Assessing tree damage

http://m.chippewa.com/content/tncms/live/

A lot of area residents have been cleaning up the aftereffects of recent straight winds. Fallen branches, split and dangling limbs, and uprooted trees are evidence of the unpredictability of the effects of such force. How could someone predict one tree would withstand such force and another shred under the same conditions?

While muddling through questions, and the debris, a homeowner has the opportunity to take a comprehensive view of the value of having trees. Choices in planning to replenish an area should not dismiss the important functions trees provide; as well as, identifying the signs of hazardous defects, and utilizing the most appropriate corrective actions.

Trees have value in our lives. It is often too late before we become familiar with risks associated with tree hazards and high winds. It is important to know what to look for while you are assessing the damage. There are factors as to why “that tree” and in “that place” has the potential for more, or less, damage. It is important to inspect trees carefully for potential hazardous defects. The assessment of where to begin to regenerate a setting of a home within a community is, without a doubt, a challenge.

Trees are more susceptible to damage when combined with many different factors. These factors include tree condition, the species, its age and size. Trees in poorer conditions often have dead wood, small, off colored leaves, and a less than full crown. Hazardous tree defects are visible signs the tree is failing. There are 7 types of defects to look for: dead wood, weak branch unions, decay, cankers, root problems, cracks, and poor tree structure.

Keep in mind certain tree species are prone to specific types of defects. Pay attention to older and larger trees. Like people, certain trees can age better than others. Trees are subjected to constant stresses; some accumulate multiple defects and decay over many years. A tree with a defect is hazardous when it is likely to fail within distance of striking a “target“. A target can be car, home, or a gathering place that can place people in harm.

If you see dead wood you must remove it immediately. The wood of dead branches is dry and brittle. These branches are unpredictable and can break and fall any time. A tree that has a large dangling branch, or is lodged in a tree, is called a “widow-maker” or a “hanger.” Its name matches the effect as being a branch of significant size causing serious injury. There is no choice, it has to be removed. Call a professional.

A deep split extending into the wood of a tree is called a crack. If a crack exists then the tree is already failing. It extends deeply through the stem and can be in contact with another defect. Multiple cracks can occur in the same area of the stem and of sufficient size can cause serious injury.

Weak branch unions occur where branches are not firmly attached to the tree. When 2 or more similar-sized branches grow too closely together a union of weak, ingrown bark grows between them. This bark cannot support the structure and may also act as a wedge and force the branches to split. Elm and Maple trees are susceptible to weak branch unions as they tend to grow upright branches.

Weak branch unions occur when the tree has been poorly pruned; known as being “topped“. “Topping” a tree causes harm to the tree. It is often used to reduce the size of a tree that is perceived as too tall for a property. This is often undertaken by a homeowner indiscriminatingly cutting tree branches to stubs. If you feel your tree is too tall for you property, or feel it is a hazard, do not cut it yourself. Call a professional.

There are visible signs to suggest if your tree may have been topped. Right below the topping cut a bunch of new shoots may have profusely developed. These new shoots grow rapidly at a rate, as much as, 20 feet per year in some species. New shoots are also prone to breaking in wind storms. Topping a tree often removes 50 to 100 percent of the leaf-bearing crown of the tree. Since leaves are the food factories for trees, this puts the tree in a starvation mode and becomes more stressed. An open wounded, stressed tree will not have the chemical defenses to protect it and is vulnerable to insect and disease infestations.

Topping causes multiple wounds and the tree is not able to isolate the decayed wood; this in turn leads the decay to spread throughout the branches. While the idea of topping a tree may seem convenient the consequences will be more expensive, dangerous, and extremely unattractive. A topped tree needs pruning and repair more often which leads to more cost for the owner and more likely to be a hazard. If a topped tree causes damage to someone else’s property there is a serious liability issue. Topping is a poor pruning practice. Do not consider making any cuts like these in haste while cleaning-up from storm damage.

