[CANUFNET] Hydro topping

[Shelley Vescio]

Good morning,
There are two issues that I am currently dealing with and would dearly appreciate help/advice with.  They are a bit complicated so I will send them out in two separate e-mails because they are a bit lengthy, I'm afraid.

We are in a struggle with our local hydro utility over the issue of topping.  It was a practice they stopped many years ago when a forester with an urban forestry appreciation was hired to run their line clearing operations but was initiated again when a new forester took over recently.  The rationale for returning to the practice is that it allows homeowners (generally in the rural areas) time to plant trees on their own properties which will grow large enough to provide screening by the time the utility returns to remove the topped ones in 7-10 years.  The trees involved are generally conifers and we are opposed to this practice for the obvious arboricultural reasons but for a number of other reasons as well.  There are hundreds of these trees on municipal ROW's that were planted by homeowners and allowing them to be topped would give the impression that the City condones this practice.  It took us years to educate the public as to why topping is bad and this would set us back a couple of decades.  Another reason is that if a 7-10 year line clearing cycle cannot be attained, this opens the City up to liability for trees that are dying or growing limbs that can be climbed by kids which are within proximity to the wires.

We have instructed Hydro to not top trees on City-owned property but one of our city councilors has put forward a resolution to allow them to do so.   I can understand why homeowners are upset about the removal of their screens but we feel that we cannot condone this practice, even in the short term.  I now have to write a report to Council explaining the rationale of why we expect trees to be removed rather than topped.

Has anyone gone through a similar situation?  I welcome any advice you can provide, even if you disagree with our position. Thanks.

My apologizes to members of both the SMA and Canufnet discussions groups for duplication of this request for information.

Shelley

Shelley Vescio RPF
City Forester
City of Thunder Bay Parks Division
111 Syndicate Ave. South
Thunder Bay, ON
P7E 6S4
work (807) 625-2473
fax (807) 625-3258
www.thunderbay.ca/urbanforestry<http://www.thunderbay.ca/urbanforestry>

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