Plumbelina woke up, as usual, just before 6AM this morning. I let her outside to do her business, washed my face, shoveled the fresh snow off the walks and then took she and Penelope on a walk between the footbridges on the Portneuf River; the streets were quiet, the sky was still dark and the dogs ran wild through the snow on the foot path.
The City of Pocatello has been cleaning the Portneuf River banks which is a euphemism for murdering hundreds of beautiful cottonwood and elm trees. I’ve been in a wretched fit of depression this week any time I’ve caught a glimpse of the banks, bald and scarred in the winter light. I support manicuring and tending forests and city greenbelts in my fair Idahoan town but this, this clear cutting of the river banks really has my gitch in a knot.
What has made me truly inconsolable is the removal of an ancient, huge and beautiful cottonwood on the corner of the footbridge behind our home. The tree was easily one hundred and fifty years old (which is very old for these parts, and quite old for a cottonwood) and had a massive and lush crown to it, a crown that tangled itself in the stars. The limbs of this tree reached out over the river waters and it had a wonderful and wise countenance to it. When they felled it this week, all of our dishes rattled in the cupboards and I think this 103 year old farm house let out a sad groan.
This cottonwood tree, bless its dryad soul, was certainly here before Pocatello was settled as an actual township in 1889. This valley was formerly the wintering grounds for the Northern Shoshone tribe. I like to imagine the people of the horse burned small fires beneath the branches of this tree in the cold months and shaded their ponies beneath its leafy cool in the summer months, when they found themselves passing though. I’m sure two generations of Palmer children who grew up in this very house climbed this tree trunk and looked out over the mountains laughing at the top of their lungs in the dog days of summer.
I’m beyond sad over the removal of this tree. I’m inconsolable. I feel like a portion of Pocatello history and beauty has been uprooted and cast down without dignity or respect paid. The more I think of the empty space over on the riverbank, the bluer I feel.
I’m not a knee jerk tree hugger. I’m a thoughtful environmentalist. The state of clear cutting affairs along the Portneuf River has warranted the submission of a letter to my city council about the approach to the deforestation of our riverbanks in town and the importance of tending to the story of this valley, brick by brick and trunk by trunk. I believe in keeping history alive in this city, and that includes the presence of our most ancient and beautiful trees.
City of Pocatello, you’ll be hearing from me soon.
Inconsolably and sincerely yours,
Jillian S. Lukiwski
