The trees get in the way of the view.

This sounds like the complaint of some Kansan visiting the great Pacific Northwest. After all, Midwesterners are used to wide open views. Some are said to even complain that our mountains interrupt the scenery and make them feel claustrophobic. All we can say to that sentiment is, have a nice trip back to the vistas offered by the wide open plains.

In fact, this particular complaint pertains to the Deception Pass Bridge, and comes from managers with Washington State Parks. They’re studying the idea of cutting down some of the tall fir trees that line Highway 20 in the area of the bridge, and restoring the view to what it was in the old days.

The easy, knee-jerk reaction is to just say no to the tree removal plan. In general, our tall timber is under assault by encroaching development and, this winter at least, the forces of nature. We’ve lost many trees in recent months and years, so why add to the problem by taking out more trees at Deception Pass just so people can have a better view of the water and sunsets?

Ted Smith, regional stewardship manager for State Parks, may have changed some minds with a presentation made last week to a small audience of interested people. He showed pictures of how the pass appeared around the time the Deception Pass Bridge was built in the 1930s. The view was indeed much more wide open, and the vast majority of the trees we see today apparently grew out of the bridge and road construction project.

Smith made good arguments that it makes sense to take out some of the trees. It would open up vistas in what is the most popular state park and give people other areas to stop and enjoy the view rather than just at the bridge itself. This should slightly alleviate congestion at the bridge and make the area a bit more safe for pedestrians. And since the rocky slopes of Deception Pass were not conducive to tree growth until construction brought in additional soil, removing trees in this case would make the area look more as nature intended.

Tree removal isn’t always a bad idea. At Deception Pass, the judicious removal of some trees makes a lot of sense.