Neighbors cutting down trees (update 3/19/21)

[Marthe48]

Last edited Wed Mar 10, 2021, 12:33 PM - Edit history (1)

A friend of mine is coming to get about 10 seedlings I dug out of my yard. She is planting a row of trees across the end of her yard. I feel that it is a positive reaction to the loss of the trees in my neighborhood lately.
And, I thought of an idea, which might be practical or not-put a tax on trees that are cut. For homeowners who cut trees down, give to the tax to local government to plant more trees. Or make it mandatory to either replant something that suits your lot, or plant a tree in a park. For logging, pay the tax to the state or federal govt. to replant. A program like that would at least make people more aware of what they are doing. If trees are so valuable and so important to the planet, let's treat them like gold instead of dross! I can thank my parents for my outlook.



It is hard to take. Somebody just cut out almost all of a stand of pine trees that have been there since we moved in to this house in 1989. Now a neighbor up on the hill is basically clearing-cutting his lot, probably to make room to park more of his junk cars.

I wish there were laws that protected trees on private property. They are so important to the planet, that they should be protected no matter who owns the property the grow on.

[RainCaster]

1. The ten acres to the north of me was clear cut last year...

All the deer came over, along with the squirrels, rats & coyotes. Nothing I can do about it. I don't pay the property taxes. She (the north owner) tried to log the property seven years ago, but the county stopped her because the previous owner had put the land into agricultural status. So she had to officially notify the county that she wanted to remove the property from ag. status. Then she had to pay the increased property taxes for six years before she could rape the land. So she finally did, then immediately sold it all to a developer. Sigh.

I will get the last revenge I think. There has been a bald eagle pair that has claimed an old osprey nest in the only stand of trees left on the property. If they start to use that nest this year, it will seriously impact what that developer can do.

[Marthe48]

11. I get a lot of critters

Beyond the neighborhood are some tree-covered hills, good cover for the wild things. Not seeing as many as I used to. I saw a pair of bald eagles on the way into town last year. They nest by the Ohio River.

[OnlinePoker]

2. My township in BC, you have to get permission from the town arborist

You also have to inform your neighbours and get their signatures on your cutting application so the township knows you informed them. Even with that, if the arborist thinks your trees are healthy and your reason for cutting isn't valid, no permit will be granted. If you cut them anyway, hefty fines into the thousands of dollars will be levied.

[Marthe48]

7. I'd like to see something like that here

I grew up in a suburb near Cleveland from the 1950s to the late 1960s. My best friend inherited her parents' house, the one where she grew up. I can go back to visit her, and most of the trees are still in place. I love that.

We bought this house in 1989. I think that about 200 trees have been cut out since then. And add a bunch more.

[OnlinePoker]

17. That sucks.

Not only does it take away a carbon storage agent, but also takes away the cooling properties, making the urban heat island that much worse. I'm sure they'll be complaining about how much they're spending to keep their place cool come summer.

[Marthe48]

19. I'm sure you're right

We've got immense sweet gums and maples in the yard. You can go in under the shade in the summer and it feel 20 degrees cooler. And I think they help keep the house cool. When the sweet gums respire, they give off this incredible aroma. I love sitting on the side porch after dark, listening to the mockingbird and inhaling the sweet smell of the trees.

[jimfields33]

3. I got rid of six of mine.

One fell during hurricane Irma. I’m not taking the chance of one hitting the house. Sorry.

[Marthe48]

8. I understand

I get upset when the trees aren't a safety hazard and cut out because they are inconvenient. I have 5 big trees on my lot, and I need them cut back, but I wouldn't dream of taking them entirely out. I worry about having another windstorm and more damage. I have had people lined up 2 times in the last year. No money changed hands, because they were supposed to bring a contract. Both were no-shows.

