Where oaks have more rights than the citizens

Bulldozing oaks for grapes — that would never happen in Atascadero, where oak trees have been declared endangered and have more rights than citizens (except they don’t have their own bathroom). We are taking this oak tree shortage seriously.

We have our own oak preserve: Three Bridges Oak Preserve. I’ve been by it several times, but I can’t find it for all the oak trees.

Isn’t it interesting that nobody noticed these missing oaks until somebody put a picture on the internet? That’s how important these oaks were; nobody knew they were missing.

Developers have gone too far. We have to draw the line somewhere. No more Wal-Marts, and no more vineyards!

Someday, maybe, we North County folk will figure out what we want. We like expensive restaurants, parks, and drunken cowboys and cowgirls at the fair. Unfortunately, parks and drunks don’t generate enough economic growth to put enough money in the wallets of locals to be able to eat at our expensive restaurants. So we have let the wineries do their thing so out-of-towners will come and eat at our restaurants so we can pay for our parks and keep the beer flowing at the fair.

Save the oaks!

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 12:11 AM with the headline "Where oaks have more rights than the citizens."