Published: 5:20AM Thursday April 09, 2015 Source: ONE News

Bid to save pohutakawa tree in Huia - Source: Supplied

A new fight over an iconic native tree is brewing between Auckland Council and residents in a small west Auckland township.

On Tuesday the council sent a tree removal contractor to Huia to remove a pohutukawa tree from the foreshore area but left with the specimen still standing after intervention from locals who demanded to see consent paperwork.

One concerned resident briefly climbed the tree but spent a much shorter time on the trunk than activist Michael Tavares's 80-hour stint in nearby Titirangi last month on behalf of a historic kauri.

The council says inspection by arborists show the Huia pohutukawa is badly damaged and needs to be removed as there is a threat to public safety.

"Coastal erosion has exposed a large portion of the tree's root system and undermined at least 50% of the tree's root plate," said Grant Jennings, Manager Local and Sports Parks West.

Jennings said the tree could fall onto a power line, septic system, toilet block and public access areas. That constitutes an "immediate risk" to people and property so resource consent to remove it is not required.

But the council does accept that community interest is high and has now halted any attempt to fell the tree until after a public meeting next week.

The protesting locals - aligned to theHuiaSOS group on Facebook and running anonline petition - are claiming a partial victory, but the group believes the tree's fate is only a portion of a much larger plan to remove the seawall entirely at Huia.

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New fight over native tree in west Auckland

SARAH ROBERTS

Last updated16:07, April 9 2015

PETER MEECHAM/Stuff.co.nz

Huia tree and reserve protest/debate

Protesters are gathering to try to save another native tree in West Auckland.

Just weeks after national attention was focused on Titirangi and the attempts to save a kauri tree that was facing the chop, a second tree in the area is at the centre of a battle over its future.

The pohutukawa tree on the foreshore at Huia, on the Manukau Harbour, has been condemned by the Auckland Council, which says it is badly damaged and a threat to public safety.

However, some locals say the tree's fate is part of a bigger plan to remove the Huia Domain.

Environmental campaigner Michael Tavares, who spent several days in the branches of the kauri during the earlier protest, plans to protest against the fate of the pohutukawa on Thursday.

He said the issue in Huia was over how the domain could be best environmentally managed.

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Protesters gather to save Auckland pohutukawa tree

A road project that would call for 33 trees to be removed from Centennial Avenue in Sewickley has drawn objections from residents.

Borough officials were scheduled to meet this week with residents of Centennial Avenue from Blackburn Road to Boundary Street and residents of Cochran Street from Beaver Street to Nevin Avenue to discuss the project. A petition to keep the trees, including London planes and sycamores, has been signed by more than 150 residents.

Nadja Jones, who has lived on Centennial Avenue with her husband, Mark, for about three years, said residents initially were unaware that the road project called for the trees to be removed.

These are huge. They're gorgeous. They're part of the community. They are the community, Nadja Jones said.

The project includes road paving and sidewalk and curb repairs. Borough manager Kevin Flannery said borough officials have been working to stay on a roadwork schedule. He said the borough arborist said if the curbs are to be replaced, the trees must be removed.

Trees would be replanted as part of the project.

If the residents don't want the trees touched, then we're not going to be able to do the curbs and the sidewalks, Flannery said.

Mark Jones said he would be happy if only the road were paved. He said he wished there were better communication between borough officials and residents on what the plan was for their street.

There's no way that residents, as busy as everybody is, can go to all the meetings to ensure that nothing is going to happen in their neighborhood, Jones said.

Flannery said officials would try to communication and possibly begin the roadwork process earlier in the year. He said sidewalks are the property owners' responsibility.

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Sewickley tree removal plan riles residents

Woman charged 10K for tree removal
Detectives looking for suspects WPTV NewsChannel 5, Local News Coverage You Can Count On. South Florida, Palm Beach County, Treasure Coast breaking news, weather and traffic. ...

By: WPTV News | West Palm Beach Florida

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Woman charged 10K for tree removal - Video

When is a tree more than just a tree?

Perhaps when it's older than the state of Florida.

Last month, a developer approached Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan about plans to build an office and apartment complex on Constitution Green, the one-block park in downtown Orlando.

In the center of that park, which is just a few blocks from Lake Eola Park on Summerlin Avenue, is a 70-foot-tall live oak tree with limbs so long they touch the ground. It's listed on the city's "Significant Trees Map," and is estimated at being between 125 and 175 years old. Florida became a state in 1845.

Watch the video "Fly through the 175-year-old tree at Constitution Green."

When news of the possible development began trickling out on sites like Bungalower.com, the OrlandoWeekly.comand OrlandoSentinel.com, some residentsweren't happy about it and began a petition on Change.org.

As of today, almost5,900 people have signed the "Save Constitution Green Park" petition. A rally was held on March 21 as an effort to save the park.

The park is owned by the Carusos, a Central Florida citrus-growing family. The City of Orlando has leasedthe park from the family for $10for 10 years (or a $1-a-year)since the late 1980s. (The city, however, does pay taxes on the land and maintains it.)

The family or the City can terminate the lease with 30 days' notice.

