Timothy Lawton

During this sweltering heatwave I have had the misfortune of running into the local electric company butchering trees. As usual they were doing an “over zealous” job. Exactly the type of job that has been done on trees that I have planted. This is not only upsetting on a personal basis, but it is especially irritating when we are in the midst of trying to “reduce our carbon footprint”. Many of these same companies support the cap and trade bill which will do NOTHING to reduce our emissions of CO2, yet they continue to hack any branch that comes within 6 feet of there precious powerlines. How many square miles of vegetation in our country, and around the world, are sacrificed to their inability to realize that they don’t have to clear so much away from the trees in order to preserve power to their customers. In fact they are actually damaging the trees to the point that they are making them MORE likely to fall.

I have had around 20 years working with trees and almost four decades of observing them. My Great Grandfather, whom I knew for the first five years of my life, was not only an avid lover of trees but planted many of the trees in the town in which I grew up. Many of his trees towered well above the wires that they grew around. Some even came within inches of the powerlines, but they never caused problems. This was largely due to the fact that he had his trees manicured instead of  hacked. The power companies of today usually contract their work out to people who have no knowledge of how to cut a tree. So, the end result is short, stubby, unhealthy trees which actually have a greater chance of causing damage to the very infrastructure that they are trying to protect.

I hate power outages and understand that we need to shape our trees to meet the needs of the whole community, but they can also be healthier and more stable. All it will take is a little education to those who are cutting our trees. We can have beautiful and safe trees that are not mowed down below the wire line. The trees that I planted that were hacked have had to be cut again about three times in seven years, This is not a good use of our resources. It is also not a good manner in which to maintain our land. Not only do they overcut trees they make more work for themselves during the process. They also cut at the worst times of year. Trees should be cut from late fall through early spring (unless circumstances dictate). Taking away branches in the summer only serves to take precious nutrients and energy from our trees making them sickly and weak.

We need to do a better job maintaining trees around powerlines. This can improve the quality of our air and the beauty of our neighborhoods. Accomplishing this goal can be cost saving as well. Less work and better timing can yield amazing results. I have seen it with my own eyes. So, whatever your reason join me in the fight to better manage the trees that surround us. I simply like trees, what about you?