Crow’s Nest: Hazard Tree Work

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

We worked with a contractor this week to take down a bunch of hazard trees. Along Hopewell Road there were five black oaks that have died this year along Hopewell Road probably due to old age and disease. Another nine tuliptrees died—the second wave of them we’ve had to remove—following a salt spill in the winter of 2017-18 apparently from a salt truck that overturned there.

Then we had some more ash trees removed from along our roadsides, both with and without signs of the devastating Emerald Ash Borer. A couple of pines that were declining were also removed. It was a big project, but it is also a huge effort we make every year.

All trees die someday, and we try to manage where and when they will fall by removing them when they decline, die, or have other defects that make them hazardous. To be hazardous the tree not only has to have a defect but a target like the road, building, or utility wires. It is easy to take for granted that our open space is preserved and things will always remain the same. But it also has to be managed for the safety of visitors and passers-by. Since we are being proactive the effort is ongoing, incremental, and not too disruptive to the environment or our visitors. If we’re doing a good job the changes should not be too noticeable, though the arrival of an insect pest such a Emerald Ash Borer can have a catastrophic impact on the land as it has here.

We are constantly evaluating roadside trees and making decisions about their management. We’ve replanted some roadside hedgerows but in roadside forests regeneration typically naturally occurs. If you have questions about our hazard tree management program please contact us.