This epitomizes the City of Evanston to me. Meanwhile, they’ll submit for another Most Livable or Tree City award or accolade and fall over each other to ingratiate themselves to the almighty Wizard behind the curtain that is NU
Sometimes when woodpeckers are taking up residence it means the tree is dying due to bug infestations that Woodpeckers feed upon; however, the tree could remain until the Woodpeckers flew away or got pushed out by mom.
This city sucks. It doesn’t value kid life or animal life.
Might as well replace these city staff with robots, and would not be less humane in decision making.
This action typifies the worst negative characterizations of govt. workers as drones spending their days going through the motions of required work and the govt. machine they work within. Sad and pathetic!
I think City staff have already been replaced by robots. After suggesting that Tom might try contacting 311, I remembered that I had planned to use 311 about another matter, a wastebasked that had been removed from a bus stop. I asked how we can get it back. The answer:
" Public litter bins are strategically positioned in commercial areas and parks. The optimal and ecologically responsible approach to waste management across the city is to promote residents to carry all their belongings and tidy up any litter around their own properties. Unfortunately, it is currently no longer feasible to install a waste container in this particular location. Thank you for using the City of Evanston 311 Center. "
Obviously written by a robot, or by a human emulating a robot.
While we're on the topic of 311 and in the spirit of FOIA and open government that this blog encourages, the city's open data portal has been all but abandoned. Like Chicago, they used to post anonymized data relating to 311 requests, crime activity, building permits, and other public information.
It doesn't look like any of the data sets have been updated in years. It is kind of ironic since the current city manager was the chief technology officer and set up all these open access systems.
The Council members I speak with are all pro-open data. My guess is that the City just doesn't have a staffer in charge of this anymore who cares. "Open data" was pretty sexy in 2010s but not so much these days..
Pretty sure woodpeckers are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and killing them (or removing a nest upon which the babies depend) is illegal without a permit.
On Friday morning, my wife contacted the City through Facebook before the Forestry crew arrived. She sent pictures and posted a sign on the tree where birds were nesting. Earlier that week, we had noticed the "No Parking" signs the city had posted. On Thursday, the city cut down a hazardous tree that had fallen on a parked car the previous week. We did not expect them to cut other trees, but since they hadn't removed the parking signs, we figured they might come back. That’s when we decided to place the sign on the tree and contact the City.
The young birds were still in the nest, and I'm quite sure they hadn't fledged yet. We could hear them that morning, as they typically make familiar sounds when their mother is absent from the nest, gathering the food.
There seem to be an awful lot of mature trees cut down in Evanston. If you replant your own tree, mysteriously it gets knocked down in a short period of time. Hmm, who profits? Not the trees…
Did a little research and woodpeckers typically nest in dead or dying trees. When you look at the downed tree it didn't look too healthy. I think my only question is did anyone attempt to actually contact the City, either by reaching out to Carla or by going to 311 and lodging a concern. Someone put up a sign, my question is if they actually called and the order still came down. For me that makes a difference.
However, I will share another tree story that illustrates how areas within the city need to work better together to achieve their stated goals. A neighbor was putting in an ADU, that was replacing a historic structure. There was a mature tree that was very close to the structure and the property owner had requested that the ADU be moved 3 feet, even though it would no longer be on the exact footprint of the historic structure, to help protect that tree. Even though he was putting in totally new foundation and not using the historic foundation, he was denied the request and the builders tried their best to wiggle around the tree and not damage it. The tree was eventually damaged during construction and even though the tree was on private property, they had to call out the new tree police to examine and approve an "emergency tree removal". The owner was incredibly sad about the entire process.
Some of the neighbors told me they called the city in the morning, but I'm not sure if they actually did or who they called. Either way, if you're the guy from the city showing up to cut down the tree - do you not see the sign and then call your boss? Or is it just like "fuck it, tree goes down"
I will personally testify that there was a nest in that tree. Several mornings last week, I sat there on my way to get coffee for 5 mins and watched those birds.
I don't doubt that the tree was probably going to die, I also sat there and watched the birds peck the shit out of the tree. But like, it's spring! They could've waited a few weeks or months.
I'm not opposed to removing dead trees, I'm opposed to removing still-alive-but-dying trees when there is very clearly a sign saying that there is a nest there.
I figured there might be a good reason for demolishing that tree and that time. So I wanted to send an inquiry to the Dep't of Forestry. There is such a department on the organization chart, but I can't find anything on the web about them nor how to contact them. I suppose one could try 311, but guess the inquiry should come from someone with direct knowledge of the situation.
Yeah, like I completely understand the need to cut down dead or dying trees to prevent a safety or personal property damage issue. But like, this is the same city that shouts from the rooftop how we care about climate and the environment so much. Surely something could've been worked out here if we care so much. I think the reality is that most people here don't *actually* care that much but just want to signal to other people that they're the good guys.
This epitomizes the City of Evanston to me. Meanwhile, they’ll submit for another Most Livable or Tree City award or accolade and fall over each other to ingratiate themselves to the almighty Wizard behind the curtain that is NU
Sometimes when woodpeckers are taking up residence it means the tree is dying due to bug infestations that Woodpeckers feed upon; however, the tree could remain until the Woodpeckers flew away or got pushed out by mom.
This city sucks. It doesn’t value kid life or animal life.
That’s All Folks
Woody Woodpecker
Might as well replace these city staff with robots, and would not be less humane in decision making.
This action typifies the worst negative characterizations of govt. workers as drones spending their days going through the motions of required work and the govt. machine they work within. Sad and pathetic!
