HomeMy WebLinkAbout120522 FW_ Save The Trees! Now and Forever!
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From: Robert Wolf Sudol
Sent: Monday, December 5, 2022 4:00:10 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
To: jeffbocc; Kate Dean; Greg Brotherton; Heidi Eisenhour; Carolyn Gallaway; Adiel F. McKnight; Julie Shannon
Cc: Robert Wolf Sudol; Steve Grace; steve@tidesandtrails.org; Diane Holmes; Diane Jones; Diane Jones; Angela Brantley
Subject: Save The Trees! Now and Forever!
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ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
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Save The Trees! Now and Forever!
Dear Commissioners:
This Letter is in direct response to the recently held Wednesday, November 30th, 2022; 4:30 p.m. Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Meeting at Jefferson County Library (620 Cedar
Street, Port Hadlock).
As a concerned resident of Port Townsend, here is my take on this forest preservation initiative, which has clearly become a powerfully polarizing issue for debate.
The bottom line is that I don't want anything to be cut down. Quite the exact opposite, I want to see it all saved. And I especially want to see the Quimper Lost Wilderness and a generous
surrounding buffer of forest preserved in perpetuity for all future generations to come. This is what I petitioned for at the Meeting. Others present also spoke from the heart at
saving these natural treasures.
Mr. Steve Grace is right. There are incredible pressures from the timber industry to cut it all down. I hope that common sense and a love for Nature's beauty prevail. In any event,
DNR, I do believe, has the final say in the matter. And, as in any marketplace, the Seller is in complete control of the transaction, and is under no obligation to transact any business
if their terms are not fully met. The way I see it, the bottom line is that DNR has the ultimate privilege of telling the timber industry people to go take a hike and jump off a cliff,
if they at DNR deem that the Quimper Lost Wilderness and the surrounding forest should be protected and remain untouched. Those timber lobbyists are fanatics anyway, and will gladly
forever destroy all that is irreplaceable just to get a few dollars more.
And there are those vested parties who are in league with the timbermen, such as the fire departments which are funded by the revenue generated by tree-cutting. I always envisioned
fire-fighters as saviors of the forests, but never as its destroyers! For my money, I'd vote for saving the trees and paying a little more in tax dollars if that turned out to be the
ultimatum we were faced with. It would be the right thing to do and the smart way to go. A lion's share of the arguments for tree-cutting revolve around funding the school districts
and easing the financial burden of poor young families throughout the County. "People! People! It's for the People!" these advocates of tree-cutting scream. But in my way of thinking
obtaining such funding through the desecration of the land would be tantamount to securing blood money, and would taint our region till kingdom come. There are other avenues (more
intelligent and sustainable ones) available for funding such services (however crucial they may actually be) without resorting to raping the land.
This is one Hell of a controversial issue. This is a topic that brings out the best and the worst of us all. I see what is happening here, and there is nothing mysterious or ambiguous
about it. People, families, and public institutions have been living and operating on the Olympic Peninsula for many generations, and have developed a way of life that they are used
to. Now waves of newcomers are flooding in, individuals with a more cosmopolitan perspective who do not share the same outlook on life and nature as the long-time residents have.
People with a completely different system of values who do not have the past history of these original residents.
The time was when the Olympic Peninsula and its Quimper arm as well were overflowing with forests so dense that when a tree was chopped down it could not fall to the ground because of
the legions of trees surrounding and supporting it. But that is now a time that is gone. That is the Past, and we all find ourselves now living in the Present. We can no longer afford
to apply the reasoning of those ancestors who belonged to another era. Gone forever are the days when wood was free for the taking, and all you needed was an axe and the muscle to
swing it.
The limitations of a finite arboreal wilderness demand that it be treasured and preserved in perpetuity as our descendants’ birthright. This new ruleset must be applied without reservation
to individuals and institutions alike, because the formula they are accustomed to for so many long decades no longer works. Turning our precious woodlands into revenue streams to fund
our schools, fire departments, roads, and public utilities is no longer acceptable. Alternate funding sources must be identified, secured, and developed immediately. Leave those trees
alone!