[DEbluedude]

4. Yep. I once lived on a farm in northern New Jersey.

Woke up every morning for 8 years looking out the window at a strand of about 25 massive old oaks and ash trees. One morning, heard some heavy equipment, looked out the window and a big old Cat 953 was just working away. Took about 9 hours to knock every one of them down.

I recently had to take down 11 oaks in my yard. Oak blight. Hated to do it but they became serious a safety hazards.

[Marthe48]

9. Do you think you'll plant something hardier?

I had seedlings in my yard and was able to give several to a man who came to a yard sale we were having. My friend is going to take some seedlings I have that she'd like in her yard. We live in the same area, no state lines to worry about. She took some a few years ago and has had good luck with them.

[DEbluedude]

13. Probably not. I still have a few old trees left that are in pretty good shape.

I've been dealing with leaves for over 40 years now. I'll miss those old trees but not the work. I've planted some decorative bushes and a few dwarf Alberta spruce.

[Marthe48]

15. That's good

You planted something.

I have leaves and the sweet gums and maples seem to shed twigs constantly, not to mention the gumballs in the fall. I hire people to do most of the clean-up. I have allergies and a bad back, so I have to limit the yardwork I do.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

5. I was renting a house that was among trees and the owner had the trees cut down.

This place had been like a little cottage in the forest. The wonderful energy was cut out along with the trees. Believe what you want but as soon as those trees and energy were cut out, my life started taking a turn for the worse. I immediately felt an emptiness. My ex and I lived there for 3 years and the last 4 months were bad.

[Marthe48]

12. I can just imagine the difference

I always felt better if I planted something. We have had to maintain part of our lots, like seeds sprouting where they couldn't be. But always with a light touch. I still felt bad.

My mom always tried to save things. If she saw a leaf on the floor in a nursery, she bring it home and try to root it. She had pretty good luck. Anyway, she sure influenced me to care about plants I still have her art deco print of Joyce Kilmer's poem Trees. Looked at it my whole life.

Hope things are better for you.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

21. For me it was the wildlife that came with the trees.

After the trees were gone so were the deer, raccoons, rabbits, and the coyotes. At least we had the squirrels. Their area was one of the only places left alone. Yeah, things did get better after I got out of the nasty complex I was in. I am in a very nice complex where the squirrels calmly look through my sliding glass door as my cat slams his face into it repeatedly trying to get it.

[DEbluedude]

14. Emptiness is a perfect description. n/t

[SWBTATTReg]

6. Well, sometimes you do have to cut trees. It's time to do so, if it gets too crowded w/

growth and such, and it needs a thinning of tree growth so the remaining brush / timber can grow healthier and better. That's what my state conservation guy told me when I had him out to review the property.

But I ended up not cutting the timber, I just sold the property instead to my neighbor, who will probably leave it as is (uncut), but one of the selling points that I listed for the property was that the timber was uncut, the old while oaks, jack oaks, a few elms, a few cherry trees, worth something, but the most value was the ruggedness and wilderness of the property, as most properties around were already clear cut (for cattle), and this property was one of the few that haven't been harvested in at least 80-90 years. A long time.

[Marthe48]

10. Just so many at once

and replaced with junk cars.

[mopinko]

16. i'm as suspicious of ppl who dont love trees as i am of those that dont like dogs.

there was a 5' dia cottonwood on the plot that is now my farm.
last owner took it down, even tho he had no approved plan for the property.
he had a concept, but the alderman told him to pound sand. never built anything.

it broke my heart. and i lost the best dog i ever had a couple months later. for months, every time i looked out that window, my heart dropped.
must admit i am glad now that it is gone, because it was toward the middle lot and square in the sun. still would have killed my to cut it.

i have had to cut down big trees, and it's always kills me.
i almost lost a 25 yo magnolia 2 yrs ago, and worked hard to keep it alive all last yr. it came through, and i fixed the structural issues. i have great hope for it this year.

we lost a ton of trees in my hood in the last few years to climate change.
had 3 tornados along the lake front in the last decade. my block is missing 1/4 of it's trees, mostly since i have lived here.

i've planted almost 2 doz trees on my farm, tho. mostly fruit, tho i have a couple pecans waiting to go in. have some olives, too. i need to pester the city.

