Community Corner

Commission Says 20 Percent of Haddonfield Trees Will Die in Next 10 Years

The Shade Tree Commission's inventory report details Bacterial Leaf Scorch.

From the Haddonfield Shade Tree Commission:

Haddonfield’s Shade Tree Commission (STC) sees the forest, our suburban forest, not just the trees.

We face an incurable disease, Bacterial Leaf Scorch (BLS), which over the next five to ten years will kill most of our pin oaks and red oaks, about 20 percent of our street trees.  For the past few years, we have planted slightly fewer than one tree for every two removed, to maintain our shade canopy.  Tasked with managing approximately 9,200 street trees, last year, the STC, in conjunction with the department of public works, undertook a tree inventory and updated the software system used to manage the shade tree program.

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Funded by $25,000 in state grants, matched by $10,000 in borough funds, we engaged ArborPro, Inc., to inventory the borough’s street trees.  All trees were identified by location, species and condition, with action recommendations by ArborPro’s certified arborists.

STC members walked with the arborists to manage the project and understand their recommendations.  As the inventory progressed, hazardous trees were identified and taken down immediately. In June 2010, ArborPro presented the inventory findings, and provided the borough with a new tree management software program, replacing one that was no longer supported. An additional $4,380 grant, matched by $1,750 in borough funds, allowed the purchase of needed hardware.

Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Some highlights from the 2010 tree inventory:

  • Haddonfield’s suburban forest is maturing and starting to decline in vigor.  Trees, like people, have a life span that depends on the species and growing conditions.  We must continue to replace our shade trees to maintain the cooling shade that characterizes our town’s landscape.
  • We have a broad diversity of tree species, meaning that no single disease will decimate our tree cover.  We must continue diversifying with less susceptible oaks and other disease and drought resistant tree species.
  • 720 trees, over 40 percent of the 1,660 trees showing signs of BLS are in poor or critical condition, meaning they will probably need to be removed in the next four to five years.  While many of those trees have been taken down since the inventory was completed, additional trees are now showing signs of BLS.
  • Proactive tree management is more cost-effective than reactive maintenance.  We have already removed or pruned the trees in the poorest condition.  In an effort to maximize active pruning time, our tree crew works on scheduled pruning routes as much as possible.  With The Healthy Tree Workshop, taught in the Haddonfield Adult School this October 24 and November 7, we will have volunteers who can perform street-level “training pruning” on young trees.  In summer, the STC and other volunteers water new trees to ensure their survival.

With new software, public works develops efficient tree trimming routes, updates tree conditions to reflect pruning, identifies trees for removal and tracks and resolves residents’ tree requests.  The STC and borough administration can better plan for tree budget needs and monitor tree-related activity.  The inventory is driving a more efficient shade tree program.

 

The Haddonfield Shade Tree Commission members: Bill Polise (chair), Marjorie Coar, Jeff Hammon, Robin Potter, Ann Walters, Harriet Monshaw (alternate I) and Anne Koelling (alternate II)


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