removing 800 ash trees in St. Louis

[unclemoustache]

This is 25 miles away. You'd think they could do some firewood out of it, but I guess they don't want it to spread. Too bad. That's a beautiful park.


http://www.stltoday.com/entertainme...cle_affba133-83b9-5051-b888-7e9831f87ee0.html

ST. LOUIS • Construction workers will begin cutting down ash trees on the Gateway Arch grounds as soon as Friday, project coordinators reported Tuesday.

The trees are threatened by the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from China. Moreover, they were planted in poor soil, are getting old, and are reaching the end of their life spans, said the National Park Service, which runs the monument.


They are scheduled to be removed beginning this week as part of the $380 million CityArchRiver makeover.

Ryan McClure, spokesman for CityArchRiver, said the plan is to remove 800 ash trees along the processional walks leading to the Arch. About half will be removed from the south section of the grounds in this wave.

The trees will be ground to wood chips, turned into mulch, and replaced with London plane trees, a species contractors have identified as disease- and pollution-resistant.

CityArchRiver said the completed Arch grounds will contain 4,129 trees of all kinds, more than double the current count.

The new trees will be planted in the spring of 2016.

 

[Zeus103363]

All that wood will end up as firewood. Way to much money ! Somebody's cousins brother has a firewood business and his friends mothers sisters brother knows somebody that works as a contractor hauling off all those trees working for the construction company listed in the article. You bet. Under da table!


Thanks

 

[STLfirewood]

They will grind them most likely. This is just blaming EAB for what they want to do anyway. The place is land locked by a river and lots of roads. I think it would take EAB a long time to get there.

Scott

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Yeah, Probably not allowed to sell as firewood because it might spread EAB around so the will chip it all. Sells the chips to a mulch guy to be used to put at the base of trees in other parks and other towns. Don't laugh as I'm sure it has happened!

 

[jthornton]

EAB has been found in the next county north from me, you can cut and use firewood in Wayne county but can't transport it out of the county.

 

[lindnova]

I bet they chip it on site. I have always wondered how chipped wood is somehow free of pests....hmmm

 

[palmrose2]

Oh goody. Lets plant an invasive/non native species. The trees native to the St Louise area all suck anyway.

 

[1project2many]

London Plane = Sycamore. Neat tree but I'm not so sure 800 will look good.

 

[palmrose2]

London Plane = Sycamore. Neat tree but I'm not so sure 800 will look good.

Not according to wiki.

"The sycamore is able to endure a big city environment and was formerly extensively planted as a shade tree,[1] but due to the defacing effects of anthracnose it has been largely usurped in this function by the resistant London plane.[5]"

Kind of sounds like two different trees to me.

 

[1project2many]

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[unclemoustache]

One of the rules for planting many trees is to keep the total at less than 10% of any one species. That way if some bug or disease attackes one species then you only lose 10% at most. Not a bad idea.

 

[GrassGuerilla]

One of the rules for planting many trees is to keep the total at less than 10% of any one species. That way if some bug or disease attackes one species then you only lose 10% at most. Not a bad idea.

That's far too reasonable for any government project.

 

[CRThomas]

Yeah, Probably not allowed to sell as firewood because it might spread EAB around so the will chip it all. Sells the chips to a mulch guy to be used to put at the base of trees in other parks and other towns. Don't laugh as I'm sure it has happened!

The state of Missour is all on lock down you can sell that Ash as firewood any place as long as it's in Missouri like you said somebody with pocket money will get it.

 

[olyman]

The state of Missour is all on lock down you can sell that Ash as firewood any place as long as it's in Missouri like you said somebody with pocket money will get it.

yup!! any human,,with half a brain,,knows exactly whats going to happen....and like one said,,chipping it will destroy all the eab??? right..............me thinks Josh should be allowed a line on it,,as hed make good use of it..........

 

[slowp]

That's far too reasonable for any government project.

Why? Government has been reforesting with mixed species for years out on our National Forests...nothing new. Private landowners have started but are a bit behind the times on that. On the west coast, Swiss Needle Cast has been hitting the Doug-fir monoculture plantations. A mixture of native tree species is good science and a good land practice.

 

[GrassGuerilla]

Well Patty, someone planted how many Ash trees on the National park grounds eh? Maybe they'll diversify this time? Or not if you take the OP at face value, whereby specifically they say they be replaced with London plane trees.

You can bet your bippy the National park planners aren't consulting with BLM.

 

[unclemoustache]

I just hope they diversify. Also, I would hope they would do things in stages. If you do the math by the article I quoted, the ash trees are nearly 50% of the current population of the species at that park, and wiping out all that in one fell swoop will be a nasty blow to that beautiful park. As STLfirewood said, it would be hard for EAB to even reach that location. I say, don't fix what isn't broken. I once owned a property that had many elms die from Dutch Elm, but some of them survived.

 

[olyman]

im sooo glad,,that the gov has perfected everything they do,,and the common mortal citizen aint got a clue.....esp those who work in gov positions.......