Killing of 44 Golden Gate Park trees stumps San Francisco

sfgate.com / July 23, 2010

Tree-lovers at Golden Gate Park are dismayed by the actions of someone who's their complete opposite: a tree killer.

The most recent assault was discovered Wednesday morning at the Music Concourse, where 14 young elms and one sycamore had been sawed in two about 8 inches from the ground. This is at least the fifth such attack in the park since mid-May, according to park officials.

All told, 44 trees have been vandalized. In most cases, someone wielded a handsaw. Other trees have been uprooted or stripped of bark at their base.

"We're all a little stunned," said Phil Ginsburg, who heads the city's Recreation and Park Department. "It's disgusting, the epitome of people behaving badly in parks."

LINK: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/23/BAPE1EIJP2.DTL

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Why does someone do this?

Do you have an incinerator that burns wood chips nearby? If you do, no doubt they have signed contracts with tree trimming and landscaping companies to supply the "biomass" burner with its daily supply of wood chips. In some cities, this daily amount can be up to 1000 tons of wood waste per day. This is done so that the "energy" companies (trees are renewable energy, don't ya know) don't have to pay the higher costs of natural gas or coal (right--cut down all the trees and burn them instead). This is huge scam going on all around the country now. The point appears to be to create as much "wood waste" as possible. All big trees must go! I have a list of at least 2 dozen strategies for how to/reasons to condemn and cut down trees. Certain trees yield higher BTUs. My guess is that one of the tree companies that will have the job of removing said killed trees also is on the list of contractors to supply the biomass burner. Who does San Francisco hire to remove trees from GG Park? The company that "trims" trees for the utility companies are probably on the list of contractors, as well. This is a conflict, as they are highly motivated to then cut as much as possible. If you go to energyjustice.net, go to the right-hand side, and click on "mapping," and register to log in, you can key in your zip code, and it will display the various incinerators and types for your area. Add to this "trees for services," which means the the entity that hires the private companies to remove trees gives the trees to the companies that they hire in lieu of payment. These companies are then free to sell the trees as chips to the energy company they have contracts with. The "I-Tree" pilot, sponsored by USDA Forestry, appears to be using our tax dollars to inventory all of the trees in this country, for private use. The "I" stands for inventory, I was told by our city forester for Parks division. All of our public entities--public works, DNR, DOT, universities, park boards, agriculture depts, etc. appear to be involved, and hire companies to remove trees for them.