Sedona the Trees Network UPDATE

Hello everyone,

I attended the 6:00pm City Council meeting tonight (Tuesday 9-11-07 and I am very happy with the results of this meeting.

Due to the incredible response from everyone, we have made a huge difference by saving some (20) Large Sycamore trees from either being cut down or from suffering severe damage from the construction process. (digging near the roots)

The sidewalk on the north side of highway 179 in front of the New Age stores will now be made to curve around to save(4)trees there. 1/17 inch Sycamore tree is slated for removal along the stretch of road there because it ends up in the proposed roadway and (1) tree is still subject to removal unless an agreement can be made to change a driveway location.

ADOT is still looking at the possibility of saving the two large Sycamores near the Tlaquepaque wall and the telephone pole by swerving the road to the bridge perhaps just a few feet to the north. One of these trees is probably the oldest of the bunch.

Tree wells will be built around any trees on the north side of Highway 179 where substantial grade changes will be made.

Gabions (rocks in metal wire caging) will be permanently installed at the entire length of the Talaquapaque parking lot and creek embankment to stabilize (8)of the huge Sycamore trees that were undermined by the flash flood some 3 years ago. This has always been a concern of Save the Trees from the beginning.

The size of the trees to be planted as part of the new landscape have been stepped up to 24inch box and will line the avenue. My feeling is, this will look very nice and I am pleased with larger caliper replacements.

ADOT officials who were asked about an approximate cost of these changes stated it is about $200,000

I would like to thank the Sierra Club Verde Valley Chapter for all they have done in such short notice. I encourage more people to join and support this Nationwide group by joining and taking action on any future endeavours.

And I thank everyone for all of your support. You have all been incredible. It just goes to show how we can all band together in times of need and I couldn't have done this without all of you.

I think we all learned a lot from this experience. And I know that we not only saved trees here in Sedona, but I feel this new awareness, the need for an accurate up-to-date Tree Survey for any future projects ADOT is involved with, that perhaps some trees down the road a piece will be thanking us for all that we did.

Blessings,

Jim Law
Sedona Save the Trees Network
Exec. Producer / VOICE Entertainment
Land Art Works,Inc.

UPDATE Sept. 8th 2007

Good news... our meeting with ADOT went very well.

Due to YOUR support....our concerns were heard by ADOT and we have saved the lives of many large Sycamore trees that were slated for removal, and... those that would have been severely damaged by digging trenches during the construction process, are now going to be protected. Several of the requests for changes that were posted on this Blog were read by ADOT officials and we are happy to announce that some of these requests have been heard and the plans have already been ammended.

Here are the updates:

CHANGES MADE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF 179 AS FOLLOWS:

1) The new sidewalk that will be installed along the north side of highway 179 in front of the new age stores will be changed. The new walkway will now be curvilinear and it will sweep around those trees. Originally, it was going to run straight down the road. Our concerns were heard and (7) of those (8) large Sycamore trees there that have had the green signs on them are going to be saved. One of the (7) to be saved has a 15inch trunk and ADOT will attempt to transplant it by using the company that has been handling all of the other tree transplants since the beginning of the project. At the moment, one of what are now (8) trees is slated to be destroyed to allow for a new driveway into the parking lot of one of the new age stores. Bottom line....we saved the lives of (7) huge Sycamores.

2) Tree wells will be installed around those same trees to protect them from grade changes.

3) The Utilities companies that are digging the huge ditch there along that same stretch are taking a look at options to prevent damaging the roots of the double trunked Sycamore tree that their trench is 4ft. away from. They will involve a certified Arborist to assist them during that process.

CHANGES MADE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF HIGHWAY 179 AS FOLLOWS:

1) The storm drain that was to be installed along the front of the Tlaquepaque wall is being relocated to the center median to prevent damage to the roots to several of the Sycamores in that area.

2) The two very large Sycamore trees that have the red ribbon on them that are near the telephone pole near the bridge were slated for removal and ADOT has appointed two certified Arborists to see if there is a chance for their survival if the concrete footers for the new bridge are placed 4ft away from them. I asked for a review of this situation and to see if the curve of the bridge could be made to bend about 5ft. more to the north to save these two trees. One of them is the largest and oldest of all of the Sycamores we are concerned about.


