Clear Cuttng - Marin Headlands

[pls note I received the following via an email through a work situation and felt it very important to post. Without the permission to publish the writer's name, business, email address, etc., I omitted. However, I did let him know I copied his post here and that out of respect to him, I did not mention any of his personal information. I am glad that I introduced him to this site. And, if he allows me to include his contact information, I will do so. gena]

I would like to share a piece of environmental “protection” news from one of the Bay Area’s most picturesque spots that set me aghast. The National Park Service is in the process of clear-cutting an entire grove of trees at the top of the Marin Headlands scenic drive facing Golden Gate bridge and western and northern parts of San Francisco. It is a beautiful and one of the most visible little forests at one of the most spectacular places there is. Hundreds of thousands of people see and enjoy this patch of living green every day driving across the bridge or walking the street or looking out of the window from large areas of the City, Marin and East Bay, yet it’s all being chopped down, every tree!

The NPS spokesperson, Ms. Alexandra Picavet, explained that eradication of non-native pines would help saving endangered butterflies. She assured me that the clear-cutting project was announced and a hearing was held. Some army anecdotes were cited to imply that the area was historically tree-less and should thus be returned to such condition. The fact that Marin Headlands used to be covered thick with redwood forest and other conifers in the early days as we all know – that’s inconvenient truth not fitting the official line and was left without reply..

The reality is - the grove area is around 1 percent of the surrounding hills brush, it is of no consequence to the butterflies or native plants survival. Trees are important part of eco balance and are of huge value in our fragile environment. When trees are gone - all starts going, the natives say. Protecting and planting trees, not killing them – that’s what we need to urge a government agency in charge of this most unique and treasured land.

The NPS claim of having followed due process sounds as iffy. I have been walking there, enjoying the view and nature for years and do not recall any conspicuous notice of intent posted. Tree removal in most municipalities requires a large-font conspicuous posting, even for one tree removed. Cutting down an entire forest in a National Recreation Area does not need similar notification rigor – so they say..

I wonder if anyone else thinks that forests are of value and feels loss over clear cutting in front of our eyes. If you do, please share this and forward or post it or contact your public representative or a media outlet. It is still possible to save some trees, by an injunction or by protest. Contacting NPS may help – email to [email protected] or call (415) 561-4732.

California's landscape has been extensively altered by human habitation. NPS is to be commended for attempting to restore representative examples of our native flora and fauna. Our indigenous plants and animals evolved over tens of thousands of years while dramatic changes have occurred over less than 250 years. We cannot return the land and the native people to a state prior to 1775 when Juan de Ayala sailed through the Golden Gate, but the lands administered in our trust by the National Park Service can stop the proliferation of non-native plants as part of its visible and articulated mission. NPS activities are very transparent and the public process is highly defined.

https://www.sfnps.org/mission_blues

https://www.nps.gov/goga/naturescience/hawk-hill.htm

https://www.nps.gov/goga/naturescien...-headlands.htm

https://www.nps.gov/goga/naturescien...ive-plants.htm

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Posted in reply to the post by silkworm:

[pls note I received the following via an email through a work situation and felt it very important to post. Without the permission to publish the writer's name, business, email address, etc., I omitted. However, I did let him know I copied his post here and that out of respect to him, I did not mention any of his personal information. I am glad that I introduced him to this site. And, if he allows me to include his contact information, I will do so. gena]

I would like to share a piece of environmental “protection” news from one of the Bay Area’s most picturesque spots that set me aghast. The National Park Service is in the process of clear-cutting an entire grove of trees at the top of the Marin Headlands scenic drive facing Golden Gate bridge and western and northern parts of San Francisco. It is a beautiful and one of the most visible little forests at one of the most spectacular places there is. Hundreds of thousands of people see and enjoy this patch of living green every day driving across the bridge or walking the street or looking out of the window from large areas of the City, Marin and East Bay, yet it’s all being chopped down, every tree!

The NPS spokesperson, Ms. Alexandra Picavet, explained that eradication of non-native pines would help saving endangered butterflies. She assured me that the clear-cutting project was announced and a hearing was held. Some army anecdotes were cited to imply that the area was historically tree-less and should thus be returned to such condition. The fact that Marin Headlands used to be covered thick with redwood forest and other conifers in the early days as we all know – that’s inconvenient truth not fitting the official line and was left without reply..

The reality is - the grove area is around 1 percent of the surrounding hills brush, it is of no consequence to the butterflies or native plants survival. Trees are important part of eco balance and are of huge value in our fragile environment. When trees are gone - all starts going, the natives say. Protecting and planting trees, not killing them – that’s what we need to urge a government agency in charge of this most unique and treasured land.

The NPS claim of having followed due process sounds as iffy. I have been walking there, enjoying the view and nature for years and do not recall any conspicuous notice of intent posted. Tree removal in most municipalities requires a large-font conspicuous posting, even for one tree removed. Cutting down an entire forest in a National Recreation Area does not need similar notification rigor – so they say..

