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bulletArticles from local papers

July 20, 2005         SVH          Ebenal General awarded contract  

August 10, 2005    SVH          Wrong Trees Cut at Anacortes Airport

August 11, 2005    SVH          Who's responsible?
bulletPort Commissioner Wetcher had this to say to the Port Director:

Subject: Airport tree removal

 Dan- I just got back from looking at the area of tree clearing @ the site. I don't know if anyone has brought this to your attention, but I believe the contractor has made a serious error of incursion into areas not to be cleared, even on to private property. Survey markers give indications contrary to the buffer dimensions and even those inaccurate markers look like they have been ignored. Is the logger subcontractor taking revenue logs without permission? The majority of the felled trees in the inclusion area seemed to be revenue log size. I have seen this happen before in private development adjacent to the ACFL- log pirating!  So ,I am requesting an immediate stop order be place upon ALL activity at the site by the contractor directly involved so that those logs don't suddenly depart in the early AM before photo documentation for the protection of the interests of all parties ,including the contractor. Call as early as you want in the AM and I will respond ASAP. This is a serious mistake perhaps a criminal mistake. Let us sort this matter out before tomorrow evening. Thanks ,BR Wetcher, Commissioner.
bulletLetter from City Planning Director to Port Director
 

August 9, 2005  

Dan Stahl, Executive Director

Port of Anacortes

PO Box 297

Anacortes, WA 98221

RE:      Anacortes Airport: Land Clearing

Dear Dan:

It has come to our attention that the Port’s contractor on the airport fence/clearing project has significantly encroached into the buffer area adjacent to the Rockwell property.

I have been asked to give an update to the Mayor and City Council next Monday night, August 15.  I would very much appreciate it if a Port representative could attend. There is a very high level of concern here as to what has happened and what will be done to ensure that there are no further buffer encroachments. I would also appreciate it if you would confirm the Port representative’s attendance.

Thank you for your attention to the matter.

Sincerely,

CITY OF ANACORTES

Ian S. Munce, AICP

Director of Planning & Community Development
bulletA letter from the driving force behind Anacortes' Tree ordinance
To the Editor:
 
Trees in Crisis
 
    While new construction has been frantically going on in Anacortes, trees have been repeatedly scraped off the land. Our city has allowed this to happen, over and over again. On many occasions, magnificent old trees ---still strong and healthy---have come down. 
 
    Now, cutting down trees has become big news as too many were "mistakenly" cut near the Anacortes airport recently. Comments made concerning this crisis such as "wrong", someone "screwed up big time", and "devastating" hopefully will cause trees to finally be valued and defended.
 
    Crisis is an opportunity. Perhaps it is this crisis which will facilitate a change in how Anacortes proceeds to protect its trees. Even more important is perhaps this crisis will influence how people vote in the coming elections.
 
    We need elected officials who support a Tree Conservation Ordinance that has enough teeth in it to prevent the outrageous cutting that is going on. The city needs to hire a professional tree specialist who would be on site when tree cutting is being done on a large scale. 
 
    Contractors, subcontractors, and sawyers would then have a guide who can tell them first what trees to save before cutting. Such trees would be protected by appropriate flagging or marking. Then that specialist needs to stand there and watch to see that sawyers are following the appropriate procedures. Then there can be no more "mistakes."

  
Phyllis Dolph