A coalition of environmentally concerned citizens called Save Downtown Trees attended Sept. 26’s city council townhall and staged multiple protests in downtown Pullman in an effort to save as many trees as possible in opposition to Project Downtown’s proposed plan to remove up to 75 trees.

According to their website, Project Downtown is a $9 million multi-year city-wide effort to revamp the downtown streets and public gathering places. Part of their plan outlines replacing sewer and water pipes, as well as replacing and widening the downtown sidewalks to make them ADA-compliant. However with these renovations, comes the removal of up to 75 trees that line the sidewalks. 

Longtime community member Timothy Paulitz created an online petition in support of saving the trees that has gathered over 2,200 signatures. The petition urges the City of Pullman to modify the downtown plan to save as many trees as possible and if necessary to choose replacement trees with consideration to what shade the trees are able to provide.

According to Save Downtown Trees’ website, the group waves pro-tree signs twice a week, once at Cougar Plaza and once on the corner near Rico’s Public House. Members of this coalition were also present at Tuesday night’s City Council Town Hall meeting to comment on why the trees should stay.

“Our trees improve the quality of life for inhabitants of Downtown Pullman as well as businesses,” said Marsha Yim, a resident siding with Save Downtown Trees.“We need to retain our trees, doing our fair share in helping to address climate change and to send a clear message that we care about protecting our environment.”

Many residents in support of saving the trees at the Tuesday meeting said the trees help mitigate climate change, as the canopy provides a shade that helps to cool the downtown streets during the summer months. 

Paulitz said during the Town Hall meeting that it would take a decade or longer for the proposed small sapling replacements to harbor as much shade as the current Ash trees.

“We’re going to be known as the best little climate-denying town in the west if we go ahead with this plan,” said Elizabeth Siler, an English as a second language specialist at WSU and member of Save Downtown Trees.

Council member Nathan Weller said that he fought hard to save the trees when discussions were held last October regarding the Project Downtown plan. He also said he wished that the community was more involved when the original discussions about Project Downtown were happening. 

Siler said she feels as though the City Council sees everything in a binary way, and in this case, it’s either maintain the trees, or maintain the sidewalks. 

“There’s no nuance, there’s no discussion and there’s no listening to us,” Siler said. 

Pamela Lee, a retired art historian and Save Downtown Trees member, said she has written to the City Council multiple times and just recently the council admitted they had never read her letters. 

Monique Slipher, a certified arborist and Save Downtown Trees member, said while she sent multiple detailed emails to the council last winter providing resources and forestry advice from the state, as well as meeting in person with Council member Becky Dueben, none of her concerns or efforts were brought up during a council meeting. 

Slipher said one of the main problems with the Project Downtown plan is that the city of Pullman does not have a dedicated urban forester. Unlike many other cities, the Parks and Recreation Commission serves as the Urban Forestry Advisory Commission for Pullman, and the municipal arborist for Pullman is the Parks Superintendent.

“One of the things I would really like to see come out of this effort and broader efforts is to get an arborist on the city staff and to get better ongoing expert input going forward for the city,” Slipher said.

Slipher, along with many members of Save Downtown Trees, has been actively researching alternatives and solutions in hopes of keeping the downtown trees. Slipher said that she has been in contact with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Spokane’s urban forester who have both provided links and resources that Slipher and other members can take to the city council to show there is funding and there are alternatives to removing all trees. 

Slipher and Paulitz are currently compiling a presentation of all the resources and information they have received, but are still figuring out who to present it to. Slipher said she feels as though going to the city council would not be effective because they have not been supportive in this process. 

“[Slipher and Paulitz] have brought forward so much information about towns that have done it. There’s ways forward here and they’re not super expensive and the disabled can still walk on the streets,” Siler said.