Dirt, mounds of dirt, vast expanses of dirt. Heaps of dirt are replacing trees, rabbits, birds, chipmunks, squirrels, grass, wildflowers, bees, nests, etc. all along the Vineyard Haven — Edgartown Road.

Excavators, bulldozers, backhoes, forklifts and big dump trucks used to build the hills of dirt can be seen from my back window. Land that we were told was ”forever wild” is now barren.

Why can’t there be conservation planning before the machines start mowing down all fauna and flora? Can’t a few trees be spared in the beginning stages?

A few Saturdays ago, I worked with some volunteers called “The Oak Bluffs Tree Planting Group”. The irony was inescapable — young trees carefully planted as opposed to the bulldozing of our woods.

Genevieve H. Abbot

Oak Bluffs