Thursday, October 1, 2026
The City of Olympia is launching a tree maintenance and selective replacement program on Legion Way between Plum Street and Central Street during the summer months over the next three years.
For summer 2026, the city’s contracted tree care company will perform pruning and removals identified in an annual risk assessment during the weeks of July 13 and either July 27 or Aug. 3, depending on contractor availability.
Trees removed this summer will be replanted in fall 2026 or fall 2027, based on species availability and site conditions.
Legion Way trees are listed on Olympia’s local historic register. A living memorial began on Legion Way in the mid-1920s, when the American Legion led a tree-planting campaign to honor military service members.
The first trees were planted on Nov. 11, 1928 — the 10th anniversary of the World War I armistice, now observed as Veterans Day. By the end of 1929, 140 oak and sweetgum trees lined the route.
Different sections of the corridor commemorate people who died in the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I.
Today, 117 trees are included in the city’s annual risk assessment for Legion Way, 95 of them are oak trees.
Urban foresters recommended that no more than 30 percent of trees in a given area are from the same botanical family to reduce the risk of widespread loss due to pests and disease.
Past outbreaks, including Dutch elm disease in the early 20th century and the emerald ash borer beginning in the late 1990s, devastated communities where single species plantings, or monocultures, were common.
To improve the corridor’s resilience, Olympia plans to replace removed oaks with other large-canopy tree species.
According to a city press release, oak trees — a symbol of military valor, resilience and endurance — will remain part of Legion Way’s future, but in a more balanced mix that strengthens the corridor against emerging pests and diseases.
“No city has perfect diversity, but we have an opportunity to make Legion Way a healthier stretch of road,” said the city in the press release.
“Going forward and as trees are removed, we must replace the oaks, for the time being, with a different species of large form from trees that will provide as much biodiversity, stormwater mitigation, and shading as the oaks.”
9 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
EdgarAllen
I love trees, for real, but the street tree management and ordinance in the City of Olympia is abysmal. The City maintains and cleans up after some trees, but not others. The City also cleans up leaves and debris from privately-owned trees on City streets in some places but not others, while requiring other homeowners to clean up after and maintain trees that the City (public) own, street trees, often to the tune of thousands of dollars. From firsthand experience of this ridiculous tree policy, The City of Olympia is extremely unlikely to allow a street tree to be cut down, even after the tree damages sewer lines and causes massive damage to privately owned homes ($250k). The City can and should do better. One tree (Legion or Capitol Way) is not more important than another street tree in a different part of the City. For all the equitable treatment the City espouses, that certainly does not apply to trees. This inequitable policy directly and adversely impacts those who live around these trees and bear the consequences of misdirected planting , a requirement that community members maintain City property (the trees), and an unwillingness of the City to allow adjacent property owners the freedom to deal with the trees that they (the homeowner) do not own. It is ludicrously bad government to codify that people are responsible for something they have no control over that can and has damaged real property that belongs to others.
Tuesday, July 14 Report this
JulesJames
This article could be shortened to: "Oak Trees Need to Get Gone for Future Bike Lanes."
Tuesday, July 14 Report this
2theroots
I cannot begin to express what a bad idea this is. These are 80 year old trees. it is the biggest trees that do the most carbon drawdown and sequestration. Trees cannot be exchanged one for one. It will be 80 years before the replacements will be as effective. Older well established roots are protective against drought which we are now in. Increasingly new trees are failing and have to be watered a lot to make it. So there is no guarantee these replacement trees will even make it. Legion Way is currently and beautiful and shady road. As the heat of climate change bears down on us this will increase temperatures on this road between 2 and 10 degrees.
While it is true that having predominantly one species makes an area more vulnerable to being devastated if a pest that is particular to that tree shows up....there is no such current threat to these trees. So 60% are going to be taken down and the city is going to spend the equivalent of one staff persons salary (which we have budget lay offs - the Olympian article lists it at 67,000.00) cutting down trees to prevent a theoretical threat???
This idea needs to be paused and rethought through.
Wednesday, July 15 Report this
TheGreatAnon
2theroots
Everything you wrote is wrong
Wednesday, July 15 Report this
JasonS
@ TheGreatAnon
Everything 2theroots wrote above is correct and easily verified.
Wednesday, July 15 Report this
hptrillium
I agree with 2theroots. It makes no sense to cut down 98 year old trees with all the benefits they provide because they might get diseased in the future. We need the carbon sequestration, cooling, and water holding capacity now or humans may not be around in 98 years. We are in an environmental crisis now and we need all the help we can get.
Wednesday, July 15 Report this
Olyrkrgrrl
Cutting all these beautiful trees down, will have the same impact as a disease! That would be like cutting out your stomach so you don't get stomach cancer. So, why cut them? They are not diseased. The report was speaking about a hypothetical 'perfect ratio' of what would be ideal... I don't think they meant for anyone to cut down their most beautiful historic trees, just to try to recreate some fantasy ideal ratio of mixed trees...and wait 100 years for them to mature. And what disrespect to the memorial of the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and WWI veterans. The decisions being made in our city hall are very questionable. Some of them are up for re-election...
Thursday, July 16 Report this
CobraCommander
TheGreatAnon - no, 2theroots is correct. If you want to try to refute a point, at least provide a little evidence
Thursday, July 16 Report this
EdgarAllen
The real question is simpler: why is the City managing these street trees on Legion Way at all?
If the City's code were written or applied more equitably, the adjacent homeowners would be responsible for maintaining these City-owned street trees on Legion Way (and Capitol Way South) and cleaning up after them, just as homeowners are required to do in most other parts of the City under the existing code.
This appears to be a case of one standard for some neighborhoods and another for everyone else.
The City will likely remove these trees for whatever reasons it determines are appropriate. Yet, in other neighborhoods, it refuses to allow homeowners to remove far more poorly planned, hazardous street trees, even when those trees have caused significant, and in some cases extensive, property damage. Homeowners are denied permission even when they are willing to pay the full cost of removal themselves and commit to replanting replacement trees, consistent with the City's street tree requirements.
The message this sends is troubling: the City considers these "important" trees worthy enough to remove, while denying the same consideration to hazardous street trees elsewhere in the community. Those trees are also owned and regulated by the City, yet the costs, maintenance, and consequences fall on adjacent homeowners, many of whom are taxpaying families who have experienced real and substantial impacts to their homes and lives.
Thursday, July 16 Report this