(WSB photos)
To the untrained eye, this tree might look like just another one of the many towering evergreens in Lincoln Park. It’s not.
It’s a Giant Sequoia (redwood), officially declared a Seattle Heritage Tree, thanks to the efforts of Al Rouyer:
Rouyer is a retired college educator. He specialized in political science, particularly Middle Eastern affairs – and took an interest in trees after retiring. Studying the trees in Lincoln Park is what led him to seek the designation for this one, estimated at 100 years old and more than 150 feet tall. He said most people walk through the park and have no idea that there’s so many kinds of trees and that some are worthy of special recognition, like this one in the north end of the park. Instead of getting a big fancy plaque, he opted for this simple tag:
Friends joined him today for a small gathering to commemorate the designation and celebrate the tree:
As explained by Plant Amnesty, the Heritage Tree designation does not confer any legal protection – but the organization hopes it will encourage tree preservation (which happens to be back in the news this week – we hope to write more about that this weekend).
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