While I may lack the ability to discern an white oak from a Norwegian maple, I can state with absolute certainty that I like trees. I’m also quite an aficionado of history. Put the two together and this post by Turley breaks my heart.
The National Park Service has a curious way of protecting history. The Service cut down four “witness trees” from the Gettysburg battlefield. The white oak trees were between 160 and 229 years old and were present at the battle. They were supposed to be protected, but the NPS appears to chop now and ask questions later on matters of history. The NPS policy appears to be to cut down and let God sort them out.
Stercus accidit? Forgive and forget? Get over it perhaps? No. Not acceptable. And frankly, I am deeply tired of our willingness to come up with excuses for inexcusable incompetence. There are two things that, once gone, can never again be recaptured: old trees and history. The National Parks Service, the very agency charged with the protection of both, has murdered historic trees. This is not an “oops” moment.
From the Gettysburg Daily, what does the NPS have to say about this “mistake”?
“well, when you cut down hundreds of trees, you’re bound to make some mistakes and cut down some witness trees.”
Bound to incompetence? Bound to make mistakes. No, we are never bound to error. Avoiding mistakes is a choice available to senscient beings. Sure, it takes a modicum of effort, along the lines of waking up in the morning and making certain that your feet touch the floor before alighting. Is this too much to expect of our National Parks Service?
We have become a society that expects so little that we attribute the rare example of skill to a deity, calling it a miracle. How else can we justify the pervasive demonstrations of incompetence? That would mean that we expect people to do their jobs well, perform their functions properly, fulfill their purposes. Think. We can’t have that. It would make people feel like constant failures. It would hurt their self-esteem. It would be mean, and no one wants to be mean because other people won’t like them.
So enjoy the view of the witness tree stumps and think about the men who died on the battlefield at Gettysburg. Maybe they could put up a majestic sign attesting that the trees once stood there. They could make it from the wood of the felled trees.
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I would note, however, that such a defense is almost always reserved for government and its minions. For normal citizens, this would be a criminal offense.
That’s for sure. And a federal offense at that.
Isn’t there a mens rea requirement for federal criminal deforestation laws to apply?
I’m afraid that Low Expectations Syndrome [or the Easy Excuse Virus] happens in all sectors of our society, not just among civil servants — from schools to the workplace, politics to professions.
Indeed, low expectations are everywhere. If only irreplaceable historic and natural wonders would be left alone. As for mens rea, it’s honored more in the breach, which is “I made a mistake” rarely provides a good criminal defense.
As you know, I am no criminal law expert, but this defense wouldn’t be merely “I made a mistake,” it would be “you told us to take down the trees and we made a few mistakes.” That seems a bit better as a criminal defense, even if not a good civil one for damages.
Tree removal guys seem to be a bit mistake prone around special trees. I live in a historic district where we love our big old trees and hate to see any taken down. A few years ago, a dead tree half a block from me needed to be taken down. This tree was mid-block. The city’s tree crew arrived and took down a healthy one on the corner across from my place. Naturally, they then had to come back and take down the dead one, too.
ANd, don’t forget my post last year — http://tinyurl.com/cd4ocn — about the clear-cutting of 300 virgin growth trees on State land along the Mohawk River, by people who apparently did not know they were hired by two guys who owned the land up the hill and wanted a better view of the river.