Letter: City and county should save Ravenscroft trees

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I wonder how many decades it takes an oak tree or any tree to go from a tiny acorn or seed to become a creation of majestic beauty?

It takes a man with a chainsaw only a few minutes to cut down a tree.

At the present rate of construction, I can envision a time when Asheville will be covered in concrete and tall buildings, just like New York City.

There, a man had the foresight to see New York without a tree or blade of grass. So he gave the city land he owned with the proviso that no buildings or tree removal be done. That place is now called Central Park, New York — the only place where a family can go to see nature.

The city and county should each contribute half the purchase price to save those trees for future generations.

Cutting down a tree unnecessarily is like throwing the original “Mona Lisa” into a fire. There is great urgency to save the Ravenscroft acreage.

I encourage all pro-Ravenscroft tree people to contact the City Council and Board of Commissioners before the buzz of chainsaws is heard.

— Tom L. Nanney
Asheville

Editor’s note: For more info on the effort to save the trees at 11 Collier Ave. in Asheville’s South Slope area, see avl.mx/6sk.

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