2018 Oct Somerville Tree Presentation
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The 2018 report on Somerville's trees reveals significant loss, with over 1,800 trees removed, resulting in a generational loss of more than 4,600 inches in trunk diameter. The document stresses the need for accurate data, community engagement in tree care, and strategic planting policies to mitigate the impact of tree removal. Urgent action is recommended, including forming an urban forestry committee and establishing a master plan for green spaces.
2018 Oct Somerville Tree Presentation
- 1. Somerville’s Trees: 2018 Presented to the Green and Open Space Committee of the Board of Aldermen October 3, 2018 Chris Dwan ([email protected]) https://slideshare.com/chrisdwan Sunday, Sept 2: Central and Willoughby Streets, looking East along the rail bed
- 2. I cannot think without pain of the destruction of those beautiful grounds and trees, in order to make room for unsightly railroad freight-houses Martha Perry Lowe As quoted in “Somerville, Past and Present” (1897)
- 3. Conclusions 2018 was a disaster for Somerville’s trees We do not know if 2019 will be any better We need accurate citywide data and well designed metrics to support decision making. Recent progress is good, and we need much more. My goal tonight is to focus on the data challenges.
- 4. Why Do Trees Matter?
- 5. Beacon Street: October 6, 2017
- 7. You can’t plant old trees • Mature trees suffer transplant trauma: Growth is stunted, which quickly erases size benefits and reduces survival rates. • If we remove our mature trees, we must wait decades for the replacements to grow.
- 8. The Protection From Trees Budget Year Budget Spent Unspent FY13 $50,000 $15,581 ($34,419) FY14 $50,000 $28,964 ($21,036) FY15 $50,000 $46,208 ($3,792) FY16 $175,000 $40,550 ($134,450) FY17 $175,000 $75,892 ($99,108) FY18* $175,000 $82,196 ($92,804) * YTD figure from the proposed FY19 budget as of June 2018 • Somerville’s Budget line item 529005 (“Care of trees”) has been underspent each of the last six fiscal years • This is a DPW line item, mostly used for removal of fallen limbs and pruning of trees that pose a threat to life or property.
- 9. “If you aim for simplicity, master complexity.” The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, 1679
- 11. The contract issued by MassDOT only lists the 30 largest trees on the street. Trees below a certain size are bid as “general excavation.” Contracts and Highway Drawings
- 12. These light grey numbers on the design drawings show tree sizes. These “REM TREE” annotations are the basis for the statement that “the removal was planned all along.” Construction Drawings Give the Best Data
- 13. Beacon Street: Summary • The plans commissioned by the city in 2015 specify a clear cut of Beacon Street. • Only one tree was called out for protection. It died during construction. • LOSS: ~65 trees, total of 576” diameter • PLANNED REPLACEMENT: ~200 trees @ ~2” diameter each (~400” total) • NEUTRAL - TREE INCHES: 2022 – 2025 • NEUTRAL - SIZE OF TREES: 2034 – 2068
- 14. Somerville High School • More than 70 trees were removed from the high school campus on Highland. • Public process, was followed including community meetings. • Plantings planned for 2020 and beyond.
- 15. High School: Back Woods • The wooded hillside behind the high school was clear cut to make way for a retaining wall and an artificial turf athletic field. • City staff surveyed the pre-existing trees prior to the clear-cut • 644 trees were removed, totaling 3,004 inches of trunk diameter
- 16. The Green Line Extension The GLX project estimates that 1,000 trees have been removed in the process of “grubbing” the tracks prior to construction. This removal was indiscriminate, without consideration for size or species. No records on the removal were considered “responsive” to a freedom of information act request of MassDOT and MBTA. Based on overhead map comparisons of the area cleared for GLX vs. the high school, the estimate likely underrepresents the total.
- 17. 2018: A catastrophe for trees Trees Removed Average Diameter Total Diameter Removed Cedar Street 15 15” 220” Beacon Street 65 9” 576” Somerville Ave 17 10” 172” SHS Campus 71 10” 686” SHS Back Woods 644 5” 3004” GLX ~1,000 Unknown Unknown Total 1,812 >> 4,658”
- 18. This is a generational loss • Trees grow an inch of diameter in two to five years. • 2” diameter saplings planted this year will reach 10” between 2034 and 2068. • Large, mature trees are irreplaceable within our lifetimes. • Somerville is already the most densely settled, hottest, and most paved city in our region. We cannot afford the loss.
- 19. What should be done? Engage the community: • Seat the Urban Forestry Committee • Develop a practice of community tree care • Develop a “community tree” program Get good data: • Measure and report citywide statistics of tree removal and planting from all sources. Be strategic • Set a net-neutral policy on tree-inches • Develop SOPs around tree planting • Develop a master plan for green and open space and trees. • Make funding contingent on meeting tree preservation standards.
- 21. Thank You City Staff – Edward Bean – Vanessa Boukili – Joe Curtatone – Robert King – Luisa Oliveira – Brad Rawson – Jackie Rossetti Elected Officials – Joe Curtatone – Ben Ewen-Campben – Stephanie Hirsh – Pat Jehlen – Will Mbah – Mark Niedergang – Denise Provost – Mary Joe Rossetti – JT Scott – William White Community Members – Tori Antonino – Katie Bowler – Suzanne Bremer – Ken Carlson – David Falk – Dan Flynn – Lumina Gershfield – David Guss – Elaine Koury – Nisa Marks – David Meshoulam – Leigh Meuner – Adam Portney – Kate Wheeler – Renée Scott – Bill Shelton