Lemolo. Suquamish. Poulsbo. Hansville. Kingston. The list is growing. North Kitsap is growing as well, but are we doing it too fast?

We hope not.

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of ribbon cuttings, building blessings and golden shovel ceremonies but — at the same time — it’s important for us all to keep an eye on the expanding man-made landscape around us. Important for us to realize that each time our communities “grow,” a part of North Kitsap’s natural beauty dies for good.

It is all but impossible to reverse the trend and unlikely that America will adopt a one-child-per-household quota, as other countries have, anytime soon. And the bottom line is expansion is a natural state for growing populations.

Yet, as we continue do so, we must also keep in mind that a balance must be struck with Mother Nature at some point — hopefully before it’s too late.

The idea of a paved North Kitsap might seem a bit far out but even so, it may not be too far out.

Why? Everywhere one looks around our community there are signs of growth. New construction on large complexes will be at a high point in North Kitsap this spring and summer.

Are developers realizing their drastic impact? Maybe not.Consider all those great drawings we get when developments are proposed. You know the ones. Despite starting on a cleared piece of land, the artwork shows nice groupings of large evergreen trees.

Do the artists expect us to believe that these trees really reach full height overnight? Are these magic trees? If so, why hasn’t Peg Tillery told us about them? Why isn’t Jim (the ‘S’ stands for savings) Savage having a sale on them?

The fact of the matter is (and we have this from a good source) that there are no such evergreens. Such trees take decades and decades to grow.

Just something to keep in mind next time you see one of those “coming soon” signs. While the development is coming soon, those trees will definitely take a while. Hopefully our balance with Mother Nature will come first.