City spokesperson Cassandra Lasfer told the Sentinel's David Breenin March: "We have no applications for development, no applicationsfor any tree removal, and no notice for formaltermination of lease."

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Fly through the 175-year-old tree at Constitution Green

After the emerald ash borer was discovered in Winona last April, its arrival led the city to make quick work of more than 100 ash trees on boulevards around the city, cut down in late 2014 to slow the spread of the pest.

Assistant city manager for public works Keith Nelson said the department is preparing to plant 100 new trees to take their place.

The tree plantings will be primarily oaks and disease-resistant elms, and the planting will likely begin and end in June.

Until then, Nelson said the department is taking site requests from property owners. Trees can be planted anywhere in Winona on public streets or boulevards.

Funding for the replanting comes from the city budget, in addition to a $25,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation that the city received in late 2014.

No large treating or removal projects are on the public works departments to-do list for this year, but Nelson said primary retreating will happen next year, according to a management plan adopted in 2012. Trees that are treated with pesticide must be retreated every three years.

For ash trees on private property, property owners are required by city ordinance to remove infested trees promptly, and they are encouraged to treat or replace healthy ash trees.

The emerald ash borer was discovered in Minnesota in 2009 and has infested areas including Winona, Houston and Trempealeau counties and the Twin Cities metro region. Ash borer larvae live under the bark of an infested tree and kill the tree by boring through wood under the bark, cutting off circulation and depleting nutrients.

Several area counties are under quarantines, including Buffalo and Trempealeau counties in Wisconsin, and Winona, Houston and Olmsted counties in Minnesota.

There is no known way to kill the invasive pest. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is experimenting with several methods for limiting its spread.

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City of Winona replanting in wake of ash tree removal

OLEAN Todd Fries of Southern Tier Tree Service was 50 feet in the air cutting near the top of a diseased maple tree Monday in Lincoln Park when a squirrel leaped out of the hollow tree and landed 20 feet away in a nearby tree.

It startled Fries but reminded him that there could be baby squirrels in the hollow of the tree. The adult squirrel that had scampered away watched from behind a branch of a nearby tree.

Fries had earlier removed a green squirrel house from the same tree, but nothing jumped out, and he didnt look to see if there were any baby squirrels inside before carefully lowering it to the ground.

After looking down into the hollow of the tree and spotting the baby squirrels amid pieces of shredded paper and plastic and a fair amount of sawdust Fries made a cut with the chainsaw about 2 feet from the top,

below where he estimated the baby squirrels were located.

Then he lifted the section of tree onto the bucket of the cherry picker and gently lowered it to the ground. He then hefted the log with the squirrels into his arms and carried it to the base of a nearby tree.

He parted the sawdust to reveal two of the baby squirrels with light coats of grey fur. Their eyes appeared to still be closed.

They made tiny squeaking noises. Fries, who presumably has seen his share of squirrels while trimming and removing trees over the years, said they were trying to contact their mother, who would return and take them to a safer place when no one was around.

The tree service has a contract with the city of Olean for tree trimming and removal of dangerous trees.

(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)

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City tree cutter saves baby squirrels in Lincoln Park

The stretch of U.S. 68 leading into Maysville from the detention center at the intersection of Kentucky 11 to Forest Avenue is getting a make-over in more ways than one.

The section of roadway has been plagued by recurring potholes and a rough surface for several years and will be resurfaced starting in late April to early May. The project is one part of a reconstruction of U.S. 68 in Maysville, with the other section being reconstructed from Moody Drive to Kentucky 9.

In addition to the new roadway, this section of roadway will no longer be lined with pine trees on both sides. On Monday, road crews began the task of removing the trees, which were planted in the 1980s as a way to beautify the entrance to downtown Maysville.

On Tuesday, the trees were being cut down and then hoisted by a crane onto waiting trucks for removal.

Officials with the Kentucky Department of Highways District 9 Office in Flemingsburg said all trees marked with pink spray paint will be removed. The trees hang over the roadway, causing shading problems in the winter. The highway department also receives complaints from motorists about the low branches hitting vehicles.

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Work on U.S. 68 includes tree removal

To the editor: The decrepit state of Los Angeles' sidewalks is all the fault of the city because of the trees it decided to have planted in each neighborhood. ("Finally, a decision to fix L.A.'s broken sidewalks," editorial, April 2)

I am an apartment owner in North Hollywood. We have a huge ficus tree planted next to our driveway that has been there for several decades. We made a direct request to the city for us to bear the cost of removal. The city has refused.

Consequently, we will continue at intervals to keep repairing the driveway.

The city must absolutely require the removal of specific tree species with invasive roots, or the problem will recur in a few decades after the city is finished spending $1.4 billion fixing its sidewalks. The city must speak to arborists and other experts and get at the root of the problem.

Susan Glasser, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Fixing L.A.'s sidewalk will be just like painting the Golden Gate Bridge: Once the repairs are completed in 30 years, the sidewalks will have deteriorated to the point where they will again need repairing.

Toby Horn, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionandFacebook

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L.A.'s sidewalk problem is also a tree problem

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