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Billy Joe Fudge: On the courthouse maples, our urban forest


Related earlier stories asking for trees to stay: Comments re article 83862 Hunter Durham questions removal of large maples downtown, and, Joyce Coomer joins forces with Hunter - on trees

By Billy Joe Fudge

The two Sugar Maples were not just pruned badly, they were topped. The topping turned what would have been magnificent, majestic trees which could have been pruned correctly:


  • To maintain a porous crown to allow enough filtered sunlight through to the ground which will provide the opportunity for a luscious, green lawn
  • To allow for an actual conical tree shape rather than a big bush
  • To allow the trees to accent our beautiful courthouse rather than blocking the view when foliated and standing tall and proud during the winter season
  • To limit the spread of the crown which would keep the roots from growing into the curb, into the building itself and underneath the entrance walkways, etc.
  • To limit the spread of the crown which would keep limbs from growing into the courthouse while allowing the trees to flourish
  • To limit the opportunity for heart rot in dead limb ends created by topping
  • To limit insect infestation because of the heart rot
  • To limit continual limb fall by eliminating epicormic branching (branches which sprout from the bark rather than buds
  • And to increase the healthy lifespan in an urban setting to a 100 years or more.
The mismanagement of our Urban Forest is:
  • Lowering our property values
  • Increasing summertime temperatures
  • Providing less shade for general comfort in our yards, in our homes and in all our green space
  • Presenting a less than desirable vista for ourselves, our neighbors and visitors alike
  • And insuring that our children, grandchildren and future generations will be ensnared by the same kind of insufficient, ineffective and less desirable Urban Forest.


This story was posted on 2016-06-17 17:27:00
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