Turbulence in Tumwater: The Davis-Meeker Garry Oak

A historic Garry oak or Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) is the cause of some unrest in the small city of Tumwater, Washington State, USA. The tree, which is estimated to be around 400 years old, stands between Old Highway 99 and the Olympia Regional Airport. It has occasionally dropped limbs in the past, and on May 16, 2023 it shed a 10-foot branch, which encroached slightly onto the highway.

The City Administrator commissioned a certified arborist’s report on the condition of the tree. This was followed by a more detailed assessment using sonic tomography, and then a final report which occasioned criticism from other arborists. This is not the place to go into details or to offer any judgment, but it is fair to say that differences in those reports led to some confusion and suspicion. The City Mayor determined that the oak should be felled, on safety grounds.

The tree is of significant cultural importance. It is located on the Cowlitz Trail, a former Indigenous American trading route dating back, it is claimed, some 9,000 years and a spur of the longer Oregon Trail. It became known as the Hanging Tree and later as the Davis-Meeker Oak in honor of Ezra Meeker who had traveled the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon as a young man, and Jack Davis, an environmental activist who fought for the retention of the tree during a highway improvement program in 1984. The Nisqually Indian Tribe has registered an interest in the tree, which is recorded as a historic property on the City of Tumwater Historical Register. Consequently, the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation has indicated that a permit will be required before the tree can be removed.

The City Council has denied that plans for the development of the Olympia Regional Airport, or for the upgrading of Old Highway 99, are a cause for wanting the removal of the tree, which they say is necessary purely on safety grounds. However, a citizens’ group, set up to press for the retention of the tree, does not accept that claim. Its website is here. Given the tree’s branching structure and location, one has to wonder why it has never been cable-braced.

Felling of the tree is currently on hold pending legal action against the Mayor of Tumwater, who has announced that she will not be seeking a second term in office. Passions can run deep over oak trees, as we all know.