I think City staff have already been replaced by robots. After suggesting that Tom might try contacting 311, I remembered that I had planned to use 311 about another matter, a wastebasked that had been removed from a bus stop. I asked how we can get it back. The answer:
" Public litter bins are strategically positioned in commercial areas and parks. The optimal and ecologically responsible approach to waste management across the city is to promote residents to carry all their belongings and tidy up any litter around their own properties. Unfortunately, it is currently no longer feasible to install a waste container in this particular location. Thank you for using the City of Evanston 311 Center. "
Obviously written by a robot, or by a human emulating a robot.
I'm not 100% sure our Mayor is *not* a robot!
Or a small but mighty part of a machine.
While we're on the topic of 311 and in the spirit of FOIA and open government that this blog encourages, the city's open data portal has been all but abandoned. Like Chicago, they used to post anonymized data relating to 311 requests, crime activity, building permits, and other public information.
It doesn't look like any of the data sets have been updated in years. It is kind of ironic since the current city manager was the chief technology officer and set up all these open access systems.
Maybe the council is putting the kibosh on it.
https://data.cityofevanston.org/browse
The Council members I speak with are all pro-open data. My guess is that the City just doesn't have a staffer in charge of this anymore who cares. "Open data" was pretty sexy in 2010s but not so much these days..
I am not sure how anyone on the council could be "pro open data" when the city doesn't offer any data in an easily accessible manner.
I just don’t think thats within the Councils purview - more of an executive function. Point taken though!
Pretty sure woodpeckers are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and killing them (or removing a nest upon which the babies depend) is illegal without a permit.
Holy shit you're right this is a federal crime
The list of protected birds includes several kinds of woodpeckers, at
https://www.fws.gov/media/list-birds-protected-migratory-bird-treaty-act-2023
Now I really gotta get back to work.
Already reaches out to the DNR!!
Do you expect Mayor Biss will share a cell with Don Trump?
On Friday morning, my wife contacted the City through Facebook before the Forestry crew arrived. She sent pictures and posted a sign on the tree where birds were nesting. Earlier that week, we had noticed the "No Parking" signs the city had posted. On Thursday, the city cut down a hazardous tree that had fallen on a parked car the previous week. We did not expect them to cut other trees, but since they hadn't removed the parking signs, we figured they might come back. That’s when we decided to place the sign on the tree and contact the City.
The young birds were still in the nest, and I'm quite sure they hadn't fledged yet. We could hear them that morning, as they typically make familiar sounds when their mother is absent from the nest, gathering the food.
There seem to be an awful lot of mature trees cut down in Evanston. If you replant your own tree, mysteriously it gets knocked down in a short period of time. Hmm, who profits? Not the trees…
Did a little research and woodpeckers typically nest in dead or dying trees. When you look at the downed tree it didn't look too healthy. I think my only question is did anyone attempt to actually contact the City, either by reaching out to Carla or by going to 311 and lodging a concern. Someone put up a sign, my question is if they actually called and the order still came down. For me that makes a difference.
However, I will share another tree story that illustrates how areas within the city need to work better together to achieve their stated goals. A neighbor was putting in an ADU, that was replacing a historic structure. There was a mature tree that was very close to the structure and the property owner had requested that the ADU be moved 3 feet, even though it would no longer be on the exact footprint of the historic structure, to help protect that tree. Even though he was putting in totally new foundation and not using the historic foundation, he was denied the request and the builders tried their best to wiggle around the tree and not damage it. The tree was eventually damaged during construction and even though the tree was on private property, they had to call out the new tree police to examine and approve an "emergency tree removal". The owner was incredibly sad about the entire process.
Some of the neighbors told me they called the city in the morning, but I'm not sure if they actually did or who they called. Either way, if you're the guy from the city showing up to cut down the tree - do you not see the sign and then call your boss? Or is it just like "fuck it, tree goes down"
I will personally testify that there was a nest in that tree. Several mornings last week, I sat there on my way to get coffee for 5 mins and watched those birds.
I don't doubt that the tree was probably going to die, I also sat there and watched the birds peck the shit out of the tree. But like, it's spring! They could've waited a few weeks or months.
I'm not opposed to removing dead trees, I'm opposed to removing still-alive-but-dying trees when there is very clearly a sign saying that there is a nest there.
I figured there might be a good reason for demolishing that tree and that time. So I wanted to send an inquiry to the Dep't of Forestry. There is such a department on the organization chart, but I can't find anything on the web about them nor how to contact them. I suppose one could try 311, but guess the inquiry should come from someone with direct knowledge of the situation.
Yeah, like I completely understand the need to cut down dead or dying trees to prevent a safety or personal property damage issue. But like, this is the same city that shouts from the rooftop how we care about climate and the environment so much. Surely something could've been worked out here if we care so much. I think the reality is that most people here don't *actually* care that much but just want to signal to other people that they're the good guys.
Last sentence. New motto for Evanston: “We don’t *really* care here, we just like to signal our virtue on all the things. All day, every day.”
Assuaging your liberal guilt through higher taxes, draconian permitting, and slowly dying public schools since 1857
Possible City contacts:
Margaret Isaacson
Conservation & Outdoors Division Manager
847.866.5056
misaacson@cityofevanston.org
Cara Pratt, City Manager's Office
Sustainability and Resilience Manager
847.448.8199
cpratt@cityofevanston.org
Thank you! I already reached out to the IL DNR too because this was a violation of federal law.