I wonder if anyone else thinks that forests are of value and feels loss over clear cutting in front of our eyes. If you do, please share this and forward or post it or contact your public representative or a media outlet. It is still possible to save some trees, by an injunction or by protest. Contacting NPS may help – email to [email protected] or call (415) 561-4732.

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Silkworm, et al.,
I don't have the time right now to discuss this topic thoroughly, but I am someone who supports removing exotic (non-native) trees from native plant and animal habitat. Humans have severely compromised the ecological composition, structure, and function of most of earth's ecosystems, and one of the principal symptoms of these negative influences is the introduction (and in some cases, establishment and spread) of non-native plants. Non-native plants disrupt ecological relationships, alter soil and hydrological properties, and can displace native plants, animals, and microorganisms. A great deal of writing has been accomplished on this topic, and I can't provide all the details here.

Among the most damaging of these human-introduced plants are Tasmanian bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus), Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), and Monterey pine (Pinus radiata). I also don't support the notion of "single-species" management, such as cutting down trees simply to benefit a single butterfly species, and trust that the removal of these trees is one step in restoring the land to its pre-industrial revolution and commerce condition, or at least attempting to do so, a process that will provide benefits to many organisms. This is an imperfect process, yet an attempt to correct one of humanity's many egregiously foolish impacts on ecosystems.

The Marin Headlands was likely a mostly open grassland and shrubland prior to Euro-American imperialist contact, with copses of trees limited to canyons and along watercourses; these trees did not include pines or cypresses or eucalyptus. The Headlands area was not redwood forest historically, except canyons on the east- and north-facing slopes! If pines are being cut, what do redwoods have to do with your concern? Forests (most, not all) need deep soil upon which to grow, and the trees planted are not ideally suited to the climate and soil in the Headlands. Monterey pines also harbor and can spread diseases to other native pines, including bishop pine, although that plant doesn't grow in the immediate Headlands area. The planting of genetically cloned monocultures of commercially propagated trees, eventually spreading prolifically to create a "forest," is hardly the type of forest we need more of on this planet. Instead, humans need to protect the native forests, woodlands, deserts, marshes, grasslands, and shrublands for the sake of all species as well as ourselves.

Finally, it's ill-informed, ignorant, and arrogant to assert that the non-native trees are of no consequence to butterflies or other organisms. How do you know this? We do know that non-native trees displace many native plants and animals, and I don't think the local indigenous cultures had in mind the trees white people introduced when then cite the values inherent in wild habitats.

Please take some time to digest this bit of information and seek more, then if you have more to question, I'll do my best to provide you some better information. I do find the level of ecological misunderstanding in supposedly enlightened and educated Sonoma County rather troubling at times.

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Posted in reply to the post by silkworm:

[pls note I received the following via an email through a work situation and felt it very important to post. Without the permission to publish the writer's name, business, email address, etc., I omitted. However, I did let him know I copied his post here and that out of respect to him, I did not mention any of his personal information. I am glad that I introduced him to this site. And, if he allows me to include his contact information, I will do so. gena]

I would like to share a piece of environmental “protection” news from one of the Bay Area’s most picturesque spots that set me aghast. The National Park Service is in the process of clear-cutting an entire grove of trees at the top of the Marin Headlands scenic drive facing Golden Gate bridge and western and northern parts of San Francisco. It is a beautiful and one of the most visible little forests at one of the most spectacular places there is. Hundreds of thousands of people see and enjoy this patch of living green every day driving across the bridge or walking the street or looking out of the window from large areas of the City, Marin and East Bay, yet it’s all being chopped down, every tree!

The NPS spokesperson, Ms. Alexandra Picavet, explained that eradication of non-native pines would help saving endangered butterflies. She assured me that the clear-cutting project was announced and a hearing was held. Some army anecdotes were cited to imply that the area was historically tree-less and should thus be returned to such condition. The fact that Marin Headlands used to be covered thick with redwood forest and other conifers in the early days as we all know – that’s inconvenient truth not fitting the official line and was left without reply..

The reality is - the grove area is around 1 percent of the surrounding hills brush, it is of no consequence to the butterflies or native plants survival. Trees are important part of eco balance and are of huge value in our fragile environment. When trees are gone - all starts going, the natives say. Protecting and planting trees, not killing them – that’s what we need to urge a government agency in charge of this most unique and treasured land.

The NPS claim of having followed due process sounds as iffy. I have been walking there, enjoying the view and nature for years and do not recall any conspicuous notice of intent posted. Tree removal in most municipalities requires a large-font conspicuous posting, even for one tree removed. Cutting down an entire forest in a National Recreation Area does not need similar notification rigor – so they say..

