Arborist: Tulip poplar was “irreversibly declining”.

I just received the arborist’s report from the schools that led to last week’s decision to remove the tulip poplar at James Monroe High School.

You can get a copy here.

The major points:

- The tree lost about two-thirds of its root zone area when the athletic track and dugout were built with construction of the new school.

- Arborist Robert Allen with Bartlett Tree Experts wrote that the tree’s crown was “irreversibly declining.” Because it was in such a public area, he wrote, “A limb failure could result in personal injury or property damage.”

- Allen’s recommendation:

“There are no acceptable arboricultural techniques that will reduce the tree’s failure potential to a reasonable level. Based on the severity of the defects, the size of the tree, and the high intensity of site use, the tree poses an unacceptable risk of failure. Removal of this Tulip Poplar is strongly recommended as soon as possible.”

And that’s exactly what the schools did last week.

Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/citybeat/2010/07/26/arborist-tulip-poplar-was-irreversibly-declining/