[Marthe48]

18. Good way to put it

Marietta, Ohio is a Tree City and there are pretty strong laws protecting trees in the city limits. I live out of town, and my neighborhood is not upscale. When we moved here, we were the kids on the block, and many of the neighbors had built the home they had and planted the trees and shrubs. Such a pretty neighborhood. In 30 years, we're the old folks and the younger people buying the houses tend to cut everything as soon as they move in. With the changes, it is getting unattractive and junky.

We planted an ornamental cherry in the front yard in 2002. It is a beautiful tree and the same people clearing their lots tell me how much they love my tree. It needs to be trimmed, it's been a few years since we gave it attention. I am hoping my latest attempt to get someone here to do yardwork I can't do myself will pan out. All of the trees need to be trimmed, and the rest of the yard work left over from last fall needs to be finished up.

Sounds like you'll have an Eden after those pecans and fruit trees mature

[mopinko]

20. people have, in fact, stood in the middle of it and called it eden.

fruit trees are getting there. had peaches and pears last year. some asian pears, which i've been getting for a few years.
have 3 cherries, 2 apples, and 2 plums that i have high hopes for. had a few fruits last year, and good size now.
added a bunch last year, tho. i've honestly lost count.

have tons of berries, grapes should have good yield this year.
last year was tough. 6" of rain, and hot. they should catch up next year.

[hatrack]

22. I didn't actually do anything to initiate this, but . . . .

Last edited Fri Mar 5, 2021, 09:39 PM - Edit history (1)

When I was in kindergarten, my parents bought a wooded lot south of the town I grew up in. What was there was scrubby and most of the trees on the lot were fence-post size in diameter, with a few a little bigger than that.

The idea was that someday they'd build a house out in the woods, and in the mean time, we rented in town. Then, about ten years later, somebody built a spec home on the wooded lot next door, and I'm pretty sure they put an offer on it the very day we visited for the first time.

Fast-forward 50 years. Both our parents are gone, but my brother and I held onto the house and land and lo, how those woods have grown. We've cut some trees over the years, either when they were dying or posed a possible problem to the house, but other than that have pretty much left it alone. Counting rings on one tree we felled showed that it was last logged around 1945.

Walnut, pin oak, post oak, Osage orange, some hickory, hackberry and locust - pretty much your typical Midwestern woods - and after nearly 80 years of being left alone, it thrives. We've had foxes den within 50 yards of the house, and pileated woodpeckers nesting in the snags in the back. Birds flock in the winter, and deer cruise through on a semi-regular basis.

What nature can do if you just leave it the hell alone is astonishing, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have the option of protecting this little patch of woods just a little while longer.

[Marthe48]

23. I love your story

Thank you so much for taking the time to write it out for us. I really needed the lift

We had 9 1/2 acres in Monroe County, Ohio when we were first married. The lady we bought it from had let Nature take care of it. We had no clue about land maintenance and didn't do much the whole time we lived there. Planted some pines trees that were uprooted from a friend's yard. We sold the place a couple of years after we bought this house. The people who bought it lived rent-free on a farm and worked for the old couple who owned that farm. The old couple had no offspring and left that farm to the young couple. They haven't lived in our old place. They rented the house for awhile, but Nature is taking the whole bit of land over. It abutted a bit of The Wayne National Forest, and we could hike into a wooded valley that had a small creek, a small waterfall, a sandstone rock shelter and in the Springtime, ramps (the wild leek) growing all through the valley. We would get ramps for family dinners and our WV relatives couldn't believe how big they were. Sometimes, I think most of S.E. Ohio is going back to Nature. Makes me happy.

[hatrack]

24. "I am the grass; let me work"