SEEDLADY
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2012-10-04 08:56 AM |
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man, my trimmer hates working eucs--farms it out. Kudos to these guys, it's dangerous work.
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COMMENT 327661
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2012-10-04 09:01 AM |
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Ooh, not got to be as pretty a park as it used to be.... kinda like a bad hair cut that doesn't grow out. I guess we'll get used to it. Congrats on the improvement to your views, though.
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COMMENT 327671P
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2012-10-04 09:20 AM |
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Some years ago, I was told that eucalyptus trees could spontaneously combust. Is there any truth in the story?
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COMMENT 327673
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2012-10-04 09:26 AM |
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They will explode in a fire because they have a large amount of oil. But they do not spontaneously combust
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COMMENT 327676
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2012-10-04 09:29 AM |
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Great! Non native trees are taking over.
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COMMENT 327681
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2012-10-04 09:38 AM |
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676: I'm confused by your statement. They are removing non-natives, not planting them.
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COMMENT 327683
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2012-10-04 09:45 AM |
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This is awesome. Eucs are a plague in the this community and unwelcome transplants. I hope SB sees what Carp is doing and pushes for more removal of these horrible trees in our city as well. These trees harm the environment and the time is now to get them out.
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COMMENT 327687
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2012-10-04 10:00 AM |
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Concur: Eucs do not "spontaneously combust". However, there's three points to understand about these trees. One: their sap is extremely volatile, which is obvious. You can smell eucs from quite a distance due to that volatility. Two: The ignition point of the sap is very low. Three: the wood has a higher ignition point. So, when the tree is in the middle of a fire, the sap expands within the tree, and can even begin to boil! Then, it seeps through to the surface where a spark can ignite it. ***KABOOM*** Exploding fireball of a tree.
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COMMENT 327736
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2012-10-04 11:04 AM |
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It's not my place to say if this is right or wrong in the long run to remove such trees--I am not a tree or public safety expert.
BUT I am a Monarch butterfly lover, and this is absolutely the worst possible time of year to cut these trees down. The Monarchs are just arriving and laying eggs. Why in the world could this have not have waited until Spring?
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COMMENT 327754
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2012-10-04 11:25 AM |
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Very brave men working for low wages.
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COMMENT 327687
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2012-10-04 11:32 AM |
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Carpinteria isn't really known for the monarchs.
Also? The monarch likes milkweed. If you want to help monarchs, plant milkweed on your property. They'll be fine without the eucs.
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COMMENT 327777
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2012-10-04 12:12 PM |
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Very sad. As the song goes,
"Paved paradise and putting up a parking lot."
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COMMENT 327683
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2012-10-04 12:34 PM |
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I just ran through the area on lunch break and it is the CCC (California Conservation Corp) that is doing the work. The entire campground south of the bridge is closed to all foot and vehicle traffic for what looks like over a month. They are really going at it and doing work besides taking down the trees. Long overdue rehab at a very popular park and I'm sure the neighbors will be enjoying the views!
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COMMENT 327831P
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2012-10-04 02:35 PM |
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777. I agree.
Problem is, with "removal" of eucalyptus, the entire stump must be taken out as well. Eucalyptus trees are not easily killed.
Enormous eucalyptus trees were "removed" right near Vieja school. Loads of Roundup/Rodeo (for shame!) was dumped onto the stumps, right next to a creek. Not too long after, the stumps all sprouted out. I haven't been by there lately, but I bet the "removed" trees aren't doing too badly. They're just a lot shorter.
I like eucalyptus. I see how the birds and butterflies and bees like the eucalyptus. I like the shade provided. Not all eucs are "self-pruning." The excuse for this killing of the eucs is liability? Branches might fall? When was the last time you heard of anyone anywhere suffering from a falling eucalyptus branch-related injury? Bunch of baloney. Cheaper, and less destructive, just to keep trees maintained properly.
Not to mention that birds are fairly territorial. What happens to the birds that utilized these trees everyday? What about the bees that came to these trees for honey and pollen? It's a real shame.
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CHILI_CON_ARTCARNE
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2012-10-04 04:13 PM |
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I liked riding my bike through that "tunnel" of eucs." Never rode there when there was a windstorm though. There were very beautiful and it will look a little barren when the work is finished. Having said that, It's good they were removed as the soil there is very sandy and people are camping almost directly under these trees. Just a matter of time before someone is hurt or worse.
I, too will miss them, but maybe they will plant some safer trees.
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COMMENT 327687
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2012-10-04 04:17 PM |
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831P: There are species of eucs that are well-known as "widow makers". The eucs have a well-documented evolved capability to drop large branches, even relatively healthy ones, during drought situations to spare the major body of the tree from dying of thirst. Further, there is a strong movement in CA to remove non-native plants and trees from parklands. As to the last time I heard of someone dying from getting hit by a falling euc branch? Five days ago. Riverside.