I wonder if anyone else thinks that forests are of value and feels loss over clear cutting in front of our eyes. If you do, please share this and forward or post it or contact your public representative or a media outlet. It is still possible to save some trees, by an injunction or by protest. Contacting NPS may help – email to [email protected] or call (415) 561-4732.

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Ms Picavet:

I am another citizen who objects to the proposed clear-cutting of a pine forest in the Marin headlands. This is the first I've heard of it. I understand that the justification for this decision is that the trees are non-native and that they reduce the habitat of an endangered species of butterfly.

In my opinion the "non-native" argument that is often raised in such situations has to be taken with a grain of salt. Some introduced species really do become so invasive and destructive to the environment that it may make some sense to reduce or eradicate them. But it is hard to imagine how a grove of pine trees could fit that designation. Once they have become a beautiful and well-established feature of the environment, it makes no sense to destroy such forests in the name of "historical purity." What we can expect to remain after such wholesale destruction is soil erosion, an invasive onslaught of chaparral, and shoots of yet more pine trees.

As for the butterfly argument, if this supposedly endangered species is still around after decades of co-existence with the pines, it is hard to imagine how cutting down an entire forest is essential for their survival. And what about other desirable species, such as squirrels for example, who might be decimated by clear-cutting the forest on which they have come to depend?

It seems to me there must be better things for the National Park Service to be doing with their limited budget than eradicating a well-loved and essentially harmless forest in such a picturesque location. I also question how conspicuous the public notification measures have been.

Thank you for your consideration.

--Richard Hoff

Quote:

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Posted in reply to the post by phloem:

Silkworm, et al.,
I don't have the time right now to discuss this topic thoroughly, but I am someone who supports removing exotic (non-native) trees from native plant and animal habitat. Humans have severely compromised the ecological composition, structure, and function of most of earth's ecosystems, and one of the principal symptoms of these negative influences is the introduction (and in some cases, establishment and spread) of non-native plants. Non-native plants disrupt ecological relationships, alter soil and hydrological properties, and can displace native plants, animals, and microorganisms. A great deal of writing has been accomplished on this topic, and I can't provide all the details here.

Among the most damaging of these human-introduced plants are Tasmanian bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus), Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), and Monterey pine (Pinus radiata). I also don't support the notion of "single-species" management, such as cutting down trees simply to benefit a single butterfly species, and trust that the removal of these trees is one step in restoring the land to its pre-industrial revolution and commerce condition, or at least attempting to do so, a process that will provide benefits to many organisms. This is an imperfect process, yet an attempt to correct one of humanity's many egregiously foolish impacts on ecosystems.

The Marin Headlands was likely a mostly open grassland and shrubland prior to Euro-American imperialist contact, with copses of trees limited to canyons and along watercourses; these trees did not include pines or cypresses or eucalyptus. The Headlands area was not redwood forest historically, except canyons on the east- and north-facing slopes! If pines are being cut, what do redwoods have to do with your concern? Forests (most, not all) need deep soil upon which to grow, and the trees planted are not ideally suited to the climate and soil in the Headlands. Monterey pines also harbor and can spread diseases to other native pines, including bishop pine, although that plant doesn't grow in the immediate Headlands area. The planting of genetically cloned monocultures of commercially propagated trees, eventually spreading prolifically to create a "forest," is hardly the type of forest we need more of on this planet. Instead, humans need to protect the native forests, woodlands, deserts, marshes, grasslands, and shrublands for the sake of all species as well as ourselves.

Finally, it's ill-informed, ignorant, and arrogant to assert that the non-native trees are of no consequence to butterflies or other organisms. How do you know this? We do know that non-native trees displace many native plants and animals, and I don't think the local indigenous cultures had in mind the trees white people introduced when then cite the values inherent in wild habitats.

Please take some time to digest this bit of information and seek more, then if you have more to question, I'll do my best to provide you some better information. I do find the level of ecological misunderstanding in supposedly enlightened and educated Sonoma County rather troubling at times.

---

There was an informative article about this project in yesterday's Marin IJ. The six acre, 200 tree plot is a quite recent 'forest' and is not a candidate for heritage preservation. The article answers Mr. Hoff's question of what will happen after the tree removal. Rather than erosion and sprouting of new non-natives, the plot will re-reseeded by both surrounding native seed stock and by plants propagated in the nursery from native stock. There is a multi-year monitoring program to ensure restoration.

