Winds force city's hand to remove more trees at Evergreen Cemetery
By Mona Mattei
Although falling trees at the Evergreen Cemetery might be Mother Nature’s way of dealing with the urban deer population, this week’s storms led to the removal of three more beauties from the park-like setting. Over the last month, passersby would have seen sections of the cemetery marked off with red tape indicating the possible danger along with signs posted on the entrances to the cemetery clearly stating to stay out of the area during high winds. With the removal of these three trees, explained Mayor Brian Taylor, the pressing danger has been eliminated and the tape removed. “(These trees) were popping right out of the ground, you could see the cracklines all around the base. They were just waiting for another wind to blow them over,” said Taylor. “So I guess there was a wind that did further damage in uprooting them and moving them so they had to take them out.” Although an earlier report to city council from City Works Superintendent Wayne Kopan identified 15 trees that have root bed disturbances, council was not eager to approve widespread tree removal. “That’s all they’re taking out at this point till further notice. They hope they can stop at this point and there’ll be some stability through that walkway. The appetite to cut trees is really low right now with council,” commented Taylor. “So those are the ones that posed an immediate danger, but all those trees are pretty rotten. They are old spruce and the roots are popping right out of the ground. They’re just overgrown.” The plan, said Taylor, is to replace the trees with large, young trees, probably about 20 feet high which will not only compliment the esthetics of the cemetery but will also ensure their survival.
So far, Mother Nature 0, Bambis 100.
