Love it when you talk plant-nerdy for us.
I can't help it when it comes to people like Greg. I agree that you should be allowed to do as you wish on your property, but to an extent. He bought a house near a wetland surrounded by what looks like a succession forest, judging by the amount of deciduous trees in the overstory compared to coniferous. Now, normal people will probably be like 'wut' but will still realize the place is beautiful. Even though you can't really see what is essentially a swamp, you're probably in thick enough woods that you feel isolated, with a good view of a natural forest.
If you remove trees, it's usually because it's a hazard to your house or already leaning/snagged in another tree. I don't think any county would have an issue if he removed trees like that (and, not endangered trees mind you) because you can argue it was going to cause property damage in less than 5 years. But this is Greg.
He removed healthy deciduous trees - which, by the way, most leafy species that aren't diseased make for great fire breaks since Aspen and Willows and such tend not to burn as intensely as Fir, Pine, and Spruce - threw them INTO the wetland, got rid of vegetation around it that not only helps filter water, but stabilize soil. And it was all within a Buffer Zone, which exists for reasons. When I first read he did this, I laughed; incredulous. Because there's no way anyone who lives in the Northwest States does shit like this, unless they love getting fucked by the government.
Like, he could have just gone to the local county office and asked them to do Wildfire Management around the area if he was so concerned. That usually would involve removing the understory - so, blackberry bushes, dead debris, etc - from under trees so if a Wildfire went through the area, it would reduce the risk of a fire moving into the canopy of overstory trees. Which I'm sure American Wildland Fire units would not have an issue doing, since you reduce the chance of a fire becoming out of control and unmanageable. He could have worked with the local office. Had THEM do brush removal in their buffer zone on grounds of wildfire risk.
But he didn't.
Because this is fuckin' Gurgles, the man famous for saying "I'm a banana".
He bought a house, mucked up the inside, destroyed the outside, and cannot fathom how even foreigners see how utterly retarded he is. As someone who studied Forestry, this is infuriating. But as someone who loves watching shitty people get fucked... every bad decision he makes just further fuels my hearty chuckling. He had options, he didn't take them, and now I get to sit back and laugh as he spirals further while also hoping that the next person who gets his house will bloody treat it better and respect the land.
fftopic: , but:
