This is a story about the weaponization of foreign plant species against a marginalized population.
I just watched the most ridiculous video of Tucker Carlson interviewing someone who was there to explain the reason that some trees are being taken down in Palm Springs. The trees are called “Tamarisk Trees,” or “Salt Cedar”. They are an invasive species introduced in the 1800’s from South America.
I’m not into botany or arbory, but I found this story interesting.
The root of the problem is that this golf course was built with the black neighborhood abutting the 14th and 15th greens. So they planted a long row of these Tamarisks. In the video, the resident refers to the trees as “nasty.” Tucker Carlson puffs out his chest and acts offended that the trees would be accused of being nasty. The entire interview, Tucker is fixated on referring to the trees as “racist.” A. That’s a correct assessment, and B. He knows it. So, he needs to appeal to incredulity.
Tucker harps on his guest to stop insulting the trees just for being from another place. This is what I would say to him, “Why are you insistent upon evoking the issue of immigration in order to discuss the simple issue of a local property law in Palm Springs? What relevance does immigration have to this?”
When the guest refers to the trees as “nasty,” Tucker thought he had a brilliant response. He evoked the image of immigration by pretending that he cared very much about the feelings of the trees. I don’t recall these in person, though I’ve no doubt seen them. They appear similar to Juniper. They often have salt crust, because the trees expel it. They are water sucking trees that attack the water table. They can go dormant in low water times.
I removed Juniper from my front yard. It is disgusting. When the city chose to put those nasty trees up, they knew what they were doing. As a result, the people who live on the other side of those trees have seen decades of property value increases take place for other homes, but not theirs.
Regardless of what the skin tone is of the people on the other side, they are being treated unfairly. Additionally, Tucker is upset that this is going to cost 169,000 dollars to remove the trees.
Here is the line of trees. Keep in mind, these trees have been blocking the black neighborhood from having any view of the golf course. This means that black families have not been able to experience the same increase in property value enjoyed by the rest of the neighborhood.
Tamarisk Trees, 30-50 feet tall, trees the golf course from the black people.
1. Invasive Trees
Nasty, invasive trees were intentionally planted to block the black neighborhood from a CITY OWNED golf course.
The trees are recognized as an invasive species. They suck up water and dry up the water table- in Palm Springs right next to a golf course. The city is spending money to water an invasive species. They may not intend to water it, but when they water the golf course, you can bet it’s going to suck a lot of money out of those hoses.
The trees are NASTY. They leave horrible waste behind. Not only do the people in the homes have to clean this, but the golf course has to clean it, as well. That costs money.
www.desertsun.com/…
Christopher Williams rakes the needles of the tamarisk trees that dominate his backyard and others of homes on Lawrence Street in Palm Springs. The trees also form a physical barrier between the Crossley Tracts neighborhood and the Tahquitz Creek Golf Course.
A giant wall of trees that suck up city and residential water while also dropping dumptruck loads of detritus. What a great idea! Nothing like working to keep a water hungry invasive species alive in Southern California!
How We Created a Monster In the American Southwest
The salt cedar is often seen as an un-killable invader. But are humans the real reason this unwanted plant is thriving?
www.smithsonianmag.com/...
2. It may cost 200k to finish the project, but it will only add value to the neighborhood.
People sneak and do this stuff all the time to improve their property values. Some of my neighbors did it, and they got fined 440k
It sounds to me like the increase in property values, coupled with reduction in maintenance costs associated with managing the trees will be plenty to offset the small cost of removal. 169,000 dollars in Palm Springs to remove water sucking, invasive vegetation seems like a bargain.
Every one of those homes will increase in value, and the city will spend less on maintenance. In fact, they’re probably increasing in value right now, because everyone knows it’s going to happen. That means more property taxes, and Palm Springs is apparently in need.
Or, we could be really ridiculous and just care about undoing a racist legacy.
I’m sure there is a not so insignificant set of people who believe it will lower everyone else’s (white people) property value, because of course that’s what they’ll think.
It looks as if the city is behind the action. The problem is, guys like Tucker Carlson really just want to get hashtags moving. So they think of cutesy stuff like “racist trees” to motivate an intellectually depleted audience.
Forever from now on, a bunch of so called conservatives will make cute snickering jokes to each other about the “racist trees”. It will become just another tribal in joke for people who prefer to not face actual issues.
At an informal meeting with neighborhood residents Sunday, Mayor Robert Moon, council member J.R. Roberts and other city officials promised residents they would remove the trees and a chain link fence along the Crossley Tract property lines as soon as possible.
Roberts apologized to the Crossley Tract residents for any wrongdoing by the city in the past and said he and the rest of the council wanted to make the necessary changes to ensure future generations didn’t have to deal with the same problems current and past residents faced.
“You asked why it took us this long,” Roberts told about 50 residents gathered for the meeting on a vacant lot on Lawrence Street. “I can’t answer that. But guess what? We’re here now.”
www.desertsun.com/...
This is a page on Tamarisk biocontrol measures from colorado, but we’re supposed to be concerned with Tucker’s poor attempt at a provocative headline. This article says the trees are 3-20 feet tall, but clearly from the picture, they reach a different height with generous amounts of city and resident provided watering. lol.
What makes it an invasive?
Like other invasive species tamarisk is able to form a thick monoculture by outcompeting native plants. It is well adapted to grow in disturbed habitats where other plant species cannot tolerate poor soil conditions or drought. It has been estimated to spread up to 12 miles downstream a year and water use by an individual tamarisk tree can be as much as 20 gallons per day by way of an extensive creeping taproot.
Biological Control of Tamarisk
There are several species of leaf beetles belonging to the genus Diorhabda that are useful as biological control agents in the U.S. These species are endemic to varying locations throughout Eurasia. In Colorado the northern tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda carinulata) is currently established and responsible for defoliating or browning of tamarisk canopies in regions throughout the state. The northern tamarisk beetle was released in western Colorado in 2005. Since this time beetle numbers have grown substantially even in eastern Colorado where tamarisk infestations encompass far greater acreage. The Insectary continues to release beetles in regions of the state where establishment has not been as successful. Currently repeat defoliation events have resulted in instances of tree mortality and significant dead tamarisk biomass in western Colorado.
www.colorado.gov/...
www.cactushugs.com/…
Sorry, but you might need a Tucker punching bag after this.
Updating to include a couple pictures of what the rest of the golf course looks like.
Someone had the audacity to suggest that those crummy trees were there to “protect kids”. lol.
As you can see, the rest of the course has homes directly on it.
Building a golf course in Palm Springs is done explicitly so that people will buy houses that are directly on it.
I find it hilarious that Tucker Carlson would pretend this isn’t the case.
