Brackenridge Park (SA Zoo, Sunken Garden Theater and Japanese Sunken Gardens)

[Keep-SA-Lame]

As someone who believes trees are quite literally sacred, I'm starting to lose my patience with the opposition groups. It's good that there was some back and forth but this is getting unreasonable. What's worse is they've been deliberately misrepresenting what the plans are. None of the bald cypress trees along the lower bank are slated for removal, but they continue to claim and social media and at these forums that they're going to be cut. And besides the tree drama, the habitat restoration areas are going to be amazing. While I hate to lose even a single tree, on balance this is a great plan and will make the park better.

Also, I think the fact these groups are so obsessed with trees specifically betrays they don't actually know much about ecology. Trees are sexy (and important), but to have a real ecosystem you also need to also have open grasslands and under-story plantings that provide food and cover for wildlife, as well as water filtration and erosion management services. Very few large trees are larval hosts for butterflies and other insects. Etc. I think instead of focusing on the trees, all these groups would have made more positive change had they spent all their hot air advocating for habitat restoration areas in other parts of the park where they've desperately needed. A much better managed ecosystem at the Headwaters is planting a prairie this year, for example.