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Unsteady trees at Naval Base to be cut
Towering trunks have fallen in past; safety concern cited
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More from Local NewsEucalyptus trees that form a towering canopy along Ventura and Pleasant Valley roads in Port Hueneme are targeted for removal by the Navy, the result of decay, disease and exposed roots.
Citing concerns over liability and possible security breaches, Naval Base Ventura County officials plan to remove 300 trees that sit on federal land just outside the base fence.
Several trees have already fallen, including three earlier this winter, but no one was hurt and no property was damaged, base spokeswoman Teri Reid said Wednesday. At least 20 more tress are leaning, she said.
Left unchecked, the trees could fall on a car or pedestrian or even knock down a section of the base fence. "The falling of the three trees this year alerted us to the potential of injury or serious security breaches," Reid said.
Beginning Sept. 17, the Navy will remove 151 trees between the Sunkist and Bard gate entrances on Ventura Road. Crews will remove the others as funding permits, Reid said.
The Navy will plant one California sycamore for every three eucalyptus trees, Reid said. The ratio takes into account that mature sycamores have a larger canopy spread.
Planting sycamores conforms to a federal mandate to grow native species on federal land, Reid said. Eucalyptus trees come from Australia.
Removal will take up to a month and involve closing at least two of six traffic lanes on Ventura Road — including one around the clock until the job is done. City officials do not foresee any traffic impacts.
News of the Navy's plan, however, has angered some residents who consider the dense tree-lined corridor a key part of the city's identity.
Audrey Albert urged the Navy to consider tearing out just the diseased trees. "You don't have to amputate your arm because your finger is sore," Albert said.
Reid said the Navy is following a removal plan recommended by a certified arborist.
City founder Thomas Bard planted some of the trees in the late 1800s, said Powell Greenland, an author and local historian. Stands of eucalyptus were intended to break the monotony of the Oxnard Plain. They also provided stable firewood supplies, windbreaks and protection for crops.
Bard's house, located on the base, is now an historical landmark, but that designation doesn't extend to the trees. "But for people who've lived here all their lives, it's something they really cherish," Greenland said.
Port Hueneme resident Beverly Kelley, a communications professor at California Lutheran University, doesn't dispute the Navy's rationale for removal. But in a column in The Star, Kelley offered that leaving healthy trees would counter the effects of global warming.
Reid countered that the Navy is planting more trees in place of the unhealthy ones.
Not everyone is sad to see the trees go. Councilman Jon Sharkey, Kelley's husband, said he's not a big eucalyptus fan. They shed bark, leaving thorns on bike paths that routinely leave cyclists with flat tires, Sharkey said.
Councilwoman Toni Young said the community should be grateful the Navy is replacing the decaying trees with healthy ones.
Expecting the Navy to seek community input would be like "me asking my neighbors if I can paint my house green," Young said. "I'm just sorry they ran out of money so they could have gotten the whole thing done at once."
Posted by AngryChihuahua on August 31, 2007 at 6:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So much for respecting Ventura County History.
Posted by desdave on August 31, 2007 at 6:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Trees, like people, grow old and die eventually. AngryC, what would you suggest...just like them die and fall down randomly whenever a strong wind blows? They aren't like an old house that can be rebuild and strengthened.
Posted by lrgvanman on August 31, 2007 at 6:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This county is changing it's past so rapidly that if you left and came back a year later, you might not know where you are. I almost got lost in one of the new neighborhoods. There are quite a few items recently lost here and we that have been here for most of our lives are stuck with mere memories. That is progress, they say. desdave is right
though, sad, but he is right. I keep waiting to take pictures but forget then it's too late. Welcome to the new Ventura County as it sprawls and reconstructs...
Posted by CarpCoyote on August 31, 2007 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
From the Nature Con to Caltrans, there is an effort to remove eucalyptus in California. The reasons cited are the same old nonsense: they are non-native, they are a safety hazard, they burn, etc. Thanks to Clinton and Gore, it is a mandate to plant "native" species on federal land. This is simply an excuse to rid the landscape of trees they don't like..and for spurious reasons. Of course, trees have a lifespan and get diseased. However, if 3 out of 300 are bad, you don't kill the whole grove! STUPID! The majestic eucs are home or motel to many species from hawks to butterflies..cutting them down out of fear and ignorance (bionativism) is unconscionable!
Posted by justdboy on August 31, 2007 at 9:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank goodness they are not going to plant Palm trees!!!!
I have thought of starting an initative to make it illegal to plant any new palm trees and give some sort of incentive to remove any and all palm trees.
I'll let you figure out how I feel about palm trees.
Posted by CarpCoyote on August 31, 2007 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
mail
The evidence is everywhere! From the Channel Islands to the road sides-mindless poisoning and killing of plants and animals to get rid of “aliens, invaders and exotics” that cause “ecological mayhem”.
Talk about superstitious groupthink! Another plant on their hit list is fennel.
