Greetings from the Tree Department
Sunday the 22nd of last month we were hit by Henri, a former hurricane downgraded to a tropical storm just before making land to the west of us. Many communities in our area fared much worse than us, particularly New Bedford which had many trees come down.
During tropical storm Elsa earlier this month the Tree Department was called out no less than five times. The BPW worked in conjunction with the Tree Department post Elsa to clean up numerous road blockages due to downed large tree branches.
During Henri there were no blocked streets due to downed trees or branches. Some small branches did come down of course, but nothing that could not be easily moved aside by very thoughtful residents who care. Thank you to those folks.
Given that Henri was a much stronger storm than Elsa, and that our neighboring towns fared significantly worse than Fairhaven one may ask why. What changed between those two storms? Was it dumb luck? Coincidence? Or perhaps was it that 55 of the most dangerous diseased, dead, weak trees were removed in a joint operation by the Tree Department and Eversource.
Eversource did this at no cost to the Town and significant cost to them. I guess to the tune of $30–$35 thousand dollars. That’s about half my yearly budget. I am thankful to them as a resident, taxpayer and Tree Warden.
Avoiding a crisis
That’s a big job ahead of us. The center of Fairhaven is a good example of what the rest of the town is like in regards to losing its trees that are such a key part of the town’s beauty. The giants behind the Unitarian Church, all gone in five years. I am told by numerous professional foresters the Emerald Ash Borer will kill them. These wonderful giants are in a sad state to begin with due to lack of preventative maintenance. Then there is the terrible state of so many of the Maples in the same area.
In the spirit of team play, as no one can do this alone, I am inviting you, and the town’s Board of Public Works, Planning Board, Community Preservation Committee, Selectboard, Conservation Commission, Agricultural Commission and Historical Commission to a 30-minute walking tour of the town center to see firsthand what the present state of our tree canopy is and what can be done. This will be September 7 at 5 p.m. starting on the steps of the town hall. Anyone that cares about our trees is encouraged to come.
Fairhaven is fortunate to have a significant tree canopy. It makes our town better for so many reasons. We need to take action if we want to keep and improve it. I am told by many industry professionals that there are very few towns that manage their tree canopy well. There is just not the funding or desire to do so. I think we can be better than most. But many have to think of a way to make it happen.
Thank you and be green,
Don C. Collasius , Town of Fairhaven Tree warden
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