Eastern Connecticut widespread tree mortality

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Dalmatian90

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Nice article that just came out.


https://blog.extension.uconn.edu/20...e-mortality-in-ct-from-invasive-insect-pests/

We're on the edge of the EAB (its been detected but it is not endemic yet), so that's another 5-10 years.

Had bad gypsy moth damage for a couple years, and many oaks didn't leaf out this spring. We didn't see that during the last outbreak in the early 80s so that was somewhat surprising. The fungus that kills the caterpillars finally broke out late last June, so after three bad years it killed the caterpillars after they ate the leaves but before they became moths and laid another generation of eggs in the region.

But then at the beginning of August another significant chunk of Oaks just up and died -- Two-Lined Chestnut Borer and a root rot attacking trees already stressed by dry weather and Gypsy Moths is to blame.

On the six non-wetland acres I have I think I lost (current estimate) three trees direct to gypsy moths...but at least another nine up and died in August. I haven't walked through the woods with flagging tape yet, so I'm just counting what is obvious from the edges.

My town has hired a tree crew for October, but knows it won't even make a dent.

Town south of me is estimating they have 600 town-responsibility trees @ $1,000 each to take down. Their entire public works budget is $800,000.

Not to mention all the yard trees homeowners will need to take down...I can just imagine the insurance companies throwing a fit come renewal time that they won't renew policies before the trees are taken down.
 
I live in somers and have at least 50 dead on my 10 acres. Trying to find someone who could at least take some for lumber. All are at around 100 years old.
 
Yes 1000.00 to remove a dead tree seems like a lot. And it very much is to some one who cuts and burns fire wood. But we don't own the equipment and maintan it to chip up branches, and grind away the stumps, not to mention the bucket trucks needed to go high and cut the tree down section by section safely.
That doesn't even cover the chain saws needed and insurance for the operators.

:D Al
 
I can see paying $1000 easy to take down one yard tree but you’d think that with that many trees you could get a better deal as there would be economies of scale and no travel time between trees.
 
OH see you want a quanity discount because you only use a pint of gas to move a bucket truck from tree to tree down the street. You got to move the chipper, the saws, slings and stump grinder also.
Would the city, county or state give you a tax discount because you were spending your time removing their problem trees.

I don't think so.

:D Al
 
OH see you want a quanity discount because you only use a pint of gas to move a bucket truck from tree to tree down the street. You got to move the chipper, the saws, slings and stump grinder also.
Would the city, county or state give you a tax discount because you were spending your time removing their problem trees.

I don't think so.

:D Al
Yes Al, I do.

If you are doing retail jobs and potentially moving equipment several miles between jobs AND having to deal with individuals for billing/service/questions/complaints before and after each tree, that warrants a much higher cost per tree than being able to work with one point of contact and keep equipment in the same area for months.

Anybody who would agree to pay the same rate for 600 trees as they would for one tree is a damn fool OR is getting a kickback from the tree company.

The second part of your statement is irrelevant and makes no sense.
 
I don't see why the cost should be any different. they need a hammer one or a dozen they pay the retail cost.

The second part does make sence. Because you hire employess to work for you and your doing. ajob in that city so they inturn spend money in that city shouldn't the city, county or state give you a tax break.

They sure give GM tax breaks when they move jobs to a city, town ship or state. If they didn't GM would just give them the finger and go else where.

:D Al
 
I don't see why the cost should be any different. they need a hammer one or a dozen they pay the retail cost.

The second part does make sence. Because you hire employess to work for you and your doing. ajob in that city so they inturn spend money in that city shouldn't the city, county or state give you a tax break.

They sure give GM tax breaks when they move jobs to a city, town ship or state. If they didn't GM would just give them the finger and go else where.

:D Al
Go online to buy a hammer. Then check volume pricing. You will receive significant $ buying in bulk.
 
There is some efficiency for equipment and manpower to be set up working down the same street, but most of the time in tree work is spent working on the tree and hauling the tree away. I have to agree with Al that the savings are not a lot, especially if the tree companies are very busy now with all the dead trees. Capitalism at work with supply and demand.
 
There are some savings in a municipal contract to take trees - mobilizing equipment and billing/administrative costs, but I agree with Al that most of the cost is in the labor for the tree and hauling away wood and chips. If it is homeowners with one tree it would cost more than a city hiring a tree service for many trees on one contract, but I am guessing not a lot more. With so many trees prices will escalate; capitalism with supply and demand.
 
The $1000.00 per tree is only for the city owned trees, it sounds like city or state employed Arborists will be identifying at risk trees and the home owners will be responsible for the cost of tree removal or not have their homeowners insurance renewed.
 
I live in somers and have at least 50 dead on my 10 acres. Trying to find someone who could at least take some for lumber. All are at around 100 years old.

Buy the biggest ****ing log spitter you can afford and go at it. Stock pile for yourself and sell the rest.

I would.....wood......would


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Most southern New England mills have either stopped taking dead oak all together or dropped the price to firewood value. The market is flooded and the landowners are crying. New bid sheets in my email weekly. So much for our liberal, tree hugging politicians. When you’ve got to feed the worthless there’s no money left for spraying BT. The oak forest will be at least 100 years coming back from this.
 
It's so sad. I maintain the hiking trails in my town (as a volunteer) and there is no canopy in most of our forests: blazing sunlight all the way to the forest floor. Second year in a row for this and I don't think many trees will make it back. I did some gypsy moth research with Prof. Baldwin at Penn State back in the 1980s and I seem to recall trees had enough reserves for 4-5 defolliations before they ran out of carbohydrate reserves to re-leaf. We're there now in many town forests.
 
Article out of Mass:
http://www.telegram.com/news/201809...-of-thousands-succumbing-to-gypsy-moth-damage

The lands owned outright for Boston's reservoirs have lost 2,000 / 80,000 acres -- 2.5%, and they sounded quite pessimistic that they're going to have another bad year next year.

My area really didn't have any defoliation to speak of this year, but I work just 20 minutes away just over the MA border and there was moderate to heavy defoliation; I don't remember that area having been hit much at all the previous couple years.
 
Hopefully I'll have time tonight to finish going through my pictures I've taken this summer through last weekend...here's a few previews.

(Gack...sorry about the size for anyone without a good internet connection...I ran a batch job last night that I thought was making smaller 1024x something JPGs...just realized it left them all original size...)

Tripp Hollow Road, Canterbury, Conn. looking west. Leafless trees never leafed out this spring, the brown leaved ones are the additional deaths this year from the two-lined chestnut borer and/or root rot.
IMG_0313.JPG


Stetson Rd., Brooklyn, Conn:
IMG_0319.JPG

Scrub Oak / Pitch Pines, Nicholas Road, Coventry, RI:
IMG_0328.JPG


Rte 14A @ New Road, Plainfield, CT -- I believe the yellow trees are Ash trees; healthy but their leaves are turning for fall. However we're on the edge of EAB so in 10 years or so those trees will be dead, plus you can see the oaks that never leafed out this spring and the brown ones that died in August.IMG_0341.JPG
 
WTF...saw this today, never seen trees being taken down leaving the trunks standing.

But I'm guessing it is that town's way for stretching their dollars -- have the tree companies just get the dangerous part of as many trees down as they can.

These are probably far enough off the road not to worry, but I saw other places the trunks will eventually fall into the road, so I'm hoping the town is planning a follow up eventually to take them down, and/or now the tops are gone they'll have the town road crew handle felling the trunks themselves.

IotBrv8MSA2hzVbR+8CkFA.jpg
 
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