FOLLOWUPS: West Seattle illegal-tree-cutting investigations; work planned at East Admiral site

| Crime | Environment | West Seattle news

Two notes today on the investigations of illegal tree-cutting in north West Seattle’s Duwamish Head Greenbelt:

(March photo by WSB’s Christopher Boffoli)

35TH SW ‘CLEAR-CUT’ SITE: No word of charges against anyone yet, but City Councilmember Lisa Herbold shared an alert that there will be “activity” the next two days at the site off the 3200 block of 35th SW, where cutting apparently done in January came to light in March. She says, “As part of the City’s investigation into the cutting of City trees near 3200 35th Ave SW, a contractor will remove blackberry bushes from the site on May 4th and 5th. The removal should reveal whether there are additional stumps, and will also help prepare the site for eventual restoration.”

ADDED 10:12 PM: Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter provided a few more details, saying the contractor “… will bring a large machine called a Spyder to the site of the trees cut … A crew from Kemp West will use the machine to clear the dense blackberries from the site. … The City’s investigation of the incident continues.” The work could start as early as 7 am.

(back to original report) SUNSET/SEATTLE SITE: As first reported here last Friday, the city also is investigating illegal tree-cutting on a Parks-owned slope beneath a popular unofficial roadside viewpoint. The investigation came to light because of a letter sent to area residents, asking if they had information on the cutting, believed to have been done in February. We subsequently had asked Parks how many trees they believe were cut; spokesperson Christina Hirsch now tells WSB that they’re expecting the number after a city arborist visits the steeply sloped site this week for an assessment.

Kipseawa May 3, 2016 (9:03 pm)

Trees are the view people!!

John May 3, 2016 (11:08 pm)

You bet. Keep repeating until it rings true.

Makes sense on a Subaru bumper, but?

If “The Trees Are the View”, we would have no problems with people cutting them down.

And if it were true, the people who lost the trees in their view should also be getting tax reductions, as they lost ‘the trees that are the view.’

canton May 3, 2016 (9:39 pm)

Thanks WSB and Lisa for keeping these crimes relevant and not dismissed.

WSB May 3, 2016 (10:12 pm)

Like many crime stories, the reporting will be incremental, but we will continue checking in until something finally happens.

Also adding a bit extra to this – some additional details on the 35th site work, from Parks. – TR

alk_2008 May 3, 2016 (10:52 pm)

Will they be bringing in goats to clear the blackberries at the 35th site? That would be fun to see, especially since the resident goats on Harbor have been gone for a few years.

Regarding the Sunset/Seattle site, it’s crazy that someone would do this after all the attention around the 35th site. They must’ve known that it would be noticed, but maybe they assumed they wouldn’t be caught? Ridiculous. Or maybe there’s a letter at the City Parks department from another group of homeowners.

WSB May 3, 2016 (11:08 pm)

Alk – note that, in our original story last Friday, the letter Parks sent to neighbors said the cutting at Sunset/Seattle was believed to have happened in February. The 35th/City View situation did not become public until late March.
John May 3, 2016 (11:20 pm)

There are many more sites with illegal cutting. Just look closely at nearly any hillside with trees growing away established views and you will see tree work. Since much of West Seattle Green Space is the left overs (not desirable for development), usually adjacent and downslope from homes and Seattle allowed tree topping, these city parcels deteriorated into blackberry thickets with multi-trunked maple tree monocultures sprouting up.

John May 3, 2016 (10:57 pm)

Ironic it takes someone to clearcut a hillside to get Parks to remove the invasives they allowed to grow so tall and impenetrable that heavy machinery is required just to find the stumps.

The way Seattle has allowed its Green Spaces to deteriorate is truly deplorable.

HotCoffee May 4, 2016 (8:18 am)

The Spyder sounds like the Langoliers from that Steven King movie! Fierce noises from down there!!

Kimberley May 4, 2016 (11:26 am)

Maybe now they’ll also cut the grass along the parking strips on Admiral so that people getting on/off the bus at City View don’t have to wade through long grass.

HotCoffee May 4, 2016 (1:59 pm)

Here’s an aerial view of the thing that King 5 tweeted.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChozTrGUgAARP3f.jpg:large

WSB May 4, 2016 (2:01 pm)

Our photos are a couple minutes away. We had to go back a second time as the first time, it was not in view from anywhere into which you could hike in (and a KING ground crew had the same problem we did).

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