Below is the article:

By Mark Prado
Marin Independent Journal
Posted: 12/20/2011 08:05:46 AM PST
Updated: 12/20/2011 08:10:29 AM PST



Chainsaws are buzzing high on Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands as workers remove a grove of about 200 non-native trees to help preserve rare butterflies.
National Park Service officials say they are cutting down the non-native trees across six acres to create more habitat for the endangered mission blue butterfly. Work started last week and will continue into next month.
The branches and limbs of the Monterey pines, cypresses and tea trees are being fed into a chipper to be used in the Presidio in San Francisco for mulch, while the trunks are being sent to a co-generation plant.
Rather than dragging the trunks and causing damage to the natural understory of ferns, scrub and brush, cranes grab them and put them into a neat, stacked pile.
Removal of the trees is part of "Project Headlands," an $8.7 million federal effort to improve access for motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and public transit in the Marin Headlands. As part of that work, the National Park Service must "mitigate" for the impact of its roadwork -- such as find ways to improve wildlife habitat.
One step the agency is taking is to cut down the trees in order to plant lupine that will create mission blue butterfly habitat.
"We expect a lot of natural seed to come in here, but we will also plant native plants that are grown in the Marin Headlands nursery," said Caroline Christman, project coordinator for the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy, as a Marin County Arborists' wood chipper churned in the background.
Despite the grove of trees, native vegetation has fared well over the years.
"There are a lot of natives that are still here, the ferns and the coyote brush," said Alison Forrestel, acting vegetation ecologist for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. "There are also populations of the mission blue butterflies on either side of the trees."
Once the trees are gone, a five-year vegetation and invasive species control plan will follow. The area is now closed for the work, but the public will be allowed back into the site once the tree work is done.
"The trails that were here before still will be here," Christman said.
The forest was relatively new and did not exist before 1970 beyond a handful of trees, because the military kept the trees in check, not wanting a visual impairment that might block views of the Pacific Ocean.
It's not known exactly how the trees arrived. One theory is that they came with soil brought from nearby Kirby Cove to cover concrete bunkers built into the hillside by the military. Pines were planted in Kirby Cove in the early part of the 20th Century and the soil may have had seeds in it.
The removal work is being done now so that migrating and nesting birds are not affected, but there may be some changes for bird watchers once the trees are gone.
Hawk Hill, which sits 900 feet above the Golden Gate, is a favorite spot among birders to observe migrating hawks, eagles, falcons and other birds of prey as they glide by. The raptors occasionally rested in the grove of trees, as did other migratory birds.
An environmental impact report by the park service said the tree removal "would result in a loss of birding opportunities for unusual coniferous migratory birds that may be attracted to that area in the spring and fall seasons. Tree removal would also change the character of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory's long-term raptor monitoring site."
But park officials noted the raptors never nested in the trees, and while birds such as pygmy nuthatches did, they can find other habitat nearby.
Contact Mark Prado via email at [email protected]

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Posted in reply to the post by occihoff:

Ms Picavet:

I am another citizen who objects to the proposed clear-cutting of a pine forest in the Marin headlands. This is the first I've heard of it. I understand that the justification for this decision is that the trees are non-native and that they reduce the habitat of an endangered species of butterfly.

In my opinion the "non-native" argument that is often raised in such situations has to be taken with a grain of salt. Some introduced species really do become so invasive and destructive to the environment that it may make some sense to reduce or eradicate them. But it is hard to imagine how a grove of pine trees could fit that designation. Once they have become a beautiful and well-established feature of the environment, it makes no sense to destroy such forests in the name of "historical purity." What we can expect to remain after such wholesale destruction is soil erosion, an invasive onslaught of chaparral, and shoots of yet more pine trees.

As for the butterfly argument, if this supposedly endangered species is still around after decades of co-existence with the pines, it is hard to imagine how cutting down an entire forest is essential for their survival. And what about other desirable species, such as squirrels for example, who might be decimated by clear-cutting the forest on which they have come to depend?

It seems to me there must be better things for the National Park Service to be doing with their limited budget than eradicating a well-loved and essentially harmless forest in such a picturesque location. I also question how conspicuous the public notification measures have been.

Thank you for your consideration.

--Richard Hoff

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Both the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the staff of the park are stewards of the resources of the Marin Headlands. I would hope that people would attempt to find out whether the science behind the removal of trees in the park has been properly evaluated and determined, rather than respond in a knee-jerk fashion, as if some wrong has been perpetuated.

There are professional people who love this park and have dedicated their lives to protecting it. Lets at least give them some credit.

Ron

Dear Richard:
As long-standing denizens of the plant community you dismiss as "invasive" chaparral, we, the undersigned, must vehemently protest your mischaracterization of us. Both as individual plant species, and as vital participants in the ecosystem processes that provide you humans clean water, clean air, living soils, essential nutrient cycling, and many other services, we are essential components of a thriving and diverse community. We must also assert that you fail to see the forest for the trees.

