Save the Eucalyptus! Their Enemies Are Among Us

I was walking around my yard a while back and noticed that the neighbors’ eucalyptus trees were full of singing birds. The tall trees were catching the last rays of the sun and a gazillion birds had congregated there to sing.

This fact contradicted something I had heard from the native plant people: they had led me to believe that song birds don’t like eucalyptus trees. Nothing could be further from the truth I observed. In fact, over the course of many years, I frequently have enjoyed the singing of birds in my neighbors’ eucalyptus.

Believe it or not, there are people in this town, Los Altos Hills, who are working to get rid of eucalyptus trees. Whoa, wait a minute! Please, stop the destruction of these magnificent giants.

Years ago we had a town ordinance against taking down any tree with a trunk over a certain diameter. Now that ordinance has been changed to protect only heritage oaks, probably because so many civic-minded, well meaning citizens are out to eradicate non-native trees. The Town is actually making people cut down some eucalyptus on private property when they build.*

Here is the case against eucalyptus trees, with my rebuttals:

• A bicyclist got killed by one.
  Ok, a bicyclist got killed by a truck too; are we banning trucks? Any big trees—including heritage oaks—can drop fatal branches.
• They are messy.
  Fine, if you don’t like how the ground looks around them, don’t have them in your yard. But how does that relate to my yard? It could be argued that their fallen bark provides weed-squelching mulch.
• They are thirsty.
  They do drink from the soil but they never need irrigation—you don’t have to water them, ever. If you take them out and plant something else, you are going to be watering the something else at least until it is established.
• They are tall.
  This is a problem?
• They are non-native.
  Who cares?

Here is the case for eucalyptus trees:

• They provide shade and beauty, adding to the property values of the town.
• Birds like them. Seriously. Especially the amazingly big birds. Bees too.
• They thrive here.
• Their oil is medicinal and their leaves may help to repel bugs such as fleas.
• They are a landscaping choice and landscaping choices should not be mandated by the Town.

If you cut down a 100-year old eucalyptus, there is NOTHING you can do to replace the amount of oxygen its many leaves would have been adding to the environment, and NOTHING you can plant that will absorb that much carbon dioxide, because it would take 100 years to replace all those leaves.

Save the Eucalyptus! How dare someone tell me what kind of trees to like?     

Here is the code:

Los Altos Hills Municipal Code

*10-2.802 Landscape policies.
(g)    Eucalyptus Trees. All existing Blue Gum (E. globulus), Pink Ironbark (E. sideroxylon rosea), River Red Gum (E. camaldulensis), Swamp Gum (E. rudis), Honey Gum (E. melliodora), and Manna Gum (E. viminalis) eucalyptus trees shall be removed at the time of construction of a principal residence or at the time of the construction of any structure, combination of structures, addition or alteration to structures which individually or cumulatively equal or exceed twelve hundred (1,200) square feet of floor area. Exceptions shall be made for eucalyptus trees greater than one hundred fifty (150) feet from any roadways or structures.

5-8.08 Town guidelines concerning restorative action.
The Town of Los Altos Hills provides the following general guidelines concerning restorative actions:
Undesirable Trees. By reason of their tall height at maturity, rapid growth, dense foliage, shallow root structure, flammability, breakability, or invasiveness, certain types of trees have been deemed “undesirable” by the Town, including Blue Gum Eucalyptus, Monterey Pine and Monterey Cypress trees.
When considering restorative action for “undesirable” trees, aggressive action is preferred.   

About This Column: Each week Pam Walatka will explore sustainable life in Los Altos Hills. Contact Pam at pamwalatka@yahoo.com or see Pam Portugal Walatka Writings on FaceBook.