Forum Index > Public Lands Stewardship > Vandalism and trees: Graffiti on trees?
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Brucester
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 11:54 am 
I first noticed this type of vandalism back in 2019ish. Initially I was horrified. Trees are our friends!
Hansen Creek Road at hair pin curve in road where folks park to dig crystals.
Golden Gardens Park in Seattle. This is west of the dog park on the trail on the other side of the yellow sculpture. Paint vs carving in regards to tree health?
Tree carving just west of parking area at Golden Gardens.

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Anne Elk
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 1:48 pm 
Yes. One of the many reasons for my "tagline". mad.gif I suppose it's less destructive than carving for the tree, but not to my sensibilities. I've seen such at Carkeek Park. Some time ago, graffiti in parks was discussed in one of the threads, and a pretty effective product was mentioned, "Elephant Snot". The website doesn't say that the product is intended for wood, but it might have some positive effect. No telling what's in the proprietary ingredients but their MSDS sheet mentions up to 10% potassium hydroxide. "Biodegradable" it says. I've thought about getting the 16 oz size and trying it out at Carkeek, since I volunteer there. The company has several different recipes, I haven't explored them all.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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zimmertr
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 2:27 pm 
It's extremely trashy and offensive to me. I don't mind it in the city but it absolutely does not belong on trees in our forested areas. There are a bunch of tags on a beautiful tree in Discovery Park around 47.657736, -122.422192 too. That smiley face on Brucester's first picture sucks SO BAD.

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Chief Joseph
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 6:50 pm 
On the way to Chimney Rock and Mt Roothan, there is a tree painted to mark that it's the correct road. There is a veritable maze of logging roads in that area, so it does cut down on people getting lost. They don't seem to be big on putting up signs in that area of Priest Lake, and if they do they are frequently vandalized. What I really hate is that in nearly every car camping spot, the trees around the fire pit are hacked up by drunken idiots trying to burn green, live wood. mad.gif

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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RichP
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 7:35 pm 
I saw these in Nevada over the summer. They are considered historic and it is illegal to deface them. Done by Basque herders.

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hapemask
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 8:15 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
No telling what's in the proprietary ingredients but their MSDS sheet mentions up to 10% potassium hydroxide. "Biodegradable" it says.
Potassium hydroxide is lye right? I'm no chemist (or tree-ologist... arborist?) but lye is pretty corrosive, at least if you get it on your skin. It's only 10% so I have no idea what impact it would have on a live tree w/the bark to protect it and all, but it might be good to find a "test tree" somewhere, if that's even a thing.

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treeswarper
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 9:07 pm 
PLEASE! Think before you act. Unless it is tree marking paint, it isn't likely to last very long. And yes, there is a special paint for marking trees because regular paint soaks in and doesn't last very long. I am guilty of painting smiley faces or frowny faces on trees. Timber marking can get tedious so such things are done. And, that brings up another matter that paint is used to mark timber, both for leave trees and cut trees and wildlife trees and boundary trees and a multitude of other reasons. This is a reference point for log trucks to call out where they are whilst hauling on the road.
This shows a tree marked for cutting for logging purposes.
Unless you are in a park or wilderness area, you will see paint on trees all over the place as many units were marked but never sold. If you see a tree that has BEES marked on it, it is best to not get close. Also, some aspen, and those in the photos are some, are now considered to be historical. So if you take action to "erase" those, you could be in a bit of trouble.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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IanB
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 9:18 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
I've thought about getting the 16 oz size and trying it out at Carkeek, since I volunteer there.
Speaking as an arborist, there's a good chance that the product would do damage to the tree. While the tagging is offensive, paint on the bark of a tree isn't harmful. Thinking of the painting over often done to wipe out graffiti on concrete, maybe a better approach would be to get some various brown and grey colors and try to apply subtle camouflage over the vandalism?

"Forget gaining a little knowledge about a lot and strive to learn a lot about a little." - Harvey Manning
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IanB
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PostSun Nov 21, 2021 9:23 pm 
treeswarper wrote:
regular paint soaks in and doesn't last very long.
That's simply not true. Regular spray paint lasts on the bark surface until that area of bark is eventually shed - which depending on the type of tree can take many, many years.

"Forget gaining a little knowledge about a lot and strive to learn a lot about a little." - Harvey Manning
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Pyrites
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PostMon Nov 22, 2021 2:30 am 
Lye, NaOH, sodium hydroxide, caustic soda, it has a kajillion names. Please don’t use it out in the park. You don’t want to damage your eyes, and I doubt there’s an eye wash station nearby.

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
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treeswarper
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PostMon Nov 22, 2021 7:20 am 
Sun, rain weather all work to rid the trees of regular paint. If you spray regular paint on a conifer, it soaks into the bark and it takes a hell of a lot more to leave a mark that shows up. When you have to carry around a bunch of paint in the woods, you want a paint that leaves a good, bright, mark with only a couple of squirts. Tree marking paint is formulated to do just that. You can try to "erase" paint using another color, but what usually happens is that you have a distinct blob on trees. You can chip it off on a tree with thick bark, and I have done that. It takes time to do. You can rub dirt into fresh paint to try to erase it, etc. Note the 3 to 5 years for this paint. I have seen it last longer than that. https://cspforestry.com/products/nelson-aero-spot-aerosol-tree-log-marking-paint.html?sku=A3241&_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=CjwKCAiAnO2MBhApEiwA8q0HYQN3D51Ha7oZU_XxCVSFttcES_h520na-Ei4Wqw89BdBqAkEWns59RoCEkkQAvD_BwE You can get all outraged, but the paint isn't going to hurt the trees and your home made treatments might do so.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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treeswarper
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PostMon Nov 22, 2021 7:22 am 
Pyrites wrote:
Lye, NaOH, sodium hydroxide, caustic soda, it has a kajillion names. Please don’t use it out in the park. You don’t want to damage your eyes, and I doubt there’s an eye wash station nearby.
Good point as there seems to always be a breeze blowing.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Chief Joseph
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PostTue Nov 23, 2021 9:04 pm 
Near the road branch leading to Chimney rock- Mt Roothan....on the to do list for next year, haven't gone because the road is brutal, plan to ride my dual sport motor bike up there.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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timberghost
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PostWed Nov 24, 2021 7:49 am 
Just paint over it with the tree color

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dixon
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PostTue Nov 30, 2021 2:23 pm 
I noticed that someone has carved out large sections of the tree bark on Mailbox Old Trail, presumably to mark the route.

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