Endangered Tree of Life is collapsing — and photos show tourists on its exposed roots
An iconic, endangered tree in a Washington’s Olympic National Park is likely nearing its last days — and tourists aren’t helping by climbing all over its exposed roots.
Photos recently surfaced online showing hikers climbing up the dangling roots of the Tree of Life near Kalaloch like it’s a jungle gym.
An Instagram account dedicated to highlighting the ways some tourists act in national parks — called Tourons of National Parks — posted one photo July 22.
“This almost makes me more angry than being too close to the wildlife — this tree is practically sacred,” someone said in the comments.
The iconic tree is sometimes described as a spiritual symbol of the Washington coast.
“Some people call it the Tree of Life,” the caption on the Instagram post says. “With its amazingly viewable roots seemingly supplying the tree with life despite having no soil, it seems to be immortal.”
Erosion stripped the nutrient-dense soil away from the roots, but the tree defies the odds against it and keeps thriving, suspended over a cave in the bluff facing the coast.
However, it’s only a matter of time before it succumbs to gravity and tumbles down onto the beach, outdoors news outlet Advnture reported.
“This is obscene,” someone else wrote in the comments. “Most experts think the tree of life only has a few years left.”
Olympic National Park officials told McClatchy News in an email that the tree has been a “popular attraction” for years, and the park has not fenced it off to keep visitors from climbing on the roots and doesn’t plan to start now.
“The location of this tree is obviously precarious. Erosion is constant on the coastal areas of the park and the Tree of Life is susceptible to it too,” park officials said in the statement. “Storm surges in the winter months erode the bank that the tree is rooted in. Increased waterflow in the stream underneath the tree also increased erosion. So you can argue that the tree is slowly collapsing because of the natural erosion that is occurring.”
In June, vegetation branch chief Janet Coles told Seattle Met the National Park Service knows people climb on the roots, but the agency doesn’t plan to build supports for the tree either, opting instead to let nature take its course.
At least one-third of the tree’s root system still anchors it into the earth on the inland side, the outlet reported.
“We’ll let what passes for nature take its course,” Coles told the outlet.
This Washington park offers some of the most breathtaking hikes in the US, Yelp says
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