3) Gabions (rocks placed into wire matting) will blanket the entire creek bank that was severely washed out by the flood a few years ago. Soil that washed away back then, will be placed back over the roots of those large Sycamores and the creek bank will be retained permenantly this way. This will protect all of those trees along the Tlaquepaque parking lot edge. This was a big concern and it addresses the issues of any potential damage to those trees downstream of the Oak Creek bridge.


Summary:
As it stands....
1) The roundabout will remain as per plan.
2) The two large Cottonwood trees in front of Garlands rug store are to be removed because they end up in the middle of the proposed roundabout.
3) One 15 inch Sycamore in front of the Krystal Castle new age store will be removed.
4) The large Arizona Cypress near Portal Lane that is a foot away from the Tlaquepaque wall will be removed.
5) One 9 inch Sycamore and one Ash that are at the north side of the bridge will be removed.


Due to our concerns...another change is that there will be several large 24inch box Sycamore trees installed all along the corridor in front of the Tlaquepaque wall and in front of the New Age stores.

I feel good about this and am very pleased that ADOT has listened to the voice of the people.

Blessings,


Jim Law
Save Sedona Trees
Land Art Works
Exec. Producer / V.O.I.C.E Entertainment

Meeting with ADOT set for Thurs.Sept. 6th

UPDATE

First, I would like to thank all of you for your interest and support over the past four weeks while we have been striving to save trees from destruction near the Oak Creek Bridge area and Tlaquepaque shopping complex.

Since August 7th after I recieved an email stating that 60 Sycamore trees were going to be removed to clear the way for the new bridge, roundabout, and expansion of Highway 179, I became interested in doing what I could to save as many trees as possible. I had a friend create a blog site and started the Sedona Save the Trees Network and began the plea for help to save our beautiful trees and hundreds of people signed on in support.

I want to thank everyone from the depths of my heart. And I appoligize to anyone who got upset with me during this process. It's challenging to try to make change and to not upset someone along the line.

Of the hundreds of emails that I have recieved over the past (4) weeks, I only recieved (3) letters expressing anger with my approach or mannerisms or my not having enough of the facts.
I thank ALL of those who were angry with me for coming forward and showing you care, even if you do not like me or the way that I have been expressing my concerns. Yes...I stirred up a Hornets nest, but when is there change on this Planet where everyone is happy? It takes a few brave souls to take on the challenge to make this world a better place to live.

I recieved an invitation to attend a meeting on Thurs. Sept. 6th. at the ADOT office in the Village of Oak Creek. The Sierra Club, Howard Shanker, Char Thomas were also called to attend.

Here are some of the changes that have occured:

1) The large Sycamore trees on the north side of Hgwy 179 along the road from the Oak Creek bridge towards 89A will now have a serpentine walkway that will wind around the trees instead of going straight as originally planned. This saves (7) huge Sycamores and it will look better.

2) Those same Sycamore trees will have tree-wells around their trunks due to grade changes.

3) The storm drain pipe that was orginally proposed to go in front of the Tlaquepaque wall is now going to be placed near centerline of the road to keep from damaging any of those tree roots.

There will be more news after our meeting with ADOT tomorrow.