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COMMENT 327893P
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2012-10-04 04:27 PM |
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But... hmmm... something isn't natural here. On the ground beneath the tree, we find a dead Ruby-crowned Kinglet, its facial feathers matted flat from black, tar-like pitch. Through a hand lens I can see that its nostrils are sealed shut. This little bird has suffocated as a result of its attraction to an exotic plant. I wonder out loud if the same fate becomes all the black-faced insectivores we see foraging in flowering eucalyptus. Years ago I found a dead hummingbird with black tar covering its bill and wondered why. It was in a cemetery in Oakland - under eucalyptus trees. http://www.prbo.org/OBSERVER/Observer108/Focus1
08.2.html
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JOJOFLYS
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2012-10-04 04:42 PM |
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831P - I remember a child dying at the San Diego Zoo when a euc branch fell on her. It might have been the '70s or '80s. When I tried to find something about it using google, I found 3 other instances instead - Costa Mesa 2011, Highland Park 1990, San Diego 2003.
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COMMENT 327974P
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2012-10-04 09:49 PM |
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327687- Monarchs do like eucalyptus; visit the Ellwood grove some winter and you'll see that's where the monarchs hang out. Luckily or at least hopefully they won't clear cut the trees there because of possible fear of a falling branch. I suspect more people die from falling coconuts than they do from falling eucalyptus branches. Even more die from falls in their bathtubs.
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COMMENT 327687
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2012-10-05 07:41 AM |
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974P: Please pay attention. I did not say that monarchs won't _use_ euc but I'm not entirely sure they _like_ it. They _use it_ because there is not a lot of milkweed around here. As in, I think I've seen a mere handful of plants and they were in curated gardens, not growing wild. If you want to attract monarchs, plant their native host plant. M I L K W E E D. And again, we're talking about CARPINTERIA, not Goleta. There are _some_ monarchs that land here, but the migration event favors Goleta. The monarchs ARE NOT GOING TO SUFFER because these trees are taken out. Also? I sincerely doubt ANYONE dies from coconuts falling on them here in the US. People _do_ die from falling trees and a man was killed in Riverside late last week by a falling euc branch.
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COMMENT 328055
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2012-10-05 09:25 AM |
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Real smart of them to pick the busiest week in Carpinteria to do this. Avocado Festival is on and half of the campground is closed for maintenance. Stupid.
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LUCKY 777
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2012-10-05 09:27 AM |
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Just a bit of history. Years ago I interviewed the man who planted those trees for the Carpinteria Valley Oral History project. I'm glad he is not alive to see them destroyed. They were there because other trees would not grow in the salt-sand soil, and with the salt spray from the fogs encrusting their leaves. He was SO proud of the gentle grace they added to the campgrounds, and there was an epic winter when waves crashed in and made ponds of water under them, like the Salton Sea, and the community turned out and dug trenches so the water would drain back out to sea to save them. Generations of people have appreciated these beautiful trees. As for monarchs, when you remove a grove like this they have lost their place to live. Same thing happened on Buttefly Beach in Montecito when a greedy land owner removed a stand of eucalyptus for a better view from his McMansion. I say trees make better neighbors than people.
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FLICKA
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2012-10-05 10:22 AM |
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687 and 736, The Park trees had no Monarchs. However, across the tracks my friend raises organic vegetables; Butterfly Farm, because the butterflies came in droves every year. A few years ago he had the 2nd highest count of Monarchs in SB Co. When he had a crew in to trim his Eucs the City of Carp forbid him to cut even a branch. Eucs get top heavy and are prone to falling.Two weeks later a major wind blew down 12 of his trees (they were about 100ft high). One went across the RR tracks.
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COMMENT 328215
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2012-10-05 02:31 PM |
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Monarchs have a 'hang-out' (ha!) near the State Beach Campgrounds, in the Concha Loma neighborhood along the creek by the sewage treatment plant. They've come there for a long time, and those trees are not affected by the removal of the trees at the State Beach. We used to be able to go in and see them but now the fence is 'repaired' and access is no longer viable. :(
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COMMENT 327687
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2012-10-05 08:30 PM |
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For anyone concerned about this, the Coastal View News, which is available online, has the story on the front page this week. The story is available online.
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COMMENT 328360P
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2012-10-05 08:56 PM |
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Lucky 777 - I agree. I realize they are non-native. However, to the butterflies, they are obviously "native". To whomever keeps talking about milkweed, thousands and thousands hang off the eucs in Ellwood. It would take acres and acres of milkweed to do the same.
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COMMENT 327687
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2012-10-06 06:35 AM |
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360P THAT'S GREAT FOR ELLWOOD! But, we're not TALKING about ELLWOOD. We're talking about C A R P I N T E R I A. There are very few butterflies (a bug that is NOT endangered, or threatened) in the Carpinteria eucs. Someone worried about the few monarchs that may be displaced by the eucs being taken down in Carpinteria. For those bugs, planting some milkweed nearby is PROBABLY MORE THAN SUFFICIENT.
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