A McCaw by Any Other Name?

According to the Santa Maria Times, Wendy McCaw's former husband Craig didn't get a permit for removing hundreds of eucalyptus trees from his Gaviota property as his management company "didn't know" that they were a monarch habitat.

Still, why wouldn't they think twice in removing so many trees and ask someone at the County Planning Department? To their benefit, McCaw's "people" sound like they understand a bit about horticulture and want to bring native plants to the eventually large McMansion McCaw must have planned. Eucalyptus trees are hated by horticulturalists almost as much as invasive pampas grass because they are "water suckers" and not-native. Two strikes right off the bat.

I have to ask though, even if they were brought here from Australia maybe a hundred years ago -- how long do they have to be here before they are native? And, when are they not part of our ecosystem if monarchs, red tail hawks and the like nest in them?

I could go either way on deciding whether Craig McCaw was correct in trying to go native on his coastal property....but you would think his staff would make sure he wasn't breaking any laws by cutting such a large number down. The Age of Entitlement we are in doesn't just apply to the younger generation....