The Gateway Poplar Alliance — a citizen-led organization looking to halt local municipalities’ potential plans to cut down the Lombardy Poplar trees lining Sims Way — has announced an Adopt-a-Poplar program, aiming to advocate for the trees through adoption.

Coordinating with nonprofit Quimper Conservatory, the Adopt-a-Poplar program will have 150 poplar trees available for adoption for $50 each, with proceeds helping to fund the Gateway Poplar Alliance’s legal efforts to prevent the trees from a future date with a chainsaw.

“Each adopter can choose which poplar they want to adopt, along with a female Italian name painted on a name tag that will be affixed to their adopted tree,” explained Andrea Hegland, Gateway Poplar Alliance co-founder and Quimper Conservancy board member.

“Some of you may wonder why Italian female names? Well, evidently some city decision-makers believe these poplars represent white male European colonization,” Hegland added.

“The thinking goes that cutting them down is part of the broader decolonization movement, and replanting with native trees would be more feminine. This seems to be a hijacking of legitimate movements, such as decolonization and feminism, to justify the destruction of the poplars.”

Adopters can give their tree with an Italian male name, though it will cost twice as much, according to the Gateway Poplar Alliance.

“Let’s show these agencies we value our historic trees, which provide an appropriate amount of habitat along this highway, and a transparent public process. Adopt a poplar and help us do just that,” Hegland added.

After public awareness of the proposed project spiked in September, the Sims Gateway and Boatyard Expansion Project has been a lightning-rod proposal among Port Townsend’s residents.

The expansion plan — which includes the removal of the iconic stand of poplars near the entryway to the city’s downtown — is a joint project between the city of Port Townsend, the Jefferson County Public Utility District, and the Port of Port Townsend.

Removing the trees looks to address potential powerline safety hazards along Sims Way, officials have said.

Critics of the plan hope to keep the trees in place.

“This is an opportunity for those in this community who are just as confused as we are about why these three public agencies want to destroy our gateway and heritage poplars, to stand up for these beautiful trees and help retain legal counsel to stop this ill-conceived and expensive project,” Hegland said.

“We ask that each tree adopter become an advocate for our legacy trees, and document all the wildlife that these agencies say isn’t there,” said Quimper Conservatory board member David Goldman.

“These agencies have lost sight of the fact that this is not a park, but a high-volume transportation corridor, with an average daily trip count of 10,000 vehicles,” Goldman continued. “They claim that wildlife doesn’t use these trees and they can plant better wildlife trees here; we point out that both claims are flawed. Wildlife does in fact use these trees and secondly, it would be irresponsible to attract more wildlife to this transportation corridor.”

For more information on the Adopt-a-Poplar program, visit www.poplaralliance.org or contact the Gateway Poplar Alliance at info@poplaralliance.org.