City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/599208
18 City Trees Fruit trees are a great resource, but are they dangerous if we have policies that allow them to be near power lines? Many utilities are cultivating energy-saving tree-planting programs that require adherence to the "right tree, right place" concept and in some cases provide an incentive to cut down the trees that are in conflict with power lines. More important is the fact that UVM could pro- vide more benefits than the removal of obstructing and offending vegetation. Wildfires Fires have brought attention to the problems associ- ated with power lines and vegetation. The fires ignited by electrical contact have been some of the most noto- rious wildland fires in recorded history. Fuel accumu- lations rise and fall with the occurrence of droughts and tree mortality, and large fires can incapacitate and destroy large sections of the electrical grid. Given the facts of wildland fires, we still do not have much in the way of UVM practices specific to that issue, or regu- lations to protect cities and towns from the expected recurrence of catastrophic fires. California is the only state that requires and enforces a significant distance between vegetation and power lines that is designed to prevent powerline-caused fires. Not only could a stan- dard of care for all utilities prevent many of these fires, but the active management of wildland areas could also introduce many other corridor benefits, such as wildlife and pollinator habitat, fire breaks, and the cultivation of useful and fire-resistant plants. Wood Production A final component of treetilization that is particularly intriguing is the infrequently employed practice of har- vesting mature city and rural trees for wood production. This idea has gained more attention in recent years as a way to manage widespread tree mortality caused by insects, fungi and bacteria, and drought. The mountain pine beetle and the emerald ash borer are two exam- ples of factors leading to the organized harvesting of trees that were not grown for harvest, but are salvage- able for wood use. It is estimated that available urban trees (three to four billion board feet) is a substantial percent of the total board feet produced in the US. According to a recent study, 88 percent of logs cut in urban areas are merchantable. Changes in society and the natural world are happen- ing quickly. UVM can no longer operate in relative isolation, focused only on the special interests of the utility industry, protecting facilities from vegetation encroachments. Without a conscious effort to change what we are doing, we could be propelled into a future that is very different from the world we live in now. UVM operates in the same physical space as many other entities. If their priorities are changing, UVM must be prepared to understand and respond to those new objectives.