The plant community you consign to an "onslaught" has been an integral part of the California landscape for hundreds of thousands of years. Chaparral is well adapted to another long-standing component of California's ecology - fire - which humans have foolishly consigned to a "hazard," when in fact the real hazard lies in denying that fire is as much a part of California as movie stars and new-age nonsense. In reality, chaparral is a perfect partner for California's landscape and climate, re-inventing itself with every lightning strike or errant human torch. As individual species, we all have accomplished more than merely passing the long-term test in sustainability - we define sustainability. In comparison, the newcomers in the community, Monterey pines and cypresses et al., are only here as a result of human folly and ecological mismanagement -- alterations of the soil and removal of native plants, de-watering, agricultural and commercial development, and removal of fire and grazing herbivores from our long-standing ecological community. These recently introduced and invasive trees don't have a clue, eschewing inviolable relationships with soil fungi and microorganisms, with other plants and the animals that rely upon them, and with the ages-old processes that have resulted in the undeniable glory and diversity of the California landscape. Only the ignorance and self-absorption of humans could possibly fail to understand that these newcomers are frauds, great pretenders to a forest that has nothing more than its vain appeal to shallow human sensibilities upon which to survive. These "forests" are barely even constituted of trees, as they are all genetic clones, arboreal whores to the whims of human manipulation. The emperor "pines" have no clothes! More critically, the pines and cypresses have no relationship to all the other species in the Marin Headlands, including the darling squirrels! And they kill butterflies.

We will gladly pardon your failure to understand that a forest is more than an assemblage of woody spires, functionally nothing more than shade-casting gluttons that suck precious rainfall runoff and groundwater, home-wreckers for thousands of native species. But first, please inform us how, as a purported "spiritual healer," you could possibly fail to integrate an understanding of the Earth and its ecological complexity into the realm of your work? How can you disavow the long-standing patterns and rhythms of the Earth, yet claim to "heal" humans who are now so devoid of the very connections to the physical and biological universe that must necessarily sustain all organisms, not least the arrogant yet infantile perpetrators of the greatest ecological crimes: humans themselves? How can you fail to see that your anthropocentric interpretation of a copse of trees is a betrayal of the fabric of human ecological consciousness, lacking any appreciation of relationships at least as old as the hills? Your thinking is an indignity to chaparral, to all species that have spent thousands to millions of years learning to live within our limits, and to the small number of devoted humans who at least make some attempt to understand and address the misguided and negligent actions of their predecessors.

in return for your humble apology, we the undersigned agree, upon your next visit to chaparral, not to rip the clothes from your back, not to pierce your extremities until you bleed, and not to lay you out on the rocky ground with an errant branch stuck in your boot! Remember, we have friends in real forests and woodlands who will gladly find a way to exact revenge upon unabiding humans who would disrespect the entirety of Earth's ecosystems, whether by fire or flood or loss of water or simple windthrow of a towering sentinel of ecological justice.

Sustainably, always,

Chamise, Toyon, Ceanothus, Manzanita, Monkey Flower, Coyote Brush, Silk Tassel, Poison Oak, Coffee Berry, Chaparral Pea, Scrub and Leather Oak, Yerba Santa, and thousands of herb allies, and millions of flies, beetles, bugs, bees, worms, millipedes, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, flatworms, and many others

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Posted in reply to the post by occihoff:

Ms Picavet:

I am another citizen who objects to the proposed clear-cutting of a pine forest in the Marin headlands. This is the first I've heard of it. I understand that the justification for this decision is that the trees are non-native and that they reduce the habitat of an endangered species of butterfly.

In my opinion the "non-native" argument that is often raised in such situations has to be taken with a grain of salt. Some introduced species really do become so invasive and destructive to the environment that it may make some sense to reduce or eradicate them. But it is hard to imagine how a grove of pine trees could fit that designation. Once they have become a beautiful and well-established feature of the environment, it makes no sense to destroy such forests in the name of "historical purity." What we can expect to remain after such wholesale destruction is soil erosion, an invasive onslaught of chaparral, and shoots of yet more pine trees.

As for the butterfly argument, if this supposedly endangered species is still around after decades of co-existence with the pines, it is hard to imagine how cutting down an entire forest is essential for their survival. And what about other desirable species, such as squirrels for example, who might be decimated by clear-cutting the forest on which they have come to depend?

It seems to me there must be better things for the National Park Service to be doing with their limited budget than eradicating a well-loved and essentially harmless forest in such a picturesque location. I also question how conspicuous the public notification measures have been.

Thank you for your consideration.

--Richard Hoff

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Wow! Talk about hazing the newbies!? Tres amusent.

You left us out,
Signed rufous-crowned and grasshopper sparrows along with a thrasher or so. We love chaparral too.

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Posted in reply to the post by phloem:

Dear Richard:
As long-standing denizens of the plant community you dismiss as "invasive" chaparral, we, the undersigned, must vehemently protest your mischaracterization of us. Both as individual plant species, and as vital participants in the ecosystem processes that provide you humans clean water, clean air, living soils, essential nutrient cycling, and many other services, we are essential components of a thriving and diverse community. We must also assert that you fail to see the forest for the trees.

