New shade tree plan in the works for Glen Ridge

Glen Ridge may have a new plan in place for caring for its public shade trees by this fall.

The borough's Shade Tree Commission is finishing up a revised master plan for the planting and care of trees around Glen Ridge.

This winter hasn't caused too many problems for Glen Ridge's shade trees, said Deputy Administrator Mike Zichelli. Instead, the big problem continues to be age Glen Ridge has a lot of very old trees and very young trees, with not much in between, he said. To add to that, some of the more recent saplings are having trouble thriving, as the older trees start to decline.

Tim DeLorm, the chair of the Shade Tree Commission, said that the master plan should be ready before the end of September.

The goal is for the master plan to include details on what types of trees should be planted around town, and in what locations including high-traffic "gateway" intersections like the Ridgewood/Bloomfield Avenue intersection, Zichelli said.

However, he said, there is still a problem with landscapers building up "mulch volcanoes:" piling mulch around the base of the tree, which ends up weakening the trunk and the roots.

Some of Glen Ridge's younger trees fell victim to drought, disease and conditions such as maple blight in 2011.

On average, Glen Ridge has to take out about 40 large trees a year. "It's not a number we'd like to see, but it's a reality," Zichelli said.

The number is consistent with what it has been over the last five years, except during major storms and weather events.

The shade tree canopy has also taken a heavy hit from major storms over the last three years, including Hurricanes Sandy and Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm.

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New shade tree plan in the works for Glen Ridge