Capitol Hill's Garry Oak is in Danger

Belmont Place, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

There's been a bit of talk about the Seattle Garry Oak (Quercus Garryana) at Oak Manor lately, and I live across the street from it, so I thought I'd pass on a bit of information that I've recently picked up.

First, it's not actually part of Oak Manor. It and the .02 acres that it stands on are a City of Seattle pocket park called Belmont Place. We all own it, which is awesome, because we all get to enjoy it (yes, we can picnic under it if we feel like it), but unfortunately, that brings me to the second bit of news.

It is sick. We had an arborist come by to look at one of our trees, and he was of the opinion that the tree is in danger. Its leaves haven't been filling out as much as they used to, and it is very probable that is is afflicted by a fungus (in Seattle? Really?). The message has been passed to the Parks Department, and it sounds like they need to run some tests to find out what it is, and possible treatments they can use to save it.

I'm sure the Seattle Parks Department realizes how important this tree is both to the neighborhood and the city (it's a fairly rare tree, and native to the region), but I'd hate to see the ball get dropped on this one. A few years back we lost the tree in Thomas Street Park to disease, and although they've replanted, it'll be decades before there's shade there. I'm not advocating letter-bombing the parks department or anything, but it might be a good idea to let them know you're concerned too.