Thanks for interesting discussion on conifer/deciduous trees from
a bunch of very nice people and the mention of the Capehart site
in Discovery Park. Whatever might have been the original intention
(native coniferous forest?) we are intent on installing a variety of native
wildlife habitat in the sunny, dry sandy soil.
And we are learning as we go along. So Red Alder, various Willow species
and Black Cottonwoods are all Nitrogen fixers. Red Cedar, Hemlock and
Cascara are all quite difficult to grow because of the dry conditions. But
a variety of forest conditions is very important for a variety of wildlife. And
moisture would be wonderful but we have so little of it.
Saturday October 1st really is the 50th Anniversary of Discovery Park
and the 10 th Anniversary of the Capehart experiment, so please stop by
and see us if you can. David Hutchinson
________________________________
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Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 12:06 PM
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Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 217, Issue 28
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Grieve or protest if you can muster the spirit, but don't
plant Conifers (Ed Newbold) (Michael Scuderi)
2. Still white pelicans deer lagoon (
davearm at uw.edu)
3. Bob Heirman Wildlife Park (Martha Jordan)
4. Upcoming presentation about Bob Heirman Wildlife Park
restoration efforts (Brian Zinke)
5. WOS Monthly Meeting, Oct. 3, 7:30 pm, Unexpected Population
Trends in Panamanian Rainforest Birds: Complex Webs (
meetings at wos.org)
6. Egrets in Longview (Margee Cooper)
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Message: 1
Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2022 19:45:39 +0000 (UTC)
From: Michael Scuderi <
cotinga777 at yahoo.com>
To: "
tweeters at u.washington.edu" <
tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Grieve or protest if you can muster the
spirit, but don't plant Conifers (Ed Newbold)
Message-ID: <
1079890608.2051813.1664394339980 at mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Connie,
First off, let me say that I am grateful for you efforts to protect the Fill.? Without your advocacy, there would be a less diverse area for us to enjoy,
Having said that, I have to agree with Ed about the conifers. When I worked in the restoration business, we often had this debate about conifers or deciduous trees. On big rivers you wanted to see more conifers because they added large woody debris to water courses where it was severely lacking. However, in more riparian areas, cottonwood, willow and alder usually dominate and if you look at Government Land Office records from the md-1800s you will see a number of references to deciduous trees in riparian?areas (Puget Sound River History Project.?
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So replanting a mix of conifers and deciduous would be what I would recommend. Cottonwood is a great go to tree but park people hate them because they drop limbs unexpectedly.? So Big leaf maple would be a good choice if the ground is not too wet. Willows?are another good tree, but again?park managers typically?don't like them because they create a dense understory?which hides views of illicit activity.? Red Alder might work instead with an understory of snowberry..? For conifers,. Sitka spruce is a great choice if the soil conditions allow it (wet)..? If you plan on planting Western red cedar, that needs to be done after an overstory is created since young cedar do not do well in full sun (typically?greater than 50% mortality)..
That's my unsolicited two cents.? But in the end, no matter what is done, any trees being planted will be better than nothing being done.? Working?on parklike areas is tricky. You might want to contact the city?of Montlake Terrace to see what they are doing in a similar situation at Lake Ballinger Park.?
Let us know how we can continue?to help you in advocating for restoration on Union Bay.
Sincerely,
Mike?Scuderi
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2022 15:20:56 +0000 (UTC)
From: Ed Newbold <
ednewbold1 at yahoo.com>
To: Tweeters Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Tweeters] Grieve or protest if you can muster the spirit,
??? but don't plant Conifers
Message-ID: <
3179033.1446309.1664378456578 at mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Dear Connie and Tweeters,
Thanks Connie for the early warning of this unfortunate decision to remove Cottonwoods from Union Bay.
Connie Sidles you are a great hero and I have witnessed the effects of your dynamic leadership of course around Union Bay but also at Cheasty Greenbelt where there is now a birder-presence on an organized monthly basis. Thank you Connie!
As for the grove, this is terribly sad--yet another injury to the Natural World that has taken so many. It turns upside down the trope of kids loving Nature and protecting it from the old folks--Although I doubt the kids have been polled as to whether they really want this.
But I have one quibble. I think the restoration movement has gone berserk over-planting conifers and seemingly attempting to turn natural areas into monocultures resembling a Weyerhaeuser tree farm. You can see this in Three Forks, Chinook Bend, all over the place and even dare I say Capehart. I believe that all the Native NW deciduous trees including, Ash, Alder, Maple and Cottonwood and Birch as well as non-deciduous Madronas are more valuable for the wildlife that is most in the crosshairs, such as neotropical insectivorous birds, than are the Conifers.? I am not credentialed in the least in Botany, Wildlife Biology or Ecology, so take this as an opinion. However, although? I'm not sure it's fair to drag someone in here, I believe Doc (Dennis) Paulson has expressed this view or something similar and that may be where my conviction originated.
That said, thanks Connie for all you have done for the Montlake Fill, oops, I mean Union Bay and thanks for this latest heads-up.
Cheers,
Ed Newbold