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By Sydney Ross Singer
(Hilo) The majestic banyan tree in Reed’s Bay Beach Park will be saved, according the the Hawaii County News. Robert Fitzgerald, director of the County Department of Parks & Recreation, said the County initially planned to remove the trees because they are close to the site for the new comfort station. However, Fitzgerald said it may be possible to trim the trees back and work around them.
The change in County plans came as a direct result of public pressure and outrage over the planned tree cutting, which was to be done in February. Planted in the 1930’s, this banyan has enormous economic value, in addition to its aesthetic, ecological, and historical value. Cutting it down would have cost the County close to $100,000.
The real reason the banyan was on the chopping block was because it is non-native, since a native tree of this size and importance would never be cut down. Current County policy devalues non-native species. Other non-native trees in the park will be cut down, according the County News, “replacing some existing trees with shoreline-appropriate native tree speciesâ€, evidence of the native species supremacism that led to the proposed destruction of the banyan.
An emergency community meeting planned for Sunday, January 31, at 2PM will go on as scheduled under the banyan at Reed’s Bay Beach Park on Banyan Drive, celebrating the saving of the banyan and rededicating it to, “The Aloha Spiritâ€. Group photo will be at 4PM. Come and be a part of history.
We are happy that the County has heard and listened to the will of the people. Come join in the celebration of our success, and let the County know that we are still watching. For more information, call 935-5563, or email SaveTheBanyan@gmail.com.
To see the Hawaii County News story, go here: http://www.hawconews.com/hawaii-county-news/2010/1/25/county-plans-to-retain-reeds-bay-banyan-trees.html
Where does Syd get his “real reason” (i.e. non-native)? Can he actually put forth any proof or evidence to support this claim? No one at Parks & Rec nor the Planning Commission is aware of this “reason”. Once again crazy Syd bastardizes reality to fit his narrow perspective —- and now what, he’s gonna take CREDIT for it???
Why do the blogs on this island continue to allow him to spew his stuff without a care for the facts?
By Singer’s logic, anyone who cuts down a non-native tree, for any reason is a supremacist. But, native trees don’t matter at all.