City Tree Crew..What are they doing in your neighborhood?

Well, it is summer and the City Tree Pruners are at it again!

The ones visiting our neighborhood this year said it was our "turn" on their 5 year cycle.

I have been here for almost 12 years and this is the first I have seen them. Which now raises some questions and a concern or two.

What concern me, is that our City did a Tree Inventory that was recently released. It pointed out that we had no current; as in up to date, as in tree by tree, as in species by species inventory count for the trees in this City. Why are the City Tree Pruners pruning trees and not counting, identifying and mapping where they are while they prune?

The satellite imagery in the tree inventory gave a canopy coverage for 2006, it is now 2009. How many trees have been removed from your neighborhood in the last 3 years? In my neighborhood at least 10, with the School District (directly next door) wanting to remove another 50+.

Well, now with the City Tree Pruners here in my neighborhood this week, I can add 3 more trees to the 10 (these are within 4 blocks of my home) which is 13 trees in 3 years, all mature (over 20 years). How many have the City Tree Pruners removed in your neighborhood? How about developers, storms and neighbors who are "tired of the mess"? How many trees have been destroyed? Or left structurally unsound and will end up being removed?

I think one way to get a handle on our tree inventory, and how many trees are REALLY in this City is to require the City Tree Pruners to count the trees they prune, map where those trees are, identify the species and record how many they cut down.

Another way to improve our true knowledge of a tree inventory in this City is for home owners to send to the newly formed Tree Commission a post card that says how many trees are in their yard, what the diameter is at 4 1/2 feet from the ground (dbh) and if they know the species write it down. If they send in the post card the City could give a credit on their water bill of 2 dollars or something. Emphasize they get the credit with or without trees. The count is very important and we want the correct number not just someone wanting a credit, so the incentive must be for the card, not what is on it. We need an inventory.

And we need to keep what we have and add more to it. Thus we must encourage those who do not have trees on their property, or live in an area where there are very few trees to plant trees. So we can use these cards to target areas needing more trees. And we can send out information for people to learn how to keep their current trees healthy. (Maybe have a webinar).

I know it sounds like I don't like tree pruning or tree removal. Don't get me wrong here, I think that Tree Pruning is a necessity for keeping a healthy tree. There are trees that never need pruning but they do need to be checked out for storm damage, critter damage and disease. I believe that everyone should be responsible for keeping their trees healthy and hiring a certified arborist to do just that. And, yes, there are times that a tree has to be removed: hazardous, disease, and too much storm damage are all good reasons to remove trees. But, please if you think a tree needs removing check with a certified arborist. And whether the tree is saved or needs removal...let the certified arborist do the work. And where do you find these specialist for trees? Try the International Society of Arboriculture. The ISA is a good place to learn about tree care, and what to look for in a professional and where to look.

So, take care of your trees...we want them for eternity.