Impossible, Planning Dept wants to Cut Down Banyan

[emorata]

trees on Banyan Drive in hilo to expand Reeds Park including the Mother Banyan Tree....I just cannot believe this at all, its crazy!


Here's the story I read from a recent posting from Margaritte on her Kohala blog post.

http://www.margaretwille.com/home/?q=node/436

Please read this and help suggest what can be done to stop this ridiculous agenda the planning department is going through with.

Noel Morata
Check out my blog about living aloha in East Hawaii http://noelmorata.blogspot.com/

[emorata]

(I'll just copy Margarittes story about the Banyan portion if you can get the link to work).

At least one would hope landmark trees in public parks would be sufficiently appreciated that they would be protected and saved for future generations to enjoy. Even that assumption has been proven wrong.

No matter where you live on this island, I suggest you make a visit to Banyan Drive in Hilo. It is unbelievable to me that the upgrading of Reed’s Bay Park includes the demolition of some most extraordinary trees – including the “Big Mama” banyan extraordinaire. Most all of these Chinese banyans were planted to recognize the role some special person played in the history of this island. Check out the placards that still remain on many of these trees Currently within the immediate project area, some 12 or more prominent trees will be eliminated. Given the locations of these particular trees, even with the goal of developing Reed’s Bay Park for more intensive water-oriented recreation, in my opinion, very few need to be removed.

Some of the trees that will be removed are those along the waters edge on rocky out-croppings. Yet in many cases the roots of these trees are preventing further erosion of the beach area. But that observation seems to have been missed.

Unfortunately the protection of these trees as a treasured natural resource was not a Hawaii County Planning Department priority. In fact the planning department in its 12-21-09 recommendation stated “No valuable or protected native species are present or would be affected in any way by the project.” (At page 6).

But heck – far-sighted planning is not the forte of our county bureaucracy. In particular the Harry Kim administration will in my mind forever be know for its lack of forward thinking – from the consistent approval of replacing extraordinary trees with excessive pavement, to vetoing the plastic bag ban legislation. It was Harry Kim and his trusty anti-tree lieutenant Parks and Recreation Director Patricia Engelhard who promoted the removal of these trees at Reed’s Bay Park. Mayor Kim defended removing the banyans using the boilerplate argument that banyans are not native trees. What a narrow-minded view of the world and of the history of Hilo.

I understand the predicament of the current director of Parks and Rec, Bob Fitzgerald. He needs to have this project all approved by March 2010 or else the County will lose its federal funding assistance. I always appreciate his gung-ho can-do attitude (refreshing compared to the Kim administration holdovers in the Kenoi administration). But I don’t agree when he says the public should have taken a stand on this issue early on in the park planning process. The point is who would ever think one would have to be on guard to watch out in case the County decides to remove the banyans on banyan drive. Who would think it? Besides, according to the information I reviewed, these objections have been voiced repeatedly, they just were not listened to.




I do thank Tim Reese and others who mustered the community support so that the Windward planning commission removed 4 of the first 16 trees from the execution list. However, keep in mind that the special area use permit (Application 09-26) will allow even those four to later be removed without public notice by way of discretionary approval of the planning director.


Well maybe I am just a “tree hugger” from Waimea and the folks in Hilo aren’t so upset by what is happening at Reed’s Bay Park. But if you have never appreciated the Big Mama Banyan I am talking about, stop by and hug her good-bye.Here she is:

In the above photo, according to the Planning Commission/Plannning Department documents, the two trees to the right (banyan and ironwood) are to be removed, -- though they sure aren't inthe way). The banyan on the left is to remain-- although it is more likely in the way and is not as healthy as the banyan on the right. According to Parks and Rec all three will be removed

Noel Morata
Check out my blog about living aloha in East Hawaii http://noelmorata.blogspot.com/

[Rob Tucker]

It is simply amazing to me too. Parks & rec has spent considerable time and money chopping down trees all over the island. We lost our shade trees at the Pahoa Community Center a couple years back.... it's like they hate trees and prefer utility poles.

So now the plan is to take a completely unique feature in Hilo and make it look like everywhere else.

Amazing.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Carey]

This probably a result of a letter started by Syd Singer... For those of you who know him, you may also know that he does have a habit of making mountains out of molehills...

If you read Syd's initial letter, you will find that he is writing about one solitary tree... but he brings images throughout his letter of the many banyan trees along Banyan Drive...

The county is looking at improving Reeds Bay Beach Park, finally removing the restroom facility that was closed due to an EPA noted cesspool at waters edge (and adjacent to THE BANYAN) & replacing it and upgrading the park facility, and making a parking facility that is not on the beach sand...

In doing so, they will need to remove a singular banyan tree and some ironwoods and other non-native trees. This set off Syd on a diatribe that the county does not respect the non-native trees & that they were looking to drastically change the landscape of Banyan Dr.

I will try to find that weeks old letter from him & attach it to this...

