November 17, 2024
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Ottawa Tree Board members, others express concern for over-pruned trees

Trees will have a greater chance of being damaged from storms

By Michael Urbanec

A photo taken in Ottawa's downtown showing a tree missing its lower limbs. (Photos courtesy of Vicki Stacy)

Members of the Ottawa Tree Board appeared before the City Council on Tuesday to express concern over trees on city property being trimmed to an extent that’s detrimental to their health.

Vicki Stacy presented photos showing trees throughout the downtown missing limbs except for at the very top.

Photos of one heavily pruned tree and another that has a sign sign that says "please don't butcher me, too." The sign was placed there by a concerned citizen. (Photo courtesy of Vicki Stacy)

“It will take a great deal of time to bring the trees back to their former beauty if that is even possible at this point,” Stacy said. “I felt that our downtown was shady and inviting, but now it’s just stark and hot. I love our city and I can’t begin to tell you how sad it feels to look at now.”

Stacy said the trees being so heavily trimmed means they’re weaker and have a greater chance of being broken or damaged during storms, and a tree shouldn’t have any more than 5% to 20% of its crown removed at any one time. She said most trees have around 40% to 50% taken off, leading to smaller branches where the larger, sturdier branches have been removed.

Her source for this information comes from a paper, provided to the City Council, created by the USDA Forest Service.

Christine Frangoulis, another member of the Tree Board, said the trees are an investment that must be cared for in a careful and knowledgeable manner.

“Those who do the actual hands on work must receive clear instruction in maintenance,” Frangoulis said. “Such as removal, pruning and herbicide use. Second, they must have supervision through the learning curve until they demonstrate the ability to perform independently.”

Mayor Dan Aussem said he’s aware of the concerns with the trees and it’s something that will have to be brought up to the superintendent.

Two more heavily pruned trees in Ottawa's downtown. (Photos courtesy of Vicki Stacy)

From there, the city will have to check on the supervision to find out what’s going on and think further about contracting out work on the trees as opposed to doing the work in-house.

“You know, we don’t like to do that,” Aussem said. “It’s far more cost effective to have our own people doing it but in the end, that’s an alternative if it’s not going to work.”

A closeup of where trees had limbs chopped off too low down on the trunk. (Photos courtesy of Vicki Stacy)

Aussem said he knows the city workers are trained in how to take care of the city’s trees.