A discussion regarding tree-removal permits for Conroe homeowners heated up during Wednesdays City Council workshop as Councilman Duke Coon and Mayor Pro Tem Guy Martin didnt see eye to eye on the issue.

The permitting was part of an agenda item regarding an amendment to the citys vegetation ordinance for residential development. However, Coon voiced his concern about a section that would prohibit existing homeowners from removing trees from their property without a permit.

We have to be careful as a municipality on how far we reach, said Coon, adding he didnt like that requirement.

According to Mikeska, the $25 permit helps ensure the tree or trees would be removed by a professional in the tree removal industry.

However, Martin said requiring the permit is necessary and those permit requests for existing homeowners are rarely denied.

If they are cutting it down themselves or it is someone not qualified, that is the part I am worried about, Martin said. It doesnt negate the ability to cut trees; they just need to do it right. If we dont impose a permit, people will be out there with a chainsaw and there is going to be problems.

But Coon said the city shouldnt tell people whether they can remove trees on their property.

That bothers me, he said.

Martin maintained it was a safety issue.

If one falls on a house, we need to remember we allowed that to happen because we put no safety restrictions on it whatsoever when someone is taking out a big tree, Martin said. It could come down on a neighbors house, a neighbors fence, we dont know.

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Conroe City Council divided on tree permits for homeowners

Though much of Mondays meeting was dominated by a massive appeal from frustrated Malibu school community members, the City Council also deliberated a number of other items, including preferential parking permits at Point Dume and an idea to remove hundreds of eucalyptus trees throughout Malibu that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Councilmember Laura Rosenthals proposed eucalyptus tree removal plan for the city which, according to the staff report, could call for removal of over 875 trees, brought out several community members to oppose the idea.

Eucalyptus trees are non-native, highly flammable trees that pose a fire danger, reads the agenda report.

City staff has estimated itcould cost $1,000 per tree, meaning close to $900,000. Many opponents cited environmental concerns, especially for monarch butterfly migration patterns.

Im speaking on behalf of the Malibu Monarch Project, said Pat Healy, the leader of the MMP.

It just so happens that the favorite roosting habitat of the monarchs is eucalyptus trees and sycamores here in Malibu, Healy said, so for these reasons we ask that you do not proceed to go forward with this project to remove the eucalyptus trees.

Council seemed to side with the community, as members Lou La Monte and Joan House did not mince words in their distaste for the tree removal plan.

I think spending all this money to chop down all these trees in Malibu is just not a good idea from my point of view, said La Monte.

This is another one of those issues that, you know, Im not going to support whats here tonight at all. But I can support, when theres time available, sending it to the environmental review board or public works, said House, adding, I dont think we vet things enough and this has to be vetted.

It was still a slight victory for Rosenthal, though, as Mayor Skylar Peak later called for what he named a comprehensive tree plan to be created by public works to study what the impact of the tree removal would be.

Excerpt from:
Council Puts A Cork In Tree Removal Plan

SCOTTSBORO, AL (WAFF) -

The Jackson County Commission is looking to cut down the only remaining maple tree on the square that's nearly 150 years old.

Commission Chairman Matthew Hodges said a limb fell a couple of weeks ago, the tree is dying, and they see it as a safety issue to residents who come to the courthouse.

But some detractors said it's no more of a liability than the many mature pecan trees outside that are prone to shedding limbs.

The Jackson County Courthouse is known for its many mature trees on the square. At issue is the maple tree outside the main entrance that welcomes people to the courthouse.

Residents said at one time there were a total of three, but Mother Nature took its toll on two, and this is the last.

Hodges said they have the okay of the tree commission, but some said it doesn't even look as if the tree is dying. They said the county should have a comprehensive study done before resorting to destruction efforts. Mike Williamson, a concerned resident, said they could have a study done by experts from Auburn.

"I know they did everything in the world they could to try to save the trees that had been poisoned at Toomer's Corner," Williamson said. "There may be some things to be done to save this tree, to give us many more years of enjoyment."

Hodges said the tree is set for removal the weekend of Sept. 5.

Williamson said he plans to present a petition of names opposing the removal on Tuesday. If that doesn't work, Williamson said he's considering legal action.

Originally posted here:
150-year-old Scottsboro courthouse tree at risk of being removed

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Wayne, PA (PRWEB) August 27, 2014

Murphys Tree Service in Wayne, PA will have a week without its arborist, Daniel Murphy, the week after Labor Day. Murphy will join dozens of other arborists from around the country for the annual X Week gathering in Bel Air, Maryland. This event, hosted by David Driver of Arbor X Inc. in Bel Air, will bring together the rock stars and the bad boys of the highly competitive and often dangerous profession of tree care to discuss technique and philosophy, and to review the latest jaw-dropping videos. These world-class tree climbers and chainsaw masters are often considered the Green Berets of the contracting world. The attendees at X Week are the men who are called to remove difficult and dangerous trees in situations when others would walk away. And they have earned their fame not from competing in industry championships, but from the videos of their work that they produce and publish on YouTube.