Just think - the predominant reason many if not even most of us live here and not somewhere else is because of the trees and the natural wonders of the Olympic Peninsula. Take them
away and what do you have? A denuded landscape not all that different from how Savanna, Georgia looked after General Sherman's March during his Civil War scorched earth campaign.
And, if you view the matter from a 100 foot view, and see our cause purely in dollars and cents terms (which is how the timber people and their open-hands followers and supporters are
fond of seeing things), the choice is clear. Cutting the trees would devalue our property values and cause our homeland to cease being seen as a Pacific Northwest wilderness destination,
thereby resulting in the loss of significant tourism dollars.
We are living in a truly unique and rarefied environment, brimming over with Nature's splendor. Cutting down the trees would end all that and make us just like everywhere else. Who
wants to live in a sterile, nondescript, barren place lacking any charm and distinguishing character? We live in the land of mighty evergreens and snow-capped mountains and grizzlies
and orcas. Let's keep it that way, I say.
Moreover, let's avoid contributing to Climate Change. Cutting down these trees will work toward reducing our oxygen supply and making our World a less hospitable place to live in, beginning
right here in our own backyard. So let’s save the trees and survive.
“Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
And put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to seem 'em”
That song (Big Yellow Taxi) by the musical artist Joni Mitchell seems to resonate loud and clear in our situation. (Just as does the powerfully dark dystopian sci-fi film Silent Running,
starring Bruce Dern, whose central plot revolves around preserving the last forests of Planet Earth.) And the fact is that most of us view the profit-crazed tree-cutters pillaging
the Amazonian Rainforests as the dastardly villains that they are; therefore, let us not be the monsters who pillage these Olympic Rainforests!
I pray that those amongst us with clarity of vision and soundness of mind will prevail. And that you, our Councilmembers, will faithfully represent your constituencies in this War of
Ideologies. (And let there be no mistake about it - this is War.) The lion’s share of those voters under your care and protection are for the Forests and love the living trees. Otherwise,
we would not all be living here amongst them!
Too many present at the Meeting failed to appreciate the rare beauty and majesty that are our irreplaceable forests. (The key word here is “irreplaceable”. This is our very most core
concept.) They were too preoccupied with finding ways to greedily fill their coffers by way of committing atrocities of the most extreme magnitude against our region’s natural treasures
through brazenly violating our sacred trust with Mother Earth. For instance, what will our County be like when all the woodlands are dead and gone? And where will all the wildlife
go if we destroy their natural habitats - their homes?
It has taken thousands of years for these woodlands to evolve. Yet there are those amongst us with such short-sightedness that they would destroy it all within an instant for a quick
profit, heedless of the irreparable damage their reckless actions against Nature would cause to the delicate and intertwined ecosystems whose very existence is now at stake, hanging
on in a precarious and uncertain balance.
It sickens and disgusts me to see how tunnel-visioned these timber industry people are, and how they would forever desecrate our woodland sanctuaries for short-term gain. Therefore,
we must react in like force and stop their toxic advances in their tracks.
I understand that for many of these timber people this is all they have ever known, and that it may very well be what has served as the livelihood of several generations within their
family’s heritage. But our Modern World dictates that now is the time for these people to seek out new professions. We can ill-afford to preserve their traditional way of life at
the expense of our conservation stewardship of our beloved trees.
I’ve observed first-hand that while lumber-designated areas decrease in number the timber industry has been thrown into a state of frenzied panic, as they see their days numbered. They
would take down the whole environment with them in their death-throes. So their spokespeople have become the outspoken minority. I sense that there are far, far more amongst us, the
still-sleeping silent majority, who would save the forests and preserve the core essence of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula than the few radicals who would be quick to exploit these
glorious natural treasures, only to use them up expediently as free resources for the taking. Their reactions are utterly out of proportion to the true realities.