Decay in a tree demonstrates the tree is prone to fail and not necessarily pose an immediate hazard. Although, if a tree has wood that is soft, spongy, crumbly, or has a cavity of missing wood then it is evidence of advanced decay in is a hazard. A tree with mushrooms, conks, and brackets growing on root flares, stems or branches are indicators of fungal activity and advanced decay. Decay occurs from the inside out and forms a cavity. This is hard to see as trees with sound looking outer wood shells appear relatively safe. The safety of a decaying tree can only be safely assessed by a trained arborist.

Cankers are isolated areas where the bark is sunken or missing on the stem or branch of the tree caused by wounding or disease. Immediate action needs to be taken if cankers affect more than half the circumference of the tree. If a canker is attached to a crack, a weak branch union, or other defect call a professional.

If a tree has been blown over, roots and all, during a windstorm had root problems prior to the winds. Trees with root problems may potentially fall without warning. In the Summer when weighted with the tree’s leaves can be susceptible to falling even well after surviving a prior windstorm. There are many causes of root problems. Severing of roots , pavement over the roots, raising or lowering of the soil grade, advanced decay, vehicles driving or parking over tree roots are causes of root problems. If tree roots have been crushed or cut under the tree’s crown take note of how much of the area was harmed. If more than half were damaged the tree has become dangerous.

The structural support comes from the root system and base of the tree. If the adequate support is compromised it the trees will fall. Symptoms associated with root problems are off-color and abnormally small size leaves, dead wood in the crown, soil is mounded at the base of the tree “soil mounding“, and twig die-back are aboveground signs. If a tree is leaning with exposed roots, or soil has moved or is mounding at the base then call a professional immediately.

The architecture of a tree represents how the tree has grown. As a tree hazard, poor architecture is an indication of weakness and structural imbalance. Different and unique shapes of trees can be interesting but is often architecturally poor and defective structurally after many years of storm damage, bad pruning, topping, unusual growing conditions, and other damage. Leaning trees should be examined by an arborist to determine if it is a hazard; especially if it leans excessively. An arborist should also be contacted when branches are out of proportion with the rest of the crown.

If your tree has multiple defects it is critical to take the appropriate corrective actions. This begins with a thorough evaluation to determine if it is a potential hazard. The most recommended options are to move any targets in danger of tree damaging property, pruning, or ultimately remove the tree. Moving the target from danger is the easiest and least expensive action. Items like swing sets, benches, RVs, etc. should be moved. If the target cannot be moved then the area should be blocked until the hazard has been eliminated.

If a defective branch is a hazard, while the rest of the tree is sound, then the corrective action would be solved by pruning. Pruning early in a tree’s life is the most effective preventative way preventing potential hazards if done correctly and routinely. If you are a homeowner contemplating if certain trees pose a hazard consult an arborist or tree service to be evaluated by a professional. Evaluating and treating tree hazards is a complicated process which requires specific knowledge and expertise.

We cannot dismiss the fact that trees have great sentimental value. Trees leave imprints. A full, beautiful tree can be a hallmark to a special time and historical place. A tree can embody its strong posture and purport a heritage of many things that represent heart-and-home. If you decide to replenish an area after a tree has been removed create a plan by selecting the right place, at the right time of the year, and planting it the correct way is a great start. Remember to select the species of tree for the purpose and site in the landscape. Trees have all sorts of different characteristics that will affect their function.

Annette Brubaker is a Chippewa Valley Master Gardener and manages an area garden center. She lives in Eau Claire with her husband and three boys.

Remembering Bonnie Appleton | STIHL Tour des Trees

I’m a little late in finding this, still felt I should repost it here.

