Published: July 03, 2008 12:00 am            

City plans to remove 25 hazardous trees

Norman's Parks and Recreation Department will soon remove 25 hazardous trees from the "core" of the city to "protect the integrity of the urban forest," City Forester Janay Jeanis said Wednesday.

Jeanis said the "core" of Norman lies between Main Street and Lindsey Street, north to south, and University Boulevard and Berry Road, east to west.

The trees, which are marked with either a white or red "X," are set to be chopped down and hauled off late this month or early in August, Jeanis said.

"These trees were assessed between 2000 and 2005 and we were able, at that point, to pinpoint which trees were most hazardous and which would be removed," Jeanis said.

The job is set to begin as soon as the City Council approves the project, which Jeanis said would cost around $19,000, and should take only a week to complete.

And while Jeanis said there haven't been any complaints so far, her office did receive an odd request from Leslie Elliott, who lives at the northwest corner of the Symmes Street and Flood Avenue intersection, regarding the manner in which her eastern red cedar tree should be dismantled.

"I was talking to an artist about turning the trunk into a natural sculpture," Elliott said. "Because cedars are a thing to be revered in some cultures."

She said the Norman Parks and Recreation Department didn't laugh at the request or tell her they couldn't do anything to help her out.

"We talked about options and the forester there was very accommodating," Elliott said. "She said there's a specific life cycle for trees and mine is at that the end of its."

As an owner of three residential lots near the intersection, Elliott said she's used to dealing with issues like the upcoming tree removals.

"I've already started replanting new trees. I have a contingency plan for everything," she said. "I've already planned for tree removal."

All of the 25 trees to be removed lie within the city's easement and many of them were damaged during last winter's ice storm, Jeanis said.

"In a way, the ice storm kind of did a lot of the work for us," she said. "Tree removal is very costly, so we try and find the positives that came from the ice storm."

Besides aiding the Parks and Recreation Department in its effort to remove hazardous trees, last winter's ice storm also boosted the public's awareness of trees in general, Jeanis said.

"I think that since the ice storm, people are definitely more concerned about their trees," she said. "It's made people more aware of the value of trees -- whether it's aesthetic, shade or water -- and people are starting to replant on their own. For every tree we lost, people are planting two more."

After the hazardous trees are removed, Jeanis said the contractors would recycle them for future use.

"They're not going to end up in the landfill, that's included in the contract," she said.

The next phase of the Norman Community Forest Management Plan, which will focus on pruning and grooming problem trees in the same area, is set to begin in late fall or early winter, Jeanis said.

"The next phase will have to reinventory what still needs to be done since the ice storm," she said. "This will be ongoing for the next three to five years. It's my job to protect the integrity of the urban forest."

Andrew Knittle 366-3527 aknittle@normantranscript.com

        

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