In the last two weeks, I have counted the loss of over 25 magnificent 150- to 250-year-old evergreen trees in just my immediate neighborhood in south Bellevue. The resulting raw, unshaded, public vistas (into garages, front windows and toolsheds mostly) are charmless and disgusting.

Apparently, it is taken as a matter of course that neighborhoods once notable for their tasteful green yards and gardens, in a region celebrated for its trees and soothing greenery, in a state world famous for its expansive forests (the “Evergreen State,” remember?) should be so marred, denuded, vulgarized and debased.

Some people even seem to be proud of what they are doing. But if that is so, why bother spending the time and effort to spoil the Northwest when there are already so many once-beautiful parts of the world to choose from that are now treeless, over-built, burnt-out and hideously ugly?

Michael Parker

South Bellevue