The National Park Service tree crew can turn this:
Into this:
In a flash. They move so quickly to clear the trails that I saw more and more of their work, but no trace of them. They started to take on a mythical quality.
But in August I happened upon them while they cleared a giant beech tree from the path.
I introduced myself to Robert (Bobby) Rutkowski, Gilbert Shupe, Sherwood Hall, and Kevin Freeman (from left to right in the photo).
Freeman had just returned from almost two weeks of fighting fires in California. There is a fifth member, Mike Papa, who had to leave earlier in the morning. They are responsible for trees on all National Park Service property throughout the District, not just Rock Creek Park.
Rock Creek Park Ranger Bill Yeaman tells me NPS has lost quite a few old trees this season due to all the rain. And this tree, he roughly estimated, was around 150 years old.
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Green Eyeshades says
Somebody chopped down a beech tree on the front lawn of the Polish Ambassador’s residence that was nearly as large (judging from the stump) as the one in your photo.
I wonder if the owners of the Polish Ambassador’s residence needed permission to chop down such an old beech tree. (Two large stumps appeared suddenly in that front yard this week, but I could only tell for sure that one of them was a beech.)
Tracy J. says
In reporting our latest on 3101 Albemarle (https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/no-townhomes-at-3101-albemarle-developer-proceeding-with-matter-of-right-project/) we asked about what happened to those two trees. We’re told both were felled by storms and both were rotten inside.
The last time a tree of that size fell on the property it caused considerable damage to three parked cars on Albemarle: https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/after-rains-its-trees-vs-cars-in-forest-hills-and-n-cleveland-park/
Green Eyeshades says
Thank you very much for your prompt. coverage of the beginning of “matter of right” construction at the Polish Ambassador’s residence. Clear-cutting the front yard of that site would appear to be part of the “matter of right” construction. There are still protected trees on that site, which we all need to keep our eyes on.
Tracy J. says
Thank YOU very much for your astute observations. Especially about our coverage holes!
And a note to readers: Comments have been moderated since “Pizzagate” crazies descended on the neighborhood, and we’re having some trouble with the system. We’re supposed to receive email notifications each time someone posts a comment, but more often than not they are going into a spam folder. We do find them… eventually. But that can mean they post out of order or as much as a day later. Please bear with us while we work to resolve this.
Damon Regan says
Thank you Marlene for sharing the story. Thank you Bobby, Gilbert, Sherwood, Kevin, and Mike for the great work.