-sponsoring a City of Shoreline candidate forum on Tuesday, Oct. 5 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This will be a live Zoom format and will focus on environmental issues. More information to be published in our September newsletter.

• Join Save Shoreline Trees email group by signing up on the Save Shoreline Trees website or send an email to saveshorelinetrees@gmail.com

• ISO: Experienced Zoom Tech/Coordinator for an evening event; paid position. Email saveshorelinetrees@gmail.com

Save Shoreline Trees appreciates your donations to spread the word about tree protection and preservation to Shoreline residents. We are a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax deductible as allowed by the IRS. Donate by credit or debit card or mail your check to Save Shoreline Trees, c/o 16069 Dayton Ave N, Shoreline WA 98133.

Contributors to this newsletter: 
Melody Fosmore, Kathleen Russell, Susanne Tsoming,
Kathy Kaye, Claudia Turner and Stuart Niven. 
Questions or comments may be emailed to saveshorelinetrees@gmail.com.