To the editor:

Ken Lassman’s book “Wild Douglas County” brings us all to focus on the flora and fauna of our native oak and hickory forests and native grassland and wetlands. Living near the Lawrence High School practice fields the last six years, I have seen a great deal of local wildlife ranging from fox to raccoon families and birds from ravens to finches all gathering around the perimeter of the school property.

Recently the school district began installing a perimeter stormwater drainage system for the improved athletic playing fields behind the homes along Alabama and north of my home on 21st street next to the historic Wiggins residence (1863), a local landmark property.

Our neighborhood association has had many meetings regarding the special use permits approved by the City Commission allowing underlying zone district changes and setback variances granted by those permits for these proposed fields.

My home has an excellent view of Kansas University to the north, and I can see back to our house from the parking lot behind Blake Hall up on the hill. When viewed from afar, it is apparent that the local tree canopy surrounds the LHS property and that an appropriate buffer to the new improvements and a more natural boundaryto the fields would be to make that 75-foot wide “site drainage perimeter” setback a more native woodland boundary between the homes and the new fields.

Sven Erik Alstrom,
Lawrence