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Tree planting, trimming is under way
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
Tree trimming, planting and cutting has begun and will continue across the North and South campuses into the summer and beyond to restore and replace trees damaged in the freak snowstorm that hit UB and Western New York in October.
These trees along Flint Road on the North Campus are among the 100 new trees that already have been planted on the North and South campuses, with another 100 to be planted in the fall. An estimated 70 percent of the trees on both campuses were affected by the freak snowstorm that hit Western New York in October.
PHOTO: SUE WUETCHER
Only 15 trees whose broken limbs posed an immediate danger to pedestrians and campus structures were cut down in the immediate aftermath of the storm, says John Hayes, assistant director for building and grounds, University Facilities, adding that the complete tree removal-and-replacement process could take until 2008 due to associated costs and limitations of the tree-planting season.
"We estimate 70 percent of the trees on campus were affected to some extent," says Hayes. "Approximately 200 trees on the North and South campuses need to come down."
These estimates are based on consultations with certified arborists Richard Steadman of Wright-Frontier Tree & Lawn Care and Bill Snyder of Lakeside Sod and Nursery, who were hired in November to assess tree damage on campus. The loss of about 120 trees on the North Campus and about 80 trees on the South Campus is not a significant percentage, says Hayes, since there are more than 7,800 trees in non-forested areas across the two campuses. The greatest challenge is the number that require trimming.
There are no plans to fell or trim trees in the campuses' forested areas, he adds.
"We're taking a deliberate approach and starting with the worst trees first," says Hayes, pointing out that the hardest hit were the chestnut trees clustered in front of and behind Hayes Hall on the South Campus. "Once the storm hit," he explains, "it sort of devastated them because they were so fragile."
Many of the trees on the South Campus were near the end of their natural life, regardless of the storm, says Hayes, who toured the damaged area several weeks ago with Snyder and members of the UB Environmental Task Force and University Facilities.
"We will plant at least one tree for every one lost," he says. "We've got a good head start."
About 100 new trees already have been planted on the North and South campuses, he says, with at least another 100 planned. Crews will wait until the fall to complete the project, however, since tree-planting season ends this month.
More than 40 of the trees planted were donated by RPM Ecosystems, an upstate New York-based business that produces specialty hybrid trees that boast a 90 percent survival rate and a growth rate that is three times faster than normal, says Hayes, noting that the business was among those that participated in the Enviro Fair held in Alumni Arena in conjunction with Al Gore's visit to UB last month. Varieties included pin oak, big red oak, swamp white oak, bur oak, red maple and sugar maple. Other trees were donated to the university by student organizations on Earth Day.