I have been closely watching the developments of the proposed woods development with dismay, as details of the stadium complex emerge and the total impact of this plan is understood. I implore the UNC System Board of Governors to consider the vast negative consequences of this development.
As a master arborist having worked throughout the urban forest in Asheville for almost a decade, I have seen our canopy decline from development, lack of new planting and Hurricane Helene. My fellow arborists and I will never forget the devastation we encountered in September, and the unimaginably complex, dangerous process we had to undergo to remove trees from houses and roads. The initial loss was traumatic. The subsequent loss of healthy, low-risk trees, due to lack of understanding and overzealous out-of-town tree crews, further reduced our canopy to an extent we still have yet to quantify.
It is in this climate of tree loss that the board brings to our community a voluntary bulldozing of a huge parcel of undeveloped woods in the heart of the city. One wonders if the cruelty is intentional. These woods have economic values that can be measured, giving us crucial water runoff services, reduction of surface heat, air purification and carbon sequestration. They also have values to the school and to the community at large, providing a learning environment for students in the STEM field, recreational use for all who live near and improved medical and mental health for all who pass under the canopy…