Montgomery: Tree City. And Why The Union Street Trees Were Cut Down

 Montgomery has been named a "Tree City USA"...again. Here's the announcement from the city:

 

And more evidence of the love of trees in Montgomery:

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The Old Cloverdale neighborhood purchased and spread more than 30 bales of pine straw around a Cloverdale Park Oak tree. They first gave the tree base a thorough hand weeding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Yet... about 500 feet away, on Union Street,

 at W.B. Paterson Housing development....four of the huge trees you can see in the Google Earth photo below have been cut down by the (tree) city of Montgomery.

 

 (Google Earth image)

 

 

 

Admittedly, the trees were in questionable health. 

     I called Montgomery's Urban Forrester, Russell Stringer, who is required to sign off on any tree elimination.

     Yes, there is an actual Department of Urban Forestry in the city!

 

      He says the trees that were cut were water oaks, one of the shorter-lived trees planted over the decades by the city. They live 70 to 80 years before they start running into trouble...as shown in my photo above...and become a danger to residents and passing cars.

     Stringer says the trees will be replaced with longer lived, sturdier trees, probably around Christmas. Winter is the preferred time to plant new trees.