525 saplings don't equal 500 mature trees
A 40-year-old tree intercepts 1,000+ gallons of stormwater a year, cools blocks, and captures carbon. Replacements won't match that for 20–30 years. About a third of the new trees will be 4–8" caliper; the rest are 3" caliper or smaller multi-trunk species. A project sold as resilience is cutting the trees that absorb the most stormwater.
Why are they cutting them?
Saving more trees would mean more design work — and the FEIS Alternatives Chapter shows BPCA never built an alternative around tree retention. They respond when enough people push.
Isn't it necessary for the resilience project?
The wall is necessary. Cutting 500 trees isn't. BPCA's response says the removals are design choices — and the FEIS Alternatives Chapter shows they never developed an alternative built around saving the trees.
But they're planting more than they cut.
525 saplings don't equal 500 mature trees on shade, stormwater, or carbon — not for 20–30 years. And "525 planned" is a number on paper.
It's already started — too late?
Most of the cutting hasn't happened. Sacramento stopped a 700-tree levee cut last year. Virginia caught the Park Service mid-cut in 2024. Now is when emails count.
What can one resident do?
30 seconds. The email goes to BPCA leadership plus 30+ elected officials — Hochul, Schumer, Gillibrand, Goldman, Mamdani, Kavanagh and more. Then sign up at savebpctrees.com so we can tell you when to push next.
525 saplings don't equal 500 mature trees
A 40-year-old tree intercepts 1,000+ gallons of stormwater a year, cools blocks, and captures carbon. Replacements won't match that for 20–30 years. About a third of the new trees will be 4–8" caliper; the rest are 3" caliper or smaller multi-trunk species. A project sold as resilience is cutting the trees that absorb the most stormwater.
Why are they cutting them?
Saving more trees would mean more design work — and the FEIS Alternatives Chapter shows BPCA never built an alternative around tree retention. They respond when enough people push.
Isn't it necessary for the resilience project?
The wall is necessary. Cutting 500 trees isn't. BPCA's response says the removals are design choices — and the FEIS Alternatives Chapter shows they never developed an alternative built around saving the trees.
But they're planting more than they cut.
525 saplings don't equal 500 mature trees on shade, stormwater, or carbon — not for 20–30 years. And "525 planned" is a number on paper.
It's already started — too late?
Most of the cutting hasn't happened. Sacramento stopped a 700-tree levee cut last year. Virginia caught the Park Service mid-cut in 2024. Now is when emails count.
What can one resident do?
30 seconds. The email goes to BPCA leadership plus 30+ elected officials — Hochul, Schumer, Gillibrand, Goldman, Mamdani, Kavanagh and more. Then sign up at savebpctrees.com so we can tell you when to push next.