The plant community you consign to an "onslaught" has been an integral part of the California landscape for hundreds of thousands of years. Chaparral is well adapted to another long-standing component of California's ecology - fire - which humans have foolishly consigned to a "hazard," when in fact the real hazard lies in denying that fire is as much a part of California as movie stars and new-age nonsense. In reality, chaparral is a perfect partner for California's landscape and climate, re-inventing itself with every lightning strike or errant human torch. As individual species, we all have accomplished more than merely passing the long-term test in sustainability - we define sustainability. In comparison, the newcomers in the community, Monterey pines and cypresses et al., are only here as a result of human folly and ecological mismanagement -- alterations of the soil and removal of native plants, de-watering, agricultural and commercial development, and removal of fire and grazing herbivores from our long-standing ecological community. These recently introduced and invasive trees don't have a clue, eschewing inviolable relationships with soil fungi and microorganisms, with other plants and the animals that rely upon them, and with the ages-old processes that have resulted in the undeniable glory and diversity of the California landscape. Only the ignorance and self-absorption of humans could possibly fail to understand that these newcomers are frauds, great pretenders to a forest that has nothing more than its vain appeal to shallow human sensibilities upon which to survive. These "forests" are barely even constituted of trees, as they are all genetic clones, arboreal whores to the whims of human manipulation. The emperor "pines" have no clothes! More critically, the pines and cypresses have no relationship to all the other species in the Marin Headlands, including the darling squirrels! And they kill butterflies.

We will gladly pardon your failure to understand that a forest is more than an assemblage of woody spires, functionally nothing more than shade-casting gluttons that suck precious rainfall runoff and groundwater, home-wreckers for thousands of native species. But first, please inform us how, as a purported "spiritual healer," you could possibly fail to integrate an understanding of the Earth and its ecological complexity into the realm of your work? How can you disavow the long-standing patterns and rhythms of the Earth, yet claim to "heal" humans who are now so devoid of the very connections to the physical and biological universe that must necessarily sustain all organisms, not least the arrogant yet infantile perpetrators of the greatest ecological crimes: humans themselves? How can you fail to see that your anthropocentric interpretation of a copse of trees is a betrayal of the fabric of human ecological consciousness, lacking any appreciation of relationships at least as old as the hills? Your thinking is an indignity to chaparral, to all species that have spent thousands to millions of years learning to live within our limits, and to the small number of devoted humans who at least make some attempt to understand and address the misguided and negligent actions of their predecessors.

in return for your humble apology, we the undersigned agree, upon your next visit to chaparral, not to rip the clothes from your back, not to pierce your extremities until you bleed, and not to lay you out on the rocky ground with an errant branch stuck in your boot! Remember, we have friends in real forests and woodlands who will gladly find a way to exact revenge upon unabiding humans who would disrespect the entirety of Earth's ecosystems, whether by fire or flood or loss of water or simple windthrow of a towering sentinel of ecological justice.

Sustainably, always,

Chamise, Toyon, Ceanothus, Manzanita, Monkey Flower, Coyote Brush, Silk Tassel, Poison Oak, Coffee Berry, Chaparral Pea, Scrub and Leather Oak, Yerba Santa, and thousands of herb allies, and millions of flies, beetles, bugs, bees, worms, millipedes, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, flatworms, and many others

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I do appreciate an interesting discourse; in seeking a balanced best interest served.

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Posted in reply to the post by "Mad" Miles:

Wow! Talk about hazing the newbies!? Tres amusent.

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When entering a preserve we must understand that ecology=biohm. Every plant that grows there has a 'home"
and a process in the interaction. If you think of landscaping such a place, think again. When you come, notice
where things grow and how, and you may learn just why God gave such a beautiful herb or tree there.
Do we really have the right in intervene? Yes you can cut some Chaparral, and it will grow back, but what of the insects that needed the strength and bitterness of that plant? Actually the healing properties of this herb are
largely untold and amazing. If you have any itches from mites or bacteria, you can make a useful tea for external application, although some drink it also. If you want to learn more about the biom instead of complaining,
check the ranger station or local botanical museum.

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Posted in reply to the post by chollie:

You left us out,

Signed rufous-crowned and grasshopper sparrows along with a thrasher or so. We love chaparral too.

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You are a true Minister of the Church of Chaparral! And the object of your worship will ever be eternal...

--Richard

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Posted in reply to the post by chollie:

You left us out,
Signed rufous-crowned and grasshopper sparrows along with a thrasher or so. We love chaparral too.

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In the chaparral pantheon be also hulu-ing aligator lizards (lgaria multicarinata), beetles upon beetles, Pickeringia montana (how can one not worship a being with such a name, along with stickly prickly spines), Soap Plant for purification, and for those who wish to go through trial by fire, Toxicodendron diversilobum. Cuddly chapparal isn't, but worthy of our obeisance nonetheless. And of course, except near the coast, including the Hawk Hill, the mighty Crotalus oreganus roars its mastery more subltely than the Lion King. Be warned, monterey cypress , pampas grass, ice plant and others invaders, stick to your own kingdom for jealous gods have been known for their vengefulness.

