TUMWATER, Wash. — A 400-year-old oak tree will live to see another day in Tumwater.
Mayor Debbie Sullivan paused a planned removal of the tree after hearing what city administrator Lisa Parks described as “passionate pleas” from members of the public during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
Last month, Sullivan made the decision to have the Davis Meeker Garry Oak tree removed after recommendations from a “team of arborists,” according to a statement released by the city.
That report found “significant” delay, according to the city.
A 10-foot-long branch fell 50 feet from the tree last year, prompting the investigation into the tree’s health.
Sullivan said she made the decision to have the tree removed to protect those in the 20,000 cars that pass beneath the tree every day.
The decision prompted lawsuits and demonstrations, citing the tree’s environmental and historical significance. It’s on the city’s Historical Register.
It was part of the Cowlitz Trail, the northern extension of the Oregon Trail.
Following 90 minutes of public testimony calling for additional studies of the tree’s health, Sullivan said she would have a second risk assessment conducted.
City administrator Parks said because of the potential risk from the tree, traffic may be diverted around it until a decision is made.
A city spokesperson said the last study took several months, so future decisions on the tree’s fate are not expected until the fall, at the earliest.
“I’m tickled pink with the results last night,” said Michelle Peterson, who grew up in Tumwater and has been part of the campaign to save the tree.
Peterson said she knows the decision is only a delay.
“It's momentary, we are not resting on our laurels,” said Peterson.