Sonoma lost two giants a few weeks ago. Towering 125 feet over their domain on Fourth Street East, two twin cypress trees had stood for nearly 100 years, providing shade, scale, character and wildlife habitat. In but two short days they were removed, and a Sonoma neighborhood has been changed forever.
Not unlike the people who walked in the shadow of these giants for so many years, these two trees had found their place in the world, held it with dignity, and persevered in the face of life’s formidable challenges. While it is not for me to know the inner character of great trees, some facts are undeniable. While others of their kind succumbed long ago to the ravages of wind, insects, disease and the misplaced hand of man, these two grand specimens had thrived. Despite the indignities of construction, irrigation, and pollution to which they were subjected, their will to live was strong, but not strong enough to resist the cut of sharpened steel upon their flanks.
Flayed and flensed like great whales, dismembered piece by piece, and cut into tidy bits, their bodies will be burned or ground to mulch, or simply set aside to rot in moldy piles during winter’s rain. Their dignity destroyed, all that remains are stumps and invisible shadows, now merely grand memories for those of us who have enjoyed the lofty embrace of their thick arm-like branches and marveled at their massive, smooth gray stature.
How best to memorialize these great trees, these silent beings that stood far above the fast and flighty short-lived creatures, we who scurry and fail too often to appreciate the long-lived things around us? To mourn them seems a bit misplaced, and in a world filled with the suffering of people, perhaps it is too much to ask. A better memorial should be long lasting, and such honor shown not in sorrowful words, but in actions and deeds.
And so it is that I propose, and will contribute time, energy and money to creating and sustaining the Sonoma Heritage Tree Foundation. While the city of Sonoma has bandied about the notion of the Heritage Tree for years, it has never implemented any program to identify and protect them, and now two more are lost. One reason has been money; such a program will require the city of Sonoma to spend money for upkeep, pruning, inspections and the like. The foundation I propose should help to solve that problem by making money available to implement the Heritage Tree Program.
I feel certain that the citizens of Sonoma will not only be delighted to protect and preserve our magnificent heritage trees, but will also be willing to contribute funds towards doing so. Admittedly, there are many worthy causes looking for money, all deserving. But our largest, oldest, most stately trees have no defenders, though most were here long before any of us moved to town, or were yet born. I think it’s time to change that. Many communities have enacted and funded Heritage Tree programs and with the prospect of more time at hand upon my retirement from the city council, I intend to make sure Sonoma becomes one of them. Amen.
