Statements by Texas Historical Commission staff released under a public information request don’t jibe with city claims that trees must be removed to fix a river wall. SanAntonio SATX SanAntonioTX BrackenridgePark trees conservation environment
Activist Laura Rios Ramirez speaks at a Feb. 23 news conference at Brackenridge Park about the city's plans for trees in the public space.
But in the fight to protect the birds and trees, it’s not just the claims about the birds that deserve public skepticism. Many of the repeated claims of city staffers intended to justify the removal of nearly 20 large trees to repair a section of river wall at the heart of the city’s plans — many classified as “heritage” trees and ranging from oaks to pecan to cypress — are also highly dubious.
Speaking before the Historic and Design Review Commission on February 16, at what could have been the last local hurdle to removing the trees, Moreno said that the Texas Historical Commission “indicated that something like this [moving the wall to protect the trees] would not be possible.”, Moreno said that city staff are prevented by National Register of Historic Places protections over Brackenridge Park from modifying the wall.
Bess Graham, director of the THC’s Division of Architecture, reviewed Salie’s email, responding: “Thanks, Ashley. Good response to Ms. Standifird.” Graham then suggested that Salie reach out to Moreno directly to discuss what the team believed were mischaracterizations of fact. At the time that McCary was talking up his team’s transparency and the very serious nature of the U.S. Army Corps, the feds had long since advised the city that the Army Corps was not stepping in on the matter of the trees. In an email to THC staff released as part of Deceleration’s record request, USACE Fort Worth District’s archeologist and project manager James Barrera wrote:
In preparing on February meeting with city staff on the project, Salie wrote she was expecting “pushback” from city staffers since “not everyone involved in the project is a preservationist.” It was also clear that the authority of the agency to assert protections for the trees could be challenged, she wrote at the time.
Days after the Planning Commission approved the city’s request to take out the trees, Salie wrote Graham, director of the THC’s Division of Architecture, and a fellow THC program coordinator. Although approved by voters in 2017, city staff did not ramp up on the bond project until January of this year. The request for tree removal—paired with a preexisting campaign to forcefully evict an established rookery of migratory birds—caught the attention of many community members and sparked a surge in grassroots resistance. That seemed to crest at February’s HDRC hearing with two hours of public testimony almost universally opposing the project.
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