position with the Village of Glencoe as Director of Community Development (Building and Zoning) and Village Arborist.
Tell us about Glencoe.
JH: Glencoe is an upscale northern suburb of Chicago located on Lake Michigan and surrounded by the Chicago Botanic Garden and Forest Preserve on its west side and by other upscale suburbs on its north and south sides. Its topography includes several wooded ravines coming off of Lake Michigan, and Glencoe has substantial remnants of 100 plus- year-old native bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) and white oak (Q. alba) trees. The Village has no industry and is principally made up of detached single family homes occupied by professionals that commute by train or car to downtown Chicago.
What are some of the challenges of urban forestry in Glencoe?
JH: Challenges include the recent spread of Emerald Ash Borer to the community, although ash trees make up only 12% of our 8870 total parkway tree stock. Fortunately, ash trees are not overly concentrated in any one residential block area.
Until the recent downturn in the economy, tear-down activity for new homes threatened the preservation of some of the diverse, mature trees on existing house lots. The Village responded over a period of eleven years since 2000 with an increasingly strict tree pres- ervation ordinance amended in 2005 and 2009 that has been diligently enforced.
Tree crew members (left to right) Fidel Carrillo, José Mendez, and Tom DeSmidt
www.urban-forestry.com
The Village tree crew removes an EAB-infected ash tree. 9
