It sounds like an oddity, but not particularly important. It’s just a passing freak of nature. Any reason they can’t take some cuttings and either root or graft them somewhere else? That and plant some of the seeds, they can make themselves a whole grove of freaky ghost trees, everyone would win, nobody would lose.
1 Like
This tree has been growing next to these tracks for a very long time, without the need to move either one. It seems that bringing commuter rail to the town, means a more stringent set of safety precautions. This is the safety of humans riding the train, mind you, not the safety of any other organisms nearby.
The sensible thing to do, would be to write a safety mitigation for the tree, to make sure its foliage doesn’t interfere with the tracks, and that it doesn’t fall down on the tracks or on a train. Given its rarity, I’m sure someone could come forward and make such a promise stick.
But this isn’t financial regulation, so I doubt an exception will be made for this. If Obama can pardon a turkey, maybe he could free a tree?
4 Likes
Save the tree!!
Just put a curve in the tracks. What could possibly go wrong?
As of Thursday national outcries have brought to a halt the cutting down of the tree. SMART is bringing in arborial experts to see if they can move it to another part of Cotati. The tree is 52 feet tall and about 67 years old. Yikes! They say there are 60 documented chimera coast redwoods south of Del Norte county and more in the forests that are hard to document because of accessibility. Anyway, the tracks will not be moved, so, to be continued…
Then nothing is important. We’re all passing freaks of nature, you included.
1 Like
Cotati resident here. Been waiting for this train for a looooong time. The Right of Way is about 60’, the 52’ high tree is 15’ from the tracks. You cannot move the tracks far away enough to matter wrt safety of the train. Moving the tree is the only non-kill solution, and I imagine the cost rather high. Who here has got their wallet out?
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to build a very short tunnel over the tracks to protect it from the menacing tree? Commuter rail has to coexist with nearby buildings quite a lot, why’s the tree got to leave?
1 Like
'Cause it’s a tree? (“Leave”, get it?)
2 Likes
If they were building a highway or road expansion that tree would already be toothpicks.
Well, if it’s a mutant redwood why doesn’t it attack them with it’s tentacles?
Eh? EH?!
Problem solved.
3 Likes
*outweigh…
Pah, the Australian Prime Minister would probably suggest some loggers go in, chop it up, turn some of it into furniture, and the bulk into wood chips and then praise them as “ultimate conservationists”. At least there seems to be a pretty serious discussion about saving it here.
Building on the other responders: if you eat the cost and curve the track, the total track length will be longer, which means more total trees get cut down.
Your rational points have no place in this emotionally charged discussion!
See? Curves in tracks! that’s why we can’t have nice things!
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
