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White Fir tree |
One of the grand sights at the entrance to Halibut Point State Park has been the White Fir at the edge of the meadow.
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White Fir cone |
From a distance the tree resembles a Blue Spruce. All firs, however, are distinguished by cones perched like candles upright on the branches, as opposed to pendulous.
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The fir beside the barn and the farm house |
Until recently the entrance to the Park was graced by a rustic grouping of buildings and trees that pleased the eye of visitors and artists.
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Field Sparrow |
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Bluebird |
The tree sheltered birds. Passersby could only guess at dark mysteries within its canopy.
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The White Fir stump |
In the single most bizarre travesty of the current landscape renovation by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the fir tree was destroyed. Growth rings date it to about the time the Park was dedicated in 1981. The iconic farm house was demolished last year.
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Carting away the fir cadaver |
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Shredding the tree |
The leafless woods surrounding the meadow at the time of the execution emphasize the somber deed. Note the cluster of trees and shrubs in the vortex of vehicles in this photo. Evidently they displeased the DCR planners as well.
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Sharp-shinned Hawk atop the tree |
The tallest tree in the group, admittedly dead, served as a perch for many types of birds. It was always a good place for observers to check on the way into the Park.
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Indigo Bunting in the former copse |
The cherries and honeysuckle shrubs that surrounded the tall tree gave sanctuary to species that gleaned tidbits in the surrounding field.
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Only the utility pole still stands |
One wonders if these trees and shrubs were disdained in the design inventory as clutter beside the "New England meadow" in the DCR renovation plan. One wonders if they really will let the grass grow to an inviting height for meadow creatures, or whether bug-averse people will prevail on lawn mowing.
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ReplyDeleteThe DCR, the powers that be, all of us to some extent, are anthropocentric. We ask, or often don't bother to even ponder, what's in it for us? How can a landscape, a park, a field benefit us? We view nature as existing for us. This is so arrogant of us as people. This is at the heart of what you are suffering at Halibut Point. We remove precious trees and pollute the planet (not our planet, the planet) without little thought other than what do we gain from it. Thanks for your sobering and direct reporting. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteDefinition of anthropocentric
1: considering human beings as the most significant entity of the universe
2: interpreting or regarding the world in terms of human values and experiences
*WITH little thought
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martin, for these two posts documenting the losses at Halibut Point. It seems to have been "blank slate" planning, as if there were nothing there already. Astonishing. SUMCO or sumcoeco.com is the contractor. DCR called the place an "underutilized resource." No one who knew the park seems to have had a voice in any of it. You were kind to call the new Welcome structure shopping mall-inspired. It looks to me as if it would be at home at a military installation. "Welcome to Fort Bragg."
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