As David Driver explained, Before online forums were available, tree climbers were very isolated in their practices. The vast majority of arborists had never been to a conference, read a trade magazine, or seen any training material. They learned the trade from whatever company they happened to work for and continued using those practices for their entire careers. Training was very limited, and the result was that tools and techniques evolved at a snails pace for decades. But with the advent of online forums, particularly in the early 2000s, arborists began watching and adapting techniques from rock climbers and cavers. Those were fun days, said Driver, but even with the ability to converse with arborists from around the world, we were still limited by the difficulty of articulating with words our very complex and dangerous techniques.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, states tree climber Daniel Murphy, then a tree video is worth a million. In the late 2000s, arborists from all over the globe began posting videos of their work on YouTube, and a revolution in awareness began. Language and distance barriers were immediately transcended. Anyone could watch amazing feats of climbers dismantling 300 ft. dead gum trees in Australia and technical rigging in tight spots from England to New York City. And like most subjects on YouTube, there were a lot of novices posting relatively boring videos of man cuts branch, branch falls to ground. But in time, a small minority of chainsaw-toting videographers began to attract large followings. This small handful of highly skilled tradesmen was able to show in great detail the skills and equipment needed to remove large and threatening trees.

Murphy himself has an eclectic library of videos available on YouTube, and they show everything from advanced cutting techniques and extreme precision in falling, to safe and correct pruning, climbing and safety lessons for the inexperienced. Owner of two small companies, Murphys Tree Service in Wayne, PA and Stump Munchers in Newton Square, PA, Daniel Murphy is also one of the most controversial figures in tree world. His innovative techniques for cutting and rigging, demonstrated in his videos, have caused heated debates to rage for weeks in the online arborists community. I didnt realize my methods were different until I uploaded a few videos, said Murphy. I got a lot of negative feedback. People called me a reckless, suicidal maniac, and of course, lucky, lucky, lucky. It took three years and a hundred videos for my peers to realize that luck had nothing to do with it.

Many of the techniques that were once considered revolutionary in the industry are now common practice, thanks to the energy and creativity that have gone into the making of videos for arborists. The X Week event in early September will create the opportunity for many of these innovators to meet face-to-face for the first time. Attendees must leave their chainsaws at the door.

About Daniel Murphy: Daniel Murphy is an ISA certified arborist with 30+ years of experience, a published author, and has been on the cover of Tree Care Industry magazine twice. He claims to have learned his trade from one of the best tree climbers in the world, and he continues to search for better ways to work with dangerous trees. Videos of his work illustrate the level of skill and daring that are often involved when dealing with trees.

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Tree Surgeons Post Videos, Convene For Annual X Week To Debate Dangerous Cutting and Removal Techniques

THE LIFE of a magnificent 250-year-old tree on the site of Aldi's new Silsden store ended ingloriously yesterday as it was felled by chainsaws in less than five minutes.

Staff at the Ecology Building Society had battled to save the 35m tall lime tree which overhung its property after learning too late that the food retail giant had full permission from Bradford Council to chop it down.

An earlier tree preservation order had been revoked to enable Aldi to clear the site off Keighley Road and re-landscape areas surrounding its new store.

Removal of the tree was dependent on there being no council objection to final landscaping plans.

And when that deadline passed yesterday, contractors moved in with chainsaws, said EBS Ethics Manager Anna Laycock.

"It's been such a sad day - when the tree came down the noise was terrible, like a scream," Miss Laycock said.

She and other workers have organised on-line campaigns through social media to try and persuade Aldi to change its plan, but no comment or response has been forthcoming.

"We had a huge amount of support from members of the public, but not a word from Aldi despite attempts to contact them," she said.

Aldi haS also not issued any media statements on the removal of the lime tree.

However, Bradford Council did confirm that planning permission had been granted as part of the overall approval for the new store.

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Campaigners fail in bid to stop 250-year-old tree being chopped down

A tree planted in memory of a University of Canterbury history professor has been felled to make way for campus building repairs.

The University Council found the "very unfortunate event" resulted in the removal of a red beech memorialising distinguished history lecturer, Jim Gardner.

Chancellor John Wood said there seemed to be a "systemic black hole" in the area of memorials, with no central register kept, and no map or record of memorials or plaques.

"It appeared that the status and location of the tree was unknown and it had suffered damage in the remediation process and was subsequently removed to facilitate the building's reinstatement," council documents said.

A university spokesman said the tree was removed to allow for the repair of a lift shaft in the history building. "Although it became apparent after the tree had been removed that it had special meaning, I am advised the works required could not be completed without the tree being removed."

The university did not have a heritage trees register because the majority of the trees on campus considered significant were in the protected Ilam Heritage Gardens, the spokesman said.

It would work with Gardner's family, his former colleagues and the history department on options for reinstating the memorial.

The university council asked management to identify and register items of significance on both the Ilam and Dovedale campuses and to develop a draft memorials policy.

The policy is out for consultation and will be returned to the council .

- The Press

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Register plan after special tree felled