Rest in peace Bonnie Appleton.

http://stihltourdestrees.org/2012/08/remebering-bonnie-appleton/

Remembering Bonnie Appleton

Monday morning’s tree planting at the Seaside Museum was dedicated to Dr. Bonnie Appleton, who recently passed away. Dr. Appleton, a professor at Virginia Tech, was a leader in the arboriculture community. Bonnie was a facilitator who brought together arborists, horticulturalists, nursery personnel and utility professionals to work on industry issues. Today we planted two trees to replace existing trees which were inappropriate to the site and needed to be removed to prevent interference with overhead utility lines. One of the trees we planted today was a Japanese maple, a utility friendly tree appropriate for small spaces or proximity to power lines.

Bonnie would have approved, and she was very present at this event. The trees were planted with great care by her colleagues from the MidAtlantic Chapter of ISA, with help from utility arborists and others who remembered Bonnie with fondness and respect. Bonnie was something of a rock star in the arboriculture industry. The author of 5 major books, 30 industry journal articles and more than 800 articles for newspapers and trade and consumer publications, she was awarded several grants from the Tree Fund for her research projects at Virginia Tech. Some people idolized her, some were intimidated by her, and nearly everyone had an opinion about her. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and she could get away with it, because she was the real thing. I learned a lot from her. I hear her voice in my head to this day, and we will all miss her.

Planting a tree by the sea for Bonnie Appleton

Three stories: Carson’s words inspired environmental activism | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

http://www.pressherald.com/news/a-role-model-and-an-inspiration-for-new-generation-of-caretakers-_2012-08-13.html

Three stories: Carson’s words inspired environmental activism

Yesterday at 10:39 AM

Second in an occasional series on Rachel Carson a half-century after the publication of ‘Silent Spring.’

By ncairn
Staff Writer

Next, a look at the chemicals under the sink, on the lawn and garden, in the air or water: How far have we come since Carson sounded the alarm about pesticides?

Patty Bailey, a retired interpretive nature educator, created guided walks, inspired by some of Rachel Carson’s writings, at Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park in Freeport. Here, she studies the rocky shoreline while planning a walk designed to encourage children to appreciate the diverse life of the tidal zone at the edge of the sea.

Courtesy Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park

Deborah Aldridge and her family were vacationing at Mopang Lake nearly 50 years ago when DDT sprayed over the forest to fight spruce budworm inadvertently killed untold numbers of small songbirds, including many chickadees and sparrows. The sight of the dead birds on the forest floor, combined with what Aldrich had read about pesticide use in “Silent Spring,” led her to become an organic farmer and environmental advocate. The bird populations around the lake did not recover fully, Aldrich says, until five years ago.

Courtesy photo

Related headlines

• Carson still a force of nature 50 years after ‘Silent Spring’

For those who read Rachel Carson’s 1962 bestseller, “Silent Spring,” its impact often is not an abstract concept.

It’s personal.

DEBORAH ALDRIDGE

‘The forest was blanketed with dead birds.’

“ABSOLUTELY, I read ‘Silent Spring’ when I was in my mid-teens, maybe 14 or 15,” recalled Deborah Aldridge of Mopang Lake, whose life was changed forever — not by Carson’s book alone but in connection with an experience some months later.

Her family — the Peaveys, longtime residents of the Mopang area — had a camp on land leased from a paper company. Located just off Route 9 in Township 29, it was a pristine place that Aldridge remembers with fondness.

Less than a year after she read “Silent Spring,” Aldridge, not yet 16 years old, took a walk one afternoon with her family through part of the thousands of acres of forests owned by the paper company. Not far from the Peaveys’ camp, aerial spraying with DDT had been done to combat spruce budworm, and as she and her family ambled through the woods, they noticed something unusual.

“The forest was blanketed with dead birds,” she said.

Gone were the woods brimming with the sights, sounds and fragrances they ordinarily enjoyed on family outings. “There was such a difference,” she said. “The forest was deathly quiet.”

Seeing firsthand what pesticides could do to creatures not intended to be hurt or killed marked a “turning point” for Aldridge, who was “horrified,” she said, by what she witnessed. “And that’s even a mild way of saying how I felt.”

