A little good news — about protecting old trees

www.goodnewsnetwork.org/the-25000-monumental-trees-of-italy-are-old-habitats-shrouded-in-legend/

I recently had to have a hundred year old sugar maple tree cut down in front of my house. It was diseased and rotten from the core out, so it was dangerous. However, while I was waiting for an available tree doctor to determine it’s fate, I got an eyeful of how old treen in the greater Montreal area have been almost completely decimated over the years.

In my area, which was once a massive sugar maple grove almost a century ago, this past year alone, a few hundred of these beautiful giants have all been removed due to animal infestations and rot.

The giant ash trees are all being removed due to a non-indigenous beetle infestation.

The cedars and pines are suffering from droughts and I’ve seen tons pulled out and put on the sides of properties waiting for the tree shredder.

We are very fortunate to be living in an area abundant with beautiful trees, but at some point there will be none left.

Like my tree, the homeowners are financially responsible for the health of the trees (when they are 15 feet or more from the curb). Tree doctors are pricey and from what I’ve seen tend to only recommend condemnation of dying trees. So the homeowners don’t try to save the trees.

I feel the city could step in here and find a way to help out by saving old trees. It might be a better idea that their usual habits of raising forests to the ground to build green spaces and then replanting decorative trees along the new asphalt walkways.