Examples of Tree Removals | Reforesttacoma

Examples of Tree Removals:

The Dreaded Sign

Seldom is it a dangerous tree that should come down

From Stunning Beauty to Dangerous Heat Island:

There’s probably nothing we can do here, but a landlord who owns a rental house on our street just had a large, beautiful oak tree removed, suddenly. There was no notice aside from some small paper signs saying “tree trimming tomorrow”. It provided several houses and the street with tons of shade. We understand if the tree was diseased or posed a threat. However, as far as we can tell, that wasn’t the case. The only issue we saw was that it pushed up the sidewalk a bit, which was repaired.

Process was Followed, But Was it the Right Decision?

Our process is weak. Any arborist can declare a tree hazardous in Tacoma and the City will accept that assessment. Yet only TRA Qualified arborists are trained to assess the condition of a large mature tree like this one. Had such an assessment been done, the tree likely would have been saved with appropriate pruning.

Customers can no longer seek the shade of the Catalpa, and the homes across the street no longer enjoy shade from the direct sun.

See why neighbors are upset that a 100-year-old tree was cut down in North Tacoma.

Tacoma News Tribune Article by Matt Driscoll| Tony Overman

March 27, 2024 at 10:30 AM On Thursday, March 21 a historic Catalpa tree at the corner of North L Street and Division in Tacoma, near Frisko Freeze, was lawfully removed. The permitted tree removal was performed by a licensed company from Gig Harbor, hired by Frisko Freeze owner John Xitco. According to Xitco, the Catalpa tree — estimated to be more than 100 years old and 60 feet tall — was deemed hazardous by a certified arborist. Xitco had it removed to keep customers and staff safe while protecting the business from potential liability, he told The News Tribune.

We Can Make a Difference!

This tree was doomed as part of new sidewalk construction.

But neighbors got together and convinced the city that a minor redesign of the sidewalk could allow this tree to stand for at least another 50 years.

Tree Removal is Not Our Only Challenge

Topping creates unsafe trees in three ways.

Topping or Heading Cuts opens the tree up to an invasion of rotting organisms. A tree can defend itself from rot when proper cuts are made in relationship with branch collars. It cannot stop the spread of decay when it is topped. A topped tree can quickly become unsafe, and begin to drop branches on homes, cars, and people. Rotted limbs or the entire tree may fall years after it was topped. Ironically, many people top their trees because they think it will make them safer.

The new, quick-growing branches (or sprouts) are weakly attached and break easily in wind or snowstorms, even many years later when they are large and heavy. These upright sprouts do not have branch collars, the interweaving of trunk and branch wood, that embeds naturally growing branches, providing a very strong attachment.

The thick re-growth of new branches (sprouts) caused by topping makes the tree top-heavy and more likely to catch the wind. This increases the chance of storm winds blowing branches out of the tree. A tree can be properly pruned (thinned) to allow wind to pass through the branches. Tree topping typically leads to future storm damage from the tree versus proper structural pruning when done early in a tree's life.

59 Giant Sequoias Saved!

The owners of this mobile home community reversed their decision to cut down this amazing tree buffer when they sought a professional TRA (Tree Risk Assessment). They discovered the risk to roads, sewers and the mobile homes was far less than they believed.