Between the shock of seeing so many small songbirds — chickadees and sparrows mostly, she recalled — and what she already knew from reading Carson’s book, Aldridge felt a deep shift within her, like continental plates colliding.

“It was beyond belief,” she said, now nearly 50 years later. “It had a huge impact. It made me aware of the world … and that we are all caretakers.”

The incident catalyzed her thinking in unexpected ways, shaping her ideas about “how I was going to treat the Earth and my little corner of it.”

Years later, after Aldridge married, she and her husband, Peter, began farming organically. The couple cultivated blueberries on a 20-acre parcel of the 200 acres they owned in Jonesboro.

Growing food organically, she said, healed some of the distress she had felt so many years before. “The change was just so incredible,” she said. “Caterpillars and butterflies no longer emerged deformed.”

And the farm did not suffer for the elimination of pesticides; it was still producing 30,000-40,000 pounds of blueberries a year.

And there was another deep change. Aldridge and her husband became advocates for organic farming and the elimination of deadly pesticides. She became politically active as an organic grower in the region and tried to work from within the system to reduce the dependence on chemical pesticides in farming and forestry.

“A person feels so helpless when the people in power have all the power and it seems there is nothing you can do,” she said. But through the way of life and work that she and Peter chose for themselves — and the message they carried to others — they felt they had accomplished something.

“It was,” Aldridge said, “the best we could do.

“We encouraged conventional people to keep their minds open” about the benefits of organic farming. “What I’m doing and what impact I’m having, how I’m changing the landscape, and me, for good or for ill — that came from Rachel Carson, I think.”

“It’s a much different mindset when you stop being an owner of property and become instead a caretaker,” Aldridge said. And though “nothing can undo” what she observed that day so long ago in the woods with her family, the spark of consciousness that was fanned to a lasting fire in her remains profound and energizing.

Other changes — or restorations — have taken longer.

“It’s only been in the last five years,” Aldridge said, “that I’ve noticed the birds have come back.”

PATTY BAILEY

‘The things that she wrote rang true; they echoed in me.’

“RACHEL CARSON was ahead of her time,” said Patty Bailey of Gouldsboro, who served for most of her career in the Maine Department of Conservation as a nature educator. “The things that she wrote rang true; they echoed in me — the beauty of her writing, her way of engaging people and keeping them engaged. I always felt bad that she didn’t get the recognition and support she deserved.”

From Carson’s words in “Silent Spring” and, even more so, in “A Sense of Wonder,” Bailey was inspired by a single idea that ran like a tributary through her life and work: “First and foremost, to know that we are all connected and that everything we do has an impact.”

“The things we think and feel make a difference, too,” said Bailey, now retired. Helping to mold ideas and raise consciousness — especially among children — became for her a driving force, compelling further study, leading to public service in the state parks system and spurring her to create an informal nature-education curriculum.

A series of her guided walks for young people bears names that are titles of books by Carson or resound with her ideas: The Edge of the Sea, for example, or Secrets of the Shore.

For nearly 20 years, Bailey communicated those lessons and values through her work as an interpretive guide at Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park in Freeport. There she was able to hold on to — and share with others — a love of nature she attributes to time spent as a child with her father, canoeing through a bog in the evening to check for ducks.

She remains deeply influenced by Carson’s last book, “A Sense of Wonder,” which was published posthumously but remains one of the author’s signature works. In it, Carson displays a different voice than the one that carries “Silent Spring.”

In that later, shorter text, the language of the reformer settles to a nearly maternal, comforting whisper.

Carson aimed her gentle persuasion at parents looking for ways to help their children appreciate the natural world and retain the sense of awe and wonder that, she felt, is so often lost or discarded in adulthood.

And though Bailey has changed in focus in retirement, now devoting herself to practicing methods of alternative healing, the walks she designed are still offered every week at Wolfe’s Neck.

And though the children who visit the park now and learn about the forest and shore might not know it yet, they are part of a whole new generation who are being transformed. Scientists say these young people already bear at a cellular level the imprint of persistent pesticides, but they are being changed by something else as well, the lasting legacy of Rachel Carson.

