This Douglas-fir is 61 inches in diameter–just over five feet wide and may be one of the oldest trees on the “Trillium/Ashton Woods” parcel that the LBA Woods Park Coalition has saved from a housing development.
This tree–and others just shy of this one’s grand stature–make this 74-acre parcel of woodland a real place, a heritage landscape. Walking through these woods–past these trees and among blooming salmonberry, salal, thimbleberry, trillium, and bleeding heart–you can experience the magic our geology, soils, and climate have created. You can see and hear the birds and small mammals that have made this place home or a critical refuge for centuries.
These woods are not pristine. They are crisscrossed with trails and old road beds. They host invasive and non-native plants. They show signs of logging and neglect. And yet, every spring, the trillium and other delicate flowers bloom quietly; the barred owl and pileated woodpecker loudly claim their territories; and–almost imperceptibly–the greening tips of the firs, cedars, hemlocks, alders, and maples add more shade, more life, more grace to this place we call home.
The LBA Woods Park Coalition celebrates the Olympia City Council’s 5-0 vote on Tuesday to officially acquire 74 acres of the LBA Woods. Read more here in The Olympian.