City tree removal gains political attention
Even as the Ginter Park Residents’ Association educates North Richmonders about the care and maintenance of street trees, the Times-Dispatch reports on the city’s struggles to maintain its urban forest — and its penchant for thinning the treescape at a rapid clip:
Something big was missing when Jamie Walters returned to her North Richmond home from school one day early this year.
A patch of sawdust was all that was left of a large maple tree that had stood next to Newport Drive in front of her home. Two other maples had been spared only because a car was parked next to them, but they were marked for removal the next day.
That’s when Walters, a 16-year-old rising junior at Open High School, decided to take a stand. She and Caitlin Britton, a 17-year-old friend and classmate, got their parents’ permission to stay home from school the next day to protect the two remaining trees.
“All we could do was stand in front of the trees,” Walters said.
And that’s what they did, saving both trees from removal by the city’s urban forestry crew, which left after trimming several branches.
Walters and Britton aren’t alone in their concern that Richmond is too quick to cut down trees on public property, and too slow to plant trees to replenish the city’s thinning urban forest. The city reported last year that it is cutting 1,500 to 2,000 trees a year, while planting no more than 300.
meanwhile when you call them to notify of a dead tree on public property – it takes 2 years for someone to cut the thing down……sigh
I’ve seen a couple of trees in the alley near our house in Northside that have big x’s on them. I wonder if this is their intended fate as well?
If you see a tree marked with a big X or a sign, it will be removed. If it is a live tree, call the city and demand that it be pruned and not removed. The city is systematically removing live trees that can be saved with proper pruning and cabling. We must act now to prevent loss of our urban forest to a negligent, ignorant and irresponsible policy promoted by the department of public works. Call Dexter White, the mayor, and your council person to protest the removal of trees that can be prudently and safely saved.
Suzanne Keller