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Posted in reply to the post by occihoff:

You are a true Minister of the Church of Chaparral! And the object of your worship will ever be eternal...

--Richard

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Posted in reply to the post by MichelleHeart:

When entering a preserve we must understand that ecology=biohm. Every plant that grows there has a home*and a process in the interaction. If you think of landscaping such a place, think again. When you come, notice*where things grow and how, and you may learn just why God gave such a beautiful herb or tree there.
Do we really have the right in intervene?*

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...what beautiful thoughts!
...too bad it seems that it concerns only the Marin Headlands and has nothing- what so ever- to do with the overgrown wine- grape- vineyards- toxic- raped- dead land, wired up crisscross as wide as I can see, where hundreds of birds are shot every year, no bee or butterfly- where have the deer and the rabbits gone- groundwater wasted for stylishly expansive non native grapes... I got to stop... I *f o r g o t - vineyards do not fall under the "land" anymore- its a worldwide parasite of giant greedy money maker! There you have it- money wins!

edie

OK good LORD; So KNOWLEDGE ABLE some of us who adore the land ,if it provides a place to ARGUE and call people names on... OK, Non Native rant people,please remember YOU are non native and remove your selves first the GRASS that makes up the famous "rolling hills of California" is Non Native Argentine selva grass and you will never be able to change that. Nobody is jumping up to the plate to bat out what they mistakenly call "scotch Broom" because there is SO much of it...well It's expensive...dwindle dwindle...(Genesta,an Italian plant escaped from homes years ago,very prolific and fast growing) The Park Service has some money to spend,and how better than by paving some big contractors hands to do big man work with big machines.. the whole native plants bleeding heart thing is so unrealistic it boggles the mind.. just a place for people to show off their knowledge of Latin names.. I'm afraid if you want to save trees ,you have to OCCUPY them... ask Julia Hill there are places on mt. tam where there are MILES of lupin I doubt sincerely the butterflies are unaware of that. They cut down all the Eucalyptus on Angel island with the same faulty logic,a huge boondoggle They even started an arson fire the year before to demonstrate the "fire hazard" WHAT IS THIS:: "Finally, it's ill-informed, ignorant, and arrogant to assert" this kind of rant is unproductive,and in and of it self exactly what it despises and what is............ :: "local indigenous cultures had in mind the trees white people introduced when then cite the values inherent in wild habitats."::: can this person who says others cannot assert,then assert about cultures he may not have been given permission to assert for? what ever, I'm sure at least 30 % of the park service people think they are operating on" informed consent" and the others go along because its'"their job" I don't side in this one,I say Protect what you can, and mourn the rest. Soon It will all be deck chairs on the Titanic anyway ... hey those deck chairs would have FLOATED if someone had had presence of mind to tie them all together... Enjoy the beauty of life Nico

Yes...I do see your point. I might actually chose to occupy a tree sometime. I'm sure the butterflies are intrinsically aware of the lupin, and, yes, scotch broom can be a real headache. I think perhaps there were more natural fires and predators a few hundred years ago to keep it in check--probably pine trees and redwood. Eucalyptus we all know is not native, but beautiful grove can exist with care ( a dear friend lost a house in the Oakland fire). Still it is so rewarding to walk in a local area preserves over years and observe the natural changes over time. Sometimes the chaparral just disappears for long periods--not sure why. Obviously this decision is out of our hand anyway. Peace.:yinyang:
:Yinyangv:

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Posted in reply to the post by nicofrog:

OK good LORD; So KNOWLEDGE ABLE some of us who adore the land ,if it provides a place to ARGUE and call people names on... OK, Non Native rant people,please remember YOU are non native and remove your selves first the GRASS that makes up the famous "rolling hills of California" is Non Native Argentine selva grass and you will never be able to change that. Nobody is jumping up to the plate to bat out what they mistakenly call "scotch Broom" because there is SO much of it...well It's expensive...dwindle dwindle...(Genesta,an Italian plant escaped from homes years ago,very prolific and fast growing) The Park Service has some money to spend,and how better than by paving some big contractors hands to do big man work with big machines.. the whole native plants bleeding heart thing is so unrealistic it boggles the mind.. just a place for people to show off their knowledge of Latin names.. I'm afraid if you want to save trees ,you have to OCCUPY them... ask Julia Hill there are places on mt. tam where there are MILES of lupin I doubt sincerely the butterflies are unaware of that. They cut down all the Eucalyptus on Angel island with the same faulty logic,a huge boondoggle They even started an arson fire the year before to demonstrate the "fire hazard" WHAT IS THIS:: "Finally, it's ill-informed, ignorant, and arrogant to assert" this kind of rant is unproductive,and in and of it self exactly what it despises and what is............ :: "local indigenous cultures had in mind the trees white people introduced when then cite the values inherent in wild habitats."::: can this person who says others cannot assert,then assert about cultures he may not have been given permission to assert for? what ever, I'm sure at least 30 % of the park service people think they are operating on" informed consent" and the others go along because its'"their job" I don't side in this one,I say Protect what you can, and mourn the rest. Soon It will all be deck chairs on the Titanic anyway ... hey those deck chairs would have FLOATED if someone had had presence of mind to tie them all together... Enjoy the beauty of life Nico

