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# Letter: Saving the downtown ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/downtown-trees-keeping-it-fresh-the-following-is-an-open-letter-to-the-santa-monica-city-council/
- Published: 2007-07-18T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T02:18:57.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Downtown, #archive-import

*By Doris Stegall*

I want to interject additional reasons for saving the magnificent ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets. As an informed reader, I have learned how a loss of trees compounds pollution in cities and how the cities suffer. The trees filter out particulate pollution. The crown of a large tree also intercepts rain water that might otherwise clog cities’ aging drainage systems. In some cases, a tree can ensure that 1,500 gallons of water a year will evaporate before it hits the ground. Tree shade stops asphalt from reflecting the sun’s heat.

If you replace large old trees with smaller varieties, that’s bad for air quality. A big tree does 60-70 times the pollution removal of a small tree.

Please save our water supply and our trees.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 18, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/071807.pdf?ref=smdp.com)