Town to spare dozens of trees from removal by Eversource

Tree Warden Ken Bassett will present the finalized list of roadside trees slated for removal and explain the basis for his final determinations at the Select Board meeting on Monday, June 8 at 6:45 p.m.

Earlier this spring, Eversource submitted a list of 264 trees it proposed to remove because they were dead or in decline and posed a potential hazard to power lines and the roadway. But residents at an April 22 hearing asked the town to spare 181 of those trees, so the town extended the comment period into May to allow for more feedback and consideration. 

After compiling the list of trees whose removal residents objected to, Bassett said he and a third-party arborist, Jonathan Bransfield, “looked at each and every tree, to assess whether its condition was dangerous… In many cases we made a decision that [a tree] did not pose an imminent danger. Some were hard decisions but sooner or later those decisions had to be made.” Regarding the genreal criteria used by Eversource, “I think [Bransfield] felt they were reasonable,” he added.

The resulting final list calls for removal of only 146 trees, with another 19 pruned and 97 left as is. Many of the trees to be spared, at least for now, are on the other side of the road from the utility wires, are leaning but not in imminent danger of falling, or have cavities or seams (cracks) in the trunk.

The tree warden has an annual budget of about $8,000 and works with DPW to decide how to allocate those funds between planting new trees and taking care of existing ones, but usually it’s about half and half, Bassett said. Eversource will pay for replacing some of the removed trees, though what new trees will be planted and where are still to be determined.

“The purpose of the June 8 presentation is to provide transparency regarding the review process,” Town Administrator Tim Higgins said in a statement. “The Tree Warden welcomes feedback and discussion regarding the review process and the town’s ongoing efforts to balance public safety, electric service reliability, and stewardship of Lincoln’s trees.”