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Brooms come in threes: Scotch (and here comes the Latin, may god forgive me) Cytisus scoparius, Spanish Spartium junceam and French Genista nonspessulana. All are non-native. French is the most common. I have seen patches of a half acre through which one could not walk without a machete. When the ground is well soaked French can be removed by hand. But Scotch often defies a four foot long "broom wrench." Pretty they all are but according to the CA extension service in Marin Co.:
They, "crowd out native vegetation on roadsides and other disturbed sites, and then use water (when it’s available) at prodigious rates, leaving a dry, oily, highly flammable thicket of brush behind. This brush is not palatable to native herbivores, so it builds up along the very routes firefighters depend on for firebreaks and the movement of equipment, increasing the risk and severity of wildfires. When these brooms do catch on fire, they burn with such intensity that most, if not all, plant matter is eliminated from the site. The soil in these areas then becomes subject to erosion, polluting our water and potentially eliminating other species, like salmon, from local streams. That’s a lot of consequences for one small, pretty plant that was once widely sold by nurseries."
Specicidally maddened I root it out of my neighbors' hillsides. May all beings be happy, may they be peaceful, be free from suffering.

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Posted in reply to the post by MichelleHeart:

Yes...I do see your point. I might actually chose to occupy a tree sometime. I'm sure the butterflies are intrinsically aware of the lupin, and, yes, scotch broom can be a real headache. I think perhaps there were more natural fires and predators a few hundred years ago to keep it in check--probably pine trees and redwood. Eucalyptus we all know is not native, but beautiful grove can exist with care ( a dear friend lost a house in the Oakland fire). Still it is so rewarding to walk in a local area preserves over years and observe the natural changes over time. Sometimes the chaparral just disappears for long periods--not sure why. Obviously this decision is out of our hand anyway. Peace.:yinyang:
:Yinyangv:

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thanks for naming the truth=paradox. i think about this daily as i set the goats apon the himelian blackberry, the invasive scourge imported by the brilliant luther burbank, and notice the native blackberry come back in their wake, wondering if they will ever make it in this world i/we constantly disturb, in our various states of consiousness and knowledge.

i long to tend the garden, the vestiges left from the ax of my european settlers, the first people relationship with this land. that oak looks old, i bet the acorns are sweet, and look, there is a bit of tule.

who knows what will come next, in these short days of unrelenting sunlight. i wonder about fire, its been a long time since this land burned. controlled, probably not, change is coming.

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Posted in reply to the post by nicofrog:

OK good LORD; So KNOWLEDGE ABLE some of us who adore the land ,if it provides a place to ARGUE and call people names on... OK, Non Native rant people,please remember YOU are non native and remove your selves first the GRASS that makes up the famous "rolling hills of California" is Non Native Argentine selva grass and you will never be able to change that. Nobody is jumping up to the plate to bat out what they mistakenly call "scotch Broom" because there is SO much of it...well It's expensive...dwindle dwindle...(Genesta,an Italian plant escaped from homes years ago,very prolific and fast growing) The Park Service has some money to spend,and how better than by paving some big contractors hands to do big man work with big machines.. the whole native plants bleeding heart thing is so unrealistic it boggles the mind.. just a place for people to show off their knowledge of Latin names.. I'm afraid if you want to save trees ,you have to OCCUPY them... ask Julia Hill there are places on mt. tam where there are MILES of lupin I doubt sincerely the butterflies are unaware of that. They cut down all the Eucalyptus on Angel island with the same faulty logic,a huge boondoggle They even started an arson fire the year before to demonstrate the "fire hazard" WHAT IS THIS:: "Finally, it's ill-informed, ignorant, and arrogant to assert" this kind of rant is unproductive,and in and of it self exactly what it despises and what is............ :: "local indigenous cultures had in mind the trees white people introduced when then cite the values inherent in wild habitats."::: can this person who says others cannot assert,then assert about cultures he may not have been given permission to assert for? what ever, I'm sure at least 30 % of the park service people think they are operating on" informed consent" and the others go along because its'"their job" I don't side in this one,I say Protect what you can, and mourn the rest. Soon It will all be deck chairs on the Titanic anyway ... hey those deck chairs would have FLOATED if someone had had presence of mind to tie them all together... Enjoy the beauty of life Nico

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