Tree cut considered to improve visibility of Greenbank Farm

Greenbank Farm officials are developing a plan to improve the view of the historic property. Judy Feldman, manager of Greenbank Farm, said tenants at the farm are concerned that patches of trees, which were planted around the time the land passed into public ownership, has grown high enough to block the sight of the farm from motorists as they drive north on State Highway 525.

Greenbank Farm officials are developing a plan to improve the view of the historic property.

Judy Feldman, manager of Greenbank Farm, said tenants at the farm are concerned that patches of trees, which were planted around the time the land passed into public ownership, has grown high enough to block the sight of the farm from motorists as they drive north on State Highway 525.

Feldman said staff is contacting forestry officials with the Whidbey Island Conservation District and WSU Cooperative Extension, along with county staff, to investigate the possibility of creating view windows of the farm for passing motorists.

“This is not being done thoughtlessly,” Feldman said.

Four patches of trees and bushes are blocking the view of the farm buildings from the highway.

The first patch is a group of Scotch pine and grand firs  located on a south edge of the property. Those trees were originally planted by the Boy Scouts in the late 1990s and were supposed to be used as Christmas trees.

Feldman said the trees pose several concerns.

In addition to obscuring the farm buildings, the patch of trees are densely packed and have dead vegetation.

“It’s not a healthy stand and it’s a huge visual block,” Feldman said.

Other things obstructing the view from the highway include a row of trees planted near the farm buildings that served as a windscreen for a former farmers market, a group of alder trees planted south of Wonn Road and a stretch of blackberry bushes located along the highway.

Feldman attended the Port of Coupeville’s monthly meeting July 10 and presented two maps, one from 1997 and one from 2013.

The 1997 shows the land, which was a one-time grower of loganberries, was clear of bushes and trees.

She said trying to add view corridors for the farm will be a complicated task.