City workers started removing dead trees at Heritage Ranch on Monday that were leaning or caught up in the forest canopy near trails or structures.
Doug Evans, the city’s biodiversity supervisor, said these dead trees can pose a danger for the public and city staff and were previously identified through the city’s tree hazard risk program.
“We have people going around the city constantly identifying hazard trees, and our crews go around to make sure we extract those trees so we don’t have any issues down the road,” said Doug Evans, the city’s biodiversity supervisor.
Trails will remain open at Heritage Ranch while crews continue their work which is expected to be completed by about Tuesday.
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He said the forest at Heritage Ranch is doing well with a good amount of snowpack on the ground. But dry conditions in recent years have impacted forests here and elsewhere, and the city is working to address a list of dead trees.
“The climatic conditions in the last five years haven’t been ideal for trees. We’re starting to see unfortunately more of the native stands dying. A lot of people have noticed them if you go to any forested area.”
He said the city follows the industry standard across North America by either extracting the dead tree, or getting it on the ground if there is enough space and if the ecology permits, and cutting it up into pieces for habitat for insects and invertebrates.
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Evans said the city is working on its fire management plan and dealing with dead leaning or broken trees addresses both safety and risk management as well as fire management.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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