BARBARA VICKERY

‘She knew how to translate other people’s work for lay people …’

FOR BARBARA VICKERY, recalling the 1962 publication of “Silent Spring” represents more than memory; it is a symbol of awakening.

The image is this: Her mother and aunts are clustered around the kitchen table, discussing Carson’s best-selling book on the environmental impact of indiscriminate use of pesticides. All four women had grown up on a farm and had been exposed to DDT, the chemical agent Carson so soundly criticized in her groundbreaking book.

That evening the women sat together, quietly reviewing what they had learned from “Silent Spring.” One of her aunts was ill, and there was talk about whether her illness might be linked to the poisons that had been used on the farm decades before. Another, whom Vickery remembers as “an avid bird lover,” was worrying over what harm might have been done to songbirds in the fields.

Vickery, then a young girl, lingered on the margins of the conversation, listening.

“There was that sense of sitting around the kitchen table,” she recalled. And “a horrible sense of misgiving and regret” that the family might have unwittingly engaged in farming practices that had been damaging — even to themselves. The moment was permeated with the dread that they might have “in ignorance, participated in things that were just plain wrong.”

“That made a profound effect on me,” she said. “It was a very personal sense of awakening.”

A call to action is how Carson herself might have described the book, though alerting and educating the public to the issues surrounding pesticide use were essential first steps.

“Silent Spring” achieved that. So persuasive and compelling was her presentation of what had previously been only piecemeal information and scattered details on the adverse effects of pesticides that, when the book was published, Carson become at once the foremost expert and most vilified advocate on the subject in the world.

Part of the power of the book was the potency of the writing. “She understood how to do good research,” said Vickery, now director of conservation programs for the Maine chapter of The Nature Conservancy, for which she has worked for 28 years. “She knew how to translate other people’s work for lay people translate it into what people should do and what people should care about.

“One of the ways she influenced me was that she opened my eyes to other ways of being,” Vickery said. Carson and her book enlarged the sense of what was possible for individuals to become and to accomplish.

Carson, who to this day is described both as scientist and non-scientist — depending on who is assessing her credentials at any given moment — held an undergraduate degree in biology and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

She also studied at the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, Mass., and through her own writings became conversant with much of the then-current research in marine biology, ornithology, entomology, botany, biochemistry, oceanography and wildlife management.

And she influenced generations of women, pioneering their credible participation in arenas before reserved almost exclusively for men. By example, she encouraged women to strive for more from and for themselves, to work harder and to stand up for themselves and their convictions.

“I didn’t lack for (role) models,” said Vickery, whose father was a physicist and mother a social scientist. She herself was enamored of Marie Curie as the classic woman scientist.

But through Carson, she said, she came to understand more about what environmental advocacy meant, and during her tenure with The Nature Conservancy, that impact has become a very tangible reality.

Along with huge changes in the public’s understanding of what it means to be a caretaker and steward of the environment, there is the matter of money: The continuing sales of Carson’s books comprise an endowment of “royalties each year in the tens of thousands of dollars,” said Vickery, who serves as the chief planner for conservation and oversees the use of the endowment funding for coastal and marine purposes.

For Vickery, Carson embodies the power of “perseverance versus stridency.”

Because Carson tackled the pesticide issue at a time when it was unwelcome — especially for a woman — to raise such questions, “some people would assume that she was a strident battler,” Vickery said.

“She was a battler absolutely,” she conceded, “(but) a very gentle battler.”

And a somewhat reluctant one at that.

The founding chairwoman of the Maine chapter of the conservancy, Carson felt “a personal struggle between her love of Maine” and the work she believed she was compelled to do for the world that lay beyond its borders, Vickery said. “There was always this issue that she struggled with — of enjoying the world or saving it.”

North Cairn can be reached at 791-6325 or at:

ncairn