Thursday, October 20, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Tree Cutting and Removal at Garret Mountain Reservation
More tree cutting is being done at Garret Mountain Reservation. There seems to be an agenda to remove trees before they fall on people. It's being done to make the park safer for us. This ludicrous plan is destroying critical habitat for the sake of giving the county tree cutters some work. There's a bunch of work needed in the park but removing healthy trees because they are close to picnic areas, trails or roads is just plain ignorant. We have reported some of the problems at our Facebook page with more information and photos to follow. This is a tree scheduled for removal or severe pruning.
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Friends of Garret Facebook Posts
I was up at Garret today and to be honest I am at a loss as to what the
great plan is for the park. They seem to be trying to cut down every
tree is sight. There are trees all marked for cutting all around the
Crows nest.
I later found the culprit of the tree marking. Standing beside his truck on a pedestrian walkway south of the warming room and near the junction of the stream trail and the trail that goes off to the east. I asked him what was going on and he explained that he was marking trees to protect walkers from deadly beams that could fall and hit someone. His only solution I can see is to remove every tree that is close to the paths as they have recently made wider so trucks could navigate around the park. I asked him sarcastic " Who in the management used to work for a Golf course" He immediately answer himself. He than asked why and said it was obviously his ambition was to make the park a treeless golf course. He then explained he had been on a forestry course. I think they need to send him back on a county park Wildlife preservation course. This man is single handedly destroying the habitat in the park. When asked about all the trees he is marking he told me they are invasive, which is true. However the point being he is taking them away but doing nothing about replanting or deer eradication. { They have planted 4 trees up at the top and a few near the entrance} They seem to have no concept of the wildlife potential of dead or dying standing wood, woodpeckers, owls, insects, beetles and other wildlife use this for years. We then had a stand off about Emerald Ash Borer and the chance of them returning after an infestation. I have had first hand experience as I called an Arboriculturists to cut one of my own trees down as it looked dead " I was told and it has since been to shown to be true they can come back"
http://www.ncforestservice.gov/forest_health/fh_eabfaq.htm
Clipped here >>>Insecticides are available for those wishing to protect high-value ornamental trees, an option recommended when the beetle is known to be within 15 miles of the tree. If a tree is already infested and over half the crown is still alive, insecticides may be used therapeutically to help trees recover. Recovery is slow and improvement in tree health might not be noticeable for one to two years. Re-treatment must take place every one to two years. <<< Mine came back without insecticides.
I see no planning going on here, just removal of trees and hoarding of wood chips in the upper dump. Gravel paths are a complete and utter nonsense. They lay down a new ground cover every time we get a heavy rain and it all washes away with the next rain into streams or forest and the answer is to re application of more gravel.
I have been going to Garret mountain since 1992 and have bird 20,000 records of birds since then, I am not a new comer to Garret. I have watched it change with the deer eating everything below browse height and now there is hardly any under story. I see the expansion of the stables into the forest and the obvious destruction of those trees by horse browse. I also believe they used the county workers to the removal, I have photos! I think however the biggest danger to the Garret Mtn parks trees is this incompetent person who is marking trees for removal.
You have to remember we have had several huge storm taking trees down in the last few years the last thing we now need is unnecessary removal of any tree without adequate provision for the future.
I also saw three felling experts going 8 trees into the woods and just doing a TIMBER ! felling crashing through many healthy trees just to get paid for the removal of said dangerous trees. I was told by this person it was not his guys, great news but it happened and no one was there to supervise that new damage to the healthy trees.
I have almost given up hope of the park ever regaining its health.
I later found the culprit of the tree marking. Standing beside his truck on a pedestrian walkway south of the warming room and near the junction of the stream trail and the trail that goes off to the east. I asked him what was going on and he explained that he was marking trees to protect walkers from deadly beams that could fall and hit someone. His only solution I can see is to remove every tree that is close to the paths as they have recently made wider so trucks could navigate around the park. I asked him sarcastic " Who in the management used to work for a Golf course" He immediately answer himself. He than asked why and said it was obviously his ambition was to make the park a treeless golf course. He then explained he had been on a forestry course. I think they need to send him back on a county park Wildlife preservation course. This man is single handedly destroying the habitat in the park. When asked about all the trees he is marking he told me they are invasive, which is true. However the point being he is taking them away but doing nothing about replanting or deer eradication. { They have planted 4 trees up at the top and a few near the entrance} They seem to have no concept of the wildlife potential of dead or dying standing wood, woodpeckers, owls, insects, beetles and other wildlife use this for years. We then had a stand off about Emerald Ash Borer and the chance of them returning after an infestation. I have had first hand experience as I called an Arboriculturists to cut one of my own trees down as it looked dead " I was told and it has since been to shown to be true they can come back"
http://www.ncforestservice.gov/forest_health/fh_eabfaq.htm
Clipped here >>>Insecticides are available for those wishing to protect high-value ornamental trees, an option recommended when the beetle is known to be within 15 miles of the tree. If a tree is already infested and over half the crown is still alive, insecticides may be used therapeutically to help trees recover. Recovery is slow and improvement in tree health might not be noticeable for one to two years. Re-treatment must take place every one to two years. <<< Mine came back without insecticides.
I see no planning going on here, just removal of trees and hoarding of wood chips in the upper dump. Gravel paths are a complete and utter nonsense. They lay down a new ground cover every time we get a heavy rain and it all washes away with the next rain into streams or forest and the answer is to re application of more gravel.
I have been going to Garret mountain since 1992 and have bird 20,000 records of birds since then, I am not a new comer to Garret. I have watched it change with the deer eating everything below browse height and now there is hardly any under story. I see the expansion of the stables into the forest and the obvious destruction of those trees by horse browse. I also believe they used the county workers to the removal, I have photos! I think however the biggest danger to the Garret Mtn parks trees is this incompetent person who is marking trees for removal.
You have to remember we have had several huge storm taking trees down in the last few years the last thing we now need is unnecessary removal of any tree without adequate provision for the future.
I also saw three felling experts going 8 trees into the woods and just doing a TIMBER ! felling crashing through many healthy trees just to get paid for the removal of said dangerous trees. I was told by this person it was not his guys, great news but it happened and no one was there to supervise that new damage to the healthy trees.
I have almost given up hope of the park ever regaining its health.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
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