The good thing is no matter how hard they try to get rid of it, it keeps growing back..sometimes stronger. I happen to value roadside plants as do bees, ladybugs, and birds. That’s a much better indicator than some “biologist” telling me to fear the fennel!
The real threat is the reactionary movement toward biological nativism, rooted in racism and xenophobia and financed by scorched earth corporations.
Aldo Leopold: "the last word in ignorance is a man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?'
It’s up to us to find the good. Some species may need to be controlled and we should look to nature to guide us, not some huge chemical corporation!
Posted by sslocal on August 31, 2007 at 11:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Coyote,
Get a grip man. Not everything is about large corporations. The Navy simply wants to clean up their mess is all.
Posted by desdave on August 31, 2007 at 2:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I get a lot of entertainment out of the posts on here such as Coyote(not just this article, but others every day)from people claiming that "THEY" are out to get us. They being the local, state or federal gov't, the police, the military, big business etc etc depending on the article. It must be tough to live with so much paranoia. Question - do you get a stiff neck from looking over your shoulder all the time?
Posted by meander on August 31, 2007 at 3:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
racism against trees, hmmm....
do a little research on ANY native plants site and you may see how damaging nonnatives and invasives are to the ecosystem. They displace native plants and don't provide good habitat for native species.
California sycamores are a much better choice
Posted by CarpCoyote on August 31, 2007 at 3:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
meander and desdave..I have some environmental information I'd be glad to send you..which trailer parks do you live in?? The idea, meander, is to check the OTHER websites and rely on your own observations to get a bigger picture..it's called 'research".. competition among species is a fact of life..get used to it
Posted by beachbabe on August 31, 2007 at 4:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Reid countered that the Navy is planting more trees in place of the unhealthy ones." This must be the new math. If you are cutting down 300 trees and only replacing 100--isn't that a net loss of 60%? Let's find out exactly how many of the 300 trees are actually diseased, decayed or falling over. The Navy is curiously silent on that figure. I suspect it's only
about 10-15%. I invite Ms. Reid to prove me wrong.
Posted by rmora on August 31, 2007 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Y Y Y
Posted by theonlycapsfan on August 31, 2007 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
lane closure not impact traffic? Whatever.
Posted by carvergrid on September 1, 2007 at 10:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wasn't going to bother arguing with CarpCoyote since he/she obviously assumes that he/she knows so much more than the rest of us ignorants about ecology...but then I read his/her unnecessary insult about "what trailer park" people live in. Not only are you, CarpCoyote, not likely to win people over with your militant and bizarre take on ecology, but when you start throwing around class-based insults you just make yourself look stupid. Just because someone disagrees with you (most of us, that is) doesn't mean that they are racist/xenophobic/poor/whatever. And for the record...this person who disagrees with you has an Ivy league education and a nice house:)
Posted by CarpCoyote on September 2, 2007 at 5:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gee caver..you educated folks are so sensitive.ok..what McMansion do YOU live in..I'll send you some fennel seeds..I have no interest in "winning people over"..remain ignorant of nature's way at your owm peril and she will deal with you... BTW an Ivy League "education" is nothing to crow about! Bush is an Ivy leaguer..doing a real swell job, too...
Posted by meander on September 4, 2007 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the issue isn't "competition among species", Coyote--the issue is that eucalyptus aren't native to the area and they displace native plants that would provide much better habitat.
They didn't just grow there--they were planted, and they were a poor choice (shallow root system leads to toppling; fire hazard; allelopathic-not much grows under them). Now, with better research, Ventura County is planting species better suited to the region (CA native sycamore).
Sounds like YOU should do some research...
Posted by CarpCoyote on September 4, 2007 at 5:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Meander….You’re right..I can always do more research..and I always will…
Dispersal is another fact of life..you can’t possible keep out species because someone labels them “non-native”.. it's silly to try..If people don’t bring them here, then the wind will. Can you imagine hordes of people going up and down the coast of California destroying plants and animals that scare them!! Oh yeah..it’s already happening on the Channel Islands and in San Francisco..
Eucalyptus have become the “trailer park trash” of the California treescape thanks to the architects of invasion biology… they use terms like “insidious, pervasive, nefarious” to promote an invasive species crisis which relies on distortions and fabrications. Class-based insults, indeed!
Sounds like you took your info from their textbook..here’s another one: “ the eucalyptus invade and destroy native ecosystems by suppressing understory and being of no value to native wildlife”. What will they come up with next, eucs steal and eat children?
If you have ANY critical thinking skills and/or observation skills (put your books down for a week), you may see that eucalyptus support many so-called native species from butterflies to owls. Any dead, dying or diseased trees of any species should be removed when possible. However, removing trees, animals or plants for spurious reasons (fear, prejudice, or because the scientists said so) is unconscionable. 300 eucalyptus…hmmm ...any monarch butterflies hanging out there?
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