*Trees Recently Taken Down in the Park* The HPCC's Park Committee reached out to the City Forestry Department for information about the trees that have recently been cut down in the park. We received the following information from the City's Utility Coordination Arborist: Our contractor got a bit ahead of us on the outreach, sorry for the alarm this must have caused in the community. We are removing about 120 trees that are either active safety hazards or which have irreparable structural defects and/or terminal decline. During the work planning, we assessed every single tree in the maintained areas of the park. Some of our primary concerns were basal decay, which can lead to spontaneous failure, and large existing failures/previous failures which compromise the integrity of the tree. There are a lot of oak trees which have basal decay that appear otherwise healthy which are major failure hazards. There were also many Norway maples and a few sycamores which had reached the point of decline where they would become major safety hazards in the near future, despite not being wholly dead yet. For reference, I've attached a few pictures of a tree that appears healthy but has substantial basal decay (as evidenced by the conks) and a stump from a tree that was in the same condition. [image: image.png] [image: image.png] [image: image.png] Part of our specification for this work was the retention of some of the trees which can be safely left for woodpeckers and other wildlife. Unfortunately, we have also had another outbreak of Oak Wilt in the park between our project planning and the start of work, and we will have to do some additional removals beyond the original scope. There are four phases to the project, plus a replanting program we are planning for after all the work has been completed, to be funded in part by the mitigation fees from the work Pittsburgh Water has been doing in the area. BTW, the HPCC has a good relationship with the City's Forestry Department. These folks love trees as much as you do, and they take their role as stewards of the City's forests and trees very seriously. They have to approve all the trees cut in the parks and any street trees cut for utility work, and have repeatedly assured us that they will opt to prune whenever possible because they do not want to remove trees unnecessarily. *Future Tree Removal Around the Reservoirs* Also, as some of you may know, Pittsburgh Water (PW) has been ordered by the PA Dept of Environmental Protection to remove the trees on the slopes of the two reservoirs, and to conduct other work, to help ensure that the structures remain sound. PW and the Mayor's Office challenged this requirement, but were overruled by the state. Work on the covered reservoir will happen first, and the majority of this work is expected to take place in 2027. This reservoir is off-line but is still needed for storage for the water system. The uncovered reservoir will also be taken off-line, and discussion about its future will be needed at some point down the road. Note that for the trees it removes here or anywhere in the City, PW is required to pay the City funds for replanting. Forestry projects that for this project, for every tree removed, the City will be able to plant 4 or 5 new trees. Because of all the work PW does in the neighborhood and the park, the HPCC regularly meets with them. We have been working with them to schedule public education meeting/s and a design charrette so that the public can understand what's happening and why, ask questions, and provide input into what the area beyond the slope will look like when the work is complete. For example, there will be the opportunity to consider new landscaping and plantings, signage, public art, and trails. The first of those meetings should be held in the next few months. The HPCC will keep you posted! -- Click here to visit our website <https://hpccpgh.org/>