By Courtney Naquin
Margret Hofmann at an Austin City Council meeting
In 1946, shortly after her mother was murdered in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, Margret Hofmann fled Nazi Germany and arrived in the United States. She hitchhiked across the country and rediscovered the peace that was stolen from her early life in Yosemite National Park. She then moved to Austin, Texas with her husband, Otto, and became one of the greatest community leaders to serve the Austin community.
Jerome Collins, a long-time Sierra Club member and an old friend of Hofmann’s, thinks of her environmental work just 5 years after her passing. After surviving the bombing of Dresden in Germany, Hofmann became a fervent peace activist and strict pacifist. Collins says that Hofmann was also a fighter for the natural environment, especially in Austin. In the 1975, when Hofmann was elected as one of the first women on the City Council, Austin was a much smaller, quieter town. But rapid development was underway.
“Trees were being torn down all over the place- it was like mowing the lawn,” says Collins. Hofmann understood the importance of trees, and how they made a city look and feel alive- a feeling that Dresden had lost.
In response to the irresponsible loss of trees, she brilliantly authored the Austin city tree ordinance: a law that protects historical trees from being destroyed by developers. She became known as Austin’s “Tree Lady.” Collins was there to see Hofmann’s tree initiative pass during her time as a city official, and might soon see that legacy be tarnished at the hands of Governor Greg Abbott.
Margret Hofmann (right) and a team of tree planters at Republic Square in 1975
Gov. Abbott really hates tree ordinances and some have speculated that it is because two heritage trees impeded the process of building his new home. Under the Austin tree ordinance, cutting down a heritage tree without authorized permission is punishable by fine. During the construction of his home, Abbott was given a building permit but was required to protect two heritage pecan trees on the property. Instead, construction crews damaged one of the trees, causing it to die. Abbott then requested to have it and at least three other trees removed from his property. He was never fined.
Now, the Texas legislature is meeting for a special session to discuss a variety of bills and issue areas that weren’t emphasized or were unsuccessful during the regular session. One of these issues is a tree ordinance ban that didn’t pass in the regular session. Gov. Abbott is trying again to outlaw tree-protecting laws that cities have established within their limits. Over fifty cities in Texas have tree ordinances in place. Gov. Abbott and other far right-wing conservatives in the Texas government think that the tree ordinances are unconstitutional, because they violate property rights.
“People think they own the land, but they forget that the trees are going to outlive them,” says Collins.
The Margret Hofmann Oaks Park near City Hall
Austin has several “heritage trees,” trees that are very old, large, and have survived Texas over hundreds of years.There is even a collection of heritage trees at city hall, facing town lake, named the Margret Hofmann Oaks. These trees are analogous to historical sites and buildings in Austin- they have been a part of the city for so long that to destroy them would be destroying tangible history.
People like Hofmann and Collins understand the value that trees have in a city (because trees are not simply cosmetic). Trees offer city dwellers a lot of overlooked amenities - for example, the cities’ largest trees filter water at the rate of seven water treatment plants. Trees also help mitigate air pollution, act as a cooling mechanism for homes in the Texas summer heat, and reduce the risk and effects of flooding.
Tree ordinances are also an example of city values- something Abbott apparently hates that he can’t control without overreaching into local jurisdiction. He will say that cities are over regulating - but does not believe he is doing the same when he prevents cities from creating local laws voted on by their citizens.
A Golden Cheeked Warbler in the Hill Country
The targeting of tree ordinances makes it again clear, Gov. Abbott will allow any excuse and make loopholes to fast-forward Texas development at the expense of the environment, even when it is clear that there will be detrimental effects. For example, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think-tank supported by Abbott, is filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to remove the Golden Cheeked Warbler songbird from the endangered species list, though the birds are still at risk of severe population depletion. If the Golden Cheeked Warbler were to be taken off the list, thousands of acres of tree-rich land would be free for development. The Golden Cheeked Warbler only live in a specific area of the Hill Country of central Texas- if their trees die from development, they will too.
John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, said, “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and tempests of floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” Tree ordinances are one of the best ways to ensure trees will be protected, because as soon as they aren’t, short-sighted fools seek to cut them down for temporary gain. Abbott may try to take this right away from us, but if we speak with the boldness of Margret Hofmann there is no way he won’t hear us.