This is one of the reasons why it is SO important to check facts...
ETA:Here is Syd's letter (Oh, the reason why there is a demarkation on non-native trees is only that some species of native trees may have special protection due to their rarity):
>"Hawaii County Puts Historic Banyan on Chopping Block
> by
> Sydney Ross Singer
> [Address removed]
> There was a time, not long ago, when environmentalists protected trees from being cut down by developers. Now, trees need to be protected from environmentalists cutting them down.
> A case in point is a beautiful, majestic banyan tree that graces Reed's Bay Beach Park, in Hilo. This area of Hilo boasts numerous banyan trees, many named after famous people and planted over 70 years ago in their honor. In 1934, Princess Kawananakoa planted a banyan here. In fact, the street these are on is called Banyan Drive.
> This particular banyan can be seen as you enter Banyan drive, and is the centerpiece of Reeds Bay Park. This tree should be listed as one of the most beautiful banyan specimens, indeed one of the most beautiful trees of any kind. The size of a three story house, it offers needed shade, its roots keep the shoreline intact, and it creates a magical, almost mystical ambiance that delights residents and tourists. Planted in the 1930's, it has survived four tsunamis.
> But it is guilty of one crime that has placed it on the Hawaii County Planning Department's chopping block. That crime is that it is not "native". And if events proceed as local native species supremacists are plotting, this mountain of a tree will be destroyed, not for harming the environment, but for simply coming from another place on the planet.
> This banyan poses no threat to native species. It is not competing with any native trees. This species of banyan does not spread in the wild. This is purely a matter of ideology, and the current ideology condemns non-native species for the sole reason that they were brought to Hawaii within the past 400 years.
> This intolerance and hatred for all things non-native is new in Hawaii. There was a time when Hawaii's environment was valued for its ability to support all sorts of exotic species. To make Hawaii more food sustainable, more beautiful, and with more biodiversity, numerous species have been brought here over the centuries. Laws have even been passed to protect all exceptional trees from destruction, regardless of whether or not they are native.
> Of course, some of these exotic trees have invaded the wild and are redefining ecosystems, sometimes for the worse. In response, environmentalists over the past couple of decades have shifted focus from protecting trees to destroying non-native trees. Actually, they would argue, they are protecting some trees by killing others.
> However, as with all reactionary movements, these environmentalists have over-reacted, and can no longer see the forest for the trees. They condemn all non-native species, regardless of context. They have become zealots with an insatiable urge to cleanse the islands of all the species that "don't belong here", a species cleansing similar to ethnic cleansing.
> And, according to these people, the banyans at Reeds Bay just don't belong.
> Of course, this banyan tree has enormous economic value, in addition to its aesthetic and ecological value. Given its size, location, and importance to holding the shoreline together, tree appraisers would probably assess this banyan in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This, of course, belongs to the public, since this is a county park.
> Besides losing the value of this tree, the cost of removing it will be huge, as will the cost of mitigating the impacts to the shoreline from this tree's removal.
> If the native supremacists had their way, all of the banyan trees on Banyan Drive would be destroyed. They believe Hawaii residents should take no pleasure in non-native trees. They would probably also want to rename Banyan Drive, since honoring a non-native species with a road name is against their agenda.
> The Hawaii Department of Parks and Recreation has just received approval from the Planning Committee for the destruction of this banyan, along with other old, beautiful, but also non-native trees at Reed's Bay Beach Park.
> We must all come to the rescue of these trees. We must save these special trees for future generations to enjoy. We must stop invasive environmentalism that destroys our valuable trees as part of a war on our environment in the name of species cleansing."

[emorata]

Carrey, i'm not convinced, the first posting shows that 12 trees are on the chopping block with 4 spared, but the letter you posted only talks about one tree...there seems to be an open application by the county that still needs to be finalized before any cutting will be done by March 2010.

Noel Morata
Check out my blog about living aloha in East Hawaii http://noelmorata.blogspot.com/

[Carey]

Maybe you should get the County proposal, if you are concerned with the trees in question... at least then we would have the information on what the county intends...

I would, as always, encourage everyone to visit the tree & the park, to check with the county planning to find out what their plans are....

And then post your comments.

As for the big banyan that is pictured on the website you gave & is mentioned in Syds' letter... It is adjacent to the old restroom facility (possibly close enough to have roots in the old cesspool...). It has been greatly utilized by the populations that visit the park, but to varying degrees of respect (it has been graced as a toileting facility, including TP waste, by some of the visitors of the park) It is a very large tree, it was bisected years ago & now has a tunnel amid its' tap roots...
It is a very gracious tree... but I would be hard pressed to call it "one of the most beautiful banyan specimens, indeed one of the most beautiful trees of any kind" as Syd has.... It has had decades of human intervention... and some abuse...

[mdd7000]

Follow the money. Who on the Planning Commission owns an interest in a tree cutting and trimming business or has a relative that does?

[Greg]

I think it would be fine if they took out the Chinese Banyon in this location and relandscaped with native species. The tree is beautiful, but is a species that develops rapidly and gigantically; and has outgrown it's area.

Plant another one away from the waterfront, name it after Carlos Santana, and wait sixty years.


Stoneface

[mella l]

Frankly people LOVE a shade tree to sit under while enjoying the beach, the ocean the water front, no have to carry tent popups. Banyan Drive denuded would be so short sighted perhaps. Would someone do a photo and shop it without trees, it would be ugly wouldn't it?

mella l

Paris London New York PUNA

[Kahunascott]

Maybe someone should look at the plans, eh?

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it cost when it’s free