Blessings to all,

Jim Law
Sedona Save the trees Network

My primary goal has always been to save trees, especially the Sycamore's that are the most prevalent and oldest of the species that are located in the corridor from 1/2 mile south of the Oak Creek Bridge all the way to 89A. As it currently stands...I could care less about the timeline to fill cash registers from weekenders coming up to Sedona during the Football game. This is the same lame mentality that has cursed the world...always in the name of money. It's a sick mentality. While more cars are going to be able to fill the city creating more carbon monoxide, the trees that ADOT plans to cut down provide us with Oxygen by processing those carbon emmisions. People need to LISTEN...this is not only shooting ourselves in the foot for the reason that any tree, especially very old growth trees because of their size provide us with the air that we breathe, but the trees and natural beauty of this area is what brings that tourism here in the first place. Now they say there are only (4) trees slated for removal if ADOT follows some of my requests. I don't see that cutting down (4) trees will stop the tourists from coming here. No. My standpoint is from that of human consciousness. I will say it for the hundredth time...ADOT DID NOT USE A CURRENT TREE SURVEY WHILE DESIGNING THIS PART OF THE PROJECT. Someone sitting in an air conditioned office...blatantly bulldozed through a grove of trees with their CAD design system not knowing where all of the trees, successor trees and misc. vegetation was located. AND...because this was not done, the public, VOICE of Choice...3,000 people who saw the plans, did not have or get, a clear idea as to the ACTUAL Environmental impact that the implementation of the design would entail. Having an accurate tree survey is required...just to build a house here. My attitude has not changed about saving these trees. The only thing that has changed is that I see ADOT is willing to make some alterations by moving the storm drain pipe line location to get it away from the Tlaquepaque wall/tree roots, and the tree wells and serpentine walkways will be created to save the trees that are along the north side of the highway in front of the New Age stores. This is good and I am indeed, very happy to hear this good news. However, the fact that this was NOT done in the first place provides a clear picture that there were OTHER oversights. Such is the case for not working the plan for the new bridge around some of the oldest Sycamore trees in the area of Tlaquepaque. Not ONE of these trees should be removed. NONE. That is my case and I am standing by it. The roundabout should be eliminated...ENTIRELY, because of the large footprint it requires in such a small, Environmentally sensitive area. Most traffic turns left at the bridge anyway and the proposed additional lanes will make the existing dangerous corner, much safer to navigate.

Jim Law
Save Sedona Trees Network

UPDATE Aug. 29th 2007

***BREAKING NEWS***

Environmental Attorney, Howard Shanker, and the Sierra Club, have joined forces to assist
Sedona Save the Trees Network.

I will attend a meeting with Howard Shanker and the Sedona Chapter of the Sierra Club tomorrow Thurs. Aug. 30th at 7:00pm.

For anyone who is unaware of the power of the Sierra Club...the VOICE of this HUGE nationwide group of people numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Put it this way, most developers do not want to mess with them.

About Howard Shanker: News has it, that Howard is the best Environmental Attorney in Arizona. Please vote for him as he is helping us at no cost. Howard is running for Congress and is a powerful ally who has chosen to take this case on to help us come to agreements with Arizona Dept. of Transportation to save the trees at Oak Creek Bridge and Tlaquepaque. Some people may be aware, that Howard is the Environmental Attorney who is fighting the Bella Terra case on Lower Red Rock Loop Rd. We are looking forward to seeing Howard's success, both in helping save the trees in Sedona and...for his position in Congress.

Dr. Bruce Lipton (about our connectivity)

Every cell is an intelligent organism. You can remove it from the body, put it into a Petri dish and it will manage its own life: handle the environment, grow, reproduce and form communities with other cells. In the human body we are dealing with a vast community of cells working together in harmony. In a culture dish, cells behave as individual entities. However, in a body cells act as a community; individuals really cannot do whatever they want because then the coherence of the group will fall apart. Therefore, when cells come together in a community they acquire a central intelligence that is involved with coordinating the activity of the individual cells in the group. The cells actually defer to the higher order of that central voice. A human organism is a community of upwards of fifty trillion cells operating in unison and harmony, trying to conform to the requests and demands of that central voice. And it is the central voice that acquires and learns the perceptions that we must deal with throughout our lives.

By Dr. Bruce Lipton

Comments regarding Dr. Lipton's article by Jim Law

As a community of people who care about our Environment, Sedona Save the Trees Network has made an incredible impact in just two short weeks. We are setting the pace for what needs to happen in EVERY community around the world, as our air, water, and Earth becomes more and more polluted and our natural resources continue to be depleted.

Just how much more can Mother Earth take before there is a wiping of the slate to start over again.

In my opinion, the Human race is living on the edge of extinction. We are living on the Event Horizon of Environmental collapse.

As Dr. Lipton put it....communities of cells act independently when removed from the human body and are put into a petri dish, but when they are (together) as part of the human experience, they become an as-one collective energy.

We....are "The VOICE" of Sedona and as a collective consciousness not only can we save the trees, but we can move mountains in doing our part to save this planet from further destruction.

Blessings,

Jim Law
Exec. Producer / V.O.I.C.E Entertainment

Meeting at the bridge Friday Aug. 24th 5:30pm

There is an open Q&A meeting Friday Aug. 24th at the Oak Creek bridge.

Many people are bringing solution-signs.


1) Keep the existing bridge

2) NO Roundabout at the bridge

3) Roundabouts for trees...please!