Be Our Eyes & Ears
Help us monitor tree removals in Seattle.
Last updated: September 11, 2023
Heatwaves and wildfires notwithstanding, our research has found that cutters removed 222 trees in July 2023, and 152 trees to date in August 2023, with more coming.
We’ve uncovered dozens of notices of exceptional* tree removals pending for the coming days. The notices for these removals went up between August 11 and August 20, and notices must be posted 6 days before work begins — so that means the removals can start as early as tomorrow.
As a reminder, an “exceptional” tree is one measuring greater than 30 inches in diameter. Trees of this size are typically mature original growth trees, which is why the City of Seattle sets its “exceptional” designation at 30 inches.
Why It Matters & What You Can Do
Some of these notices represent single exceptional trees while others represent dozens of trees.
A notice is not an approval. In the past, we’ve found errors in these notices, covering everything from vastly underestimating tree size to wrong locations.
No one at SCDI verifies the info to catch these errors, so the notices can get issued even without real approvals.
Catching these errors can sometimes prevent a removal.
We can greatly benefit from eyes and ears on the ground who can help us with local detail on specific trees slated for removal, as often times that’s the only way to verify what goes into these notices.
If you live near or know any of the trees on the list below and are ready to get involved, you can help by becoming a tree detective on our Eyes and Ears Action.
Incredibly, we have already had several Tree Action Seattle community members uncover discrepancies through our Eyes and Ears Action, and we are investigating these pending removals further. If they qualify for protections, we can escalate these cases and take further action to prevent the removal.
Scroll down for the list of upcoming tree removals to investigate.
Take Action
Go visit a tree in person to look for discrepancies in tree size, geolocation, or anything else that may differ from what’s listed for that tree in the table below.
Once you’ve completed these steps and if you find discrepancies with what is listed below, please contact us at info@treeactionseattle.com for next steps.
Manually measure the tree if possible. Tree size can sometimes be underestimated, which strips trees of Tier 1 “exceptional” protection. See if you can manually measure the diameter of the tree to verify the data in the notice, which is in the table below.
If you’re unable to approach the tree for measurement, take a picture of it next to something else. You can attempt to capture a door frame in the picture for scale, unless there is a big distance discrepancy.
Verify that the address is correct. Sometimes trees may actually be located partway on an adjacent lot, or even entirely on a separate lot. Take pictures.