Standing firm and holding fast the line against the would-be tree-cutters is the only sensible course of action. If we don’t say “NO” NOW to the timber industry’s thunderous pressure
our homes’ values will be sliced in two as the beauty of our land is irretrievably lost to the shrill screams of the chainsaw and scarred by the nasty bitter bite of the lumberjack’s
wicked axe.
I’ve said enough. Now it is your turn as elected stewards of this land to realize a vision of hope and wonder, and give voice to Law that will preserve and protect this magickal land
for time immemorial. Here’s your chance to do something epic. Something timeless and wonderful. Save The Trees!
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Robert Wolf Sudol
Port Townsend, Washington Resident
E-mail: rwsudol@gmail.com <mailto:rwsudol@gmail.com>
ontrol of the transaction, and is under no obligation to transact any business if their terms are not fully met. The way I see it, the bottom line is that DNR has the ultimate privilege
of telling the timber industry people to go take a hike and jump off a cliff, if they at DNR deem that the Quimper Lost Wilderness and the surrounding forest should be protected and
remain untouched. Those timber lobbyists are fanatics anyway, and will gladly forever destroy all that is irreplaceable just to get a few dollars more.
And there are those vested parties who are in league with the timbermen, such as the fire departments which are funded by the revenue generated by tree-cutting. I always envisioned
fire-fighters as saviors of the forests, but never as its destroyers! For my money, I'd vote for saving the trees and paying a little more in tax dollars if that turned out to be the
ultimatum we were faced with. It would be the right thing to do and the smart way to go. A lion's share of the arguments for tree-cutting revolve around funding the school districts
and easing the financial burden of poor young families throughout the County. "People! People! It's for the People!" these advocates of tree-cutting scream. But in my way of thinking
obtaining such funding through the desecration of the land would be tantamount to securing blood money, and would taint our region till kingdom come. There are other avenues (more
intelligent and sustainable ones) available for funding such services (however crucial they may actually be) without resorting to raping the land.
This is one Hell of a controversial issue. This is a topic that brings out the best and the worst of us all. I see what is happening here, and there is nothing mysterious or ambiguous
about it. People, families, and public institutions have been living and operating on the Olympic Peninsula for many generations, and have developed a way of life that they are used
to. Now waves of newcomers are flooding in, individuals with a more cosmopolitan perspective who do not share the same outlook on life and nature as the long-time residents have.
People with a completely different system of values who do not have the past history of these original residents.
The time was when the Olympic Peninsula and its Quimper arm as well were overflowing with forests so dense that when a tree was chopped down it could not fall to the ground because of
the legions of trees surrounding and supporting it. But that is now a time that is gone. That is the Past, and we all find ourselves now living in the Present. We can no longer afford
to apply the reasoning of those ancestors who belonged to another era. Gone forever are the days when wood was free for the taking, and all you needed was an axe and the muscle to
swing it.
The limitations of a finite arboreal wilderness demand that it be treasured and preserved in perpetuity as our descendants’ birthright. This new ruleset must be applied without reservation
to individuals and institutions alike, because the formula they are accustomed to for so many long decades no longer works. Turning our precious woodlands into revenue streams to fund
our schools, fire departments, roads, and public utilities is no longer acceptable. Alternate funding sources must be identified, secured, and developed immediately. Leave those trees
alone!
Just think - the predominant reason many if not even most of us live here and not somewhere else is because of the trees and the natural wonders of the Olympic Peninsula. Take them
away and what do you have? A denuded landscape not all that different from how Savanna, Georgia looked after General Sherman's March during his Civil War scorched earth campaign.
And, if you view the matter from a 100 foot view, and see our cause purely in dollars and cents terms (which is how the timber people and their open-hands followers and supporters are
fond of seeing things), the choice is clear. Cutting the trees would devalue our property values and cause our homeland to cease being seen as a Pacific Northwest wilderness destination,
thereby resulting in the loss of significant tourism dollars.
We are living in a truly unique and rarefied environment, brimming over with Nature's splendor. Cutting down the trees would end all that and make us just like everywhere else. Who
wants to live in a sterile, nondescript, barren place lacking any charm and distinguishing character? We live in the land of mighty evergreens and snow-capped mountains and grizzlies
and orcas. Let's keep it that way, I say.
Moreover, let's avoid contributing to Climate Change. Cutting down these trees will work toward reducing our oxygen supply and making our World a less hospitable place to live in, beginning
right here in our own backyard. So let’s save the trees and survive.
“Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
And put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to seem 'em”
That song (Big Yellow Taxi) by the musical artist Joni Mitchell seems to resonate loud and clear in our situation. (Just as does the powerfully dark dystopian sci-fi film Silent Running,
starring Bruce Dern, whose central plot revolves around preserving the last forests of Planet Earth.) And the fact is that most of us view the profit-crazed tree-cutters pillaging
the Amazonian Rainforests as the dastardly villains that they are; therefore, let us not be the monsters who pillage these Olympic Rainforests!
I pray that those amongst us with clarity of vision and soundness of mind will prevail. And that you, our Councilmembers, will faithfully represent your constituencies in this War of
Ideologies. (And let there be no mistake about it - this is War.) The lion’s share of those voters under your care and protection are for the Forests and love the living trees. Otherwise,
we would not all be living here amongst them!
Too many present at the Meeting failed to appreciate the rare beauty and majesty that are our irreplaceable forests. (The key word here is “irreplaceable”. This is our very most core
concept.) They were too preoccupied with finding ways to greedily fill their coffers by way of committing atrocities of the most extreme magnitude against our region’s natural treasures
through brazenly violating our sacred trust with Mother Earth. For instance, what will our County be like when all the woodlands are dead and gone? And where will all the wildlife
go if we destroy their natural habitats - their homes?
It has taken thousands of years for these woodlands to evolve. Yet there are those amongst us with such short-sightedness that they would destroy it all within an instant for a quick
profit, heedless of the irreparable damage their reckless actions against Nature would cause to the delicate and intertwined ecosystems whose very existence is now at stake, hanging
on in a precarious and uncertain balance.
It sickens and disgusts me to see how tunnel-visioned these timber industry people are, and how they would forever desecrate our woodland sanctuaries for short-term gain. Therefore,
we must react in like force and stop their toxic advances in their tracks.
I understand that for many of these timber people this is all they have ever known, and that it may very well be what has served as the livelihood of several generations within their
family’s heritage. But our Modern World dictates that now is the time for these people to seek out new professions. We can ill-afford to preserve their traditional way of life at
the expense of our conservation stewardship of our beloved trees.
I’ve observed first-hand that while lumber-designated areas decrease in number the timber industry has been thrown into a state of frenzied panic, as they see their days numbered. They
would take down the whole environment with them in their death-throes. So their spokespeople have become the outspoken minority. I sense that there are far, far more amongst us, the
still-sleeping silent majority, who would save the forests and preserve the core essence of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula than the few radicals who would be quick to exploit these
glorious natural treasures, only to use them up expediently as free resources for the taking. Their reactions are utterly out of proportion to the true realities.
Standing firm and holding fast the line against the would-be tree-cutters is the only sensible course of action. If we don’t say “NO” NOW to the timber industry’s thunderous pressure
our homes’ values will be sliced in two as the beauty of our land is irretrievably lost to the shrill screams of the chainsaw and scarred by the nasty bitter bite of the lumberjack’s
wicked axe.
I’ve said enough. Now it is your turn as elected stewards of this land to realize a vision of hope and wonder, and give voice to Law that will preserve and protect this magickal land
for time immemorial. Here’s your chance to do something epic. Something timeless and wonderful. Save The Trees!
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Robert Wolf Sudol
Port Townsend, Washington Resident
E-mail: rwsudol@gmail.com <mailto:rwsudol@gmail.com>