22
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
DyING tREES: A dozen
are being taken down
and removed
Continued from page 1
Most of the other dead trees
are birch landscape trees, but
other ponderosas are showing
signs of stress.
Public Works Director
Paul Bertagna and the City’s
contract forester Dan Galecki
assessed the downtown trees
and found many in trouble.
“Basically (Galecki) did
an evaluation of every tree
over two inches (in diameter)
in downtown,” Bertagna said.
“Both Paul and I have
noticed that some of the big-
ger pines have been tak-
ing hits,” Galecki told The
Nugget.
The culprit is clear: “I’m
identifying it mostly as
drought,” Galecki said.
Galecki notes that the
City’s dying birch are “shade-
tolerant” ornamental trees.
They can be planted in the
open, and many are in the
downtown landscape. That’s
usually OK, but in recent con-
ditions, they have suffered.
Lack of water and the
intensity of the sun in the
June-July heatwave took a
toll.
“In a year like we’re hav-
ing now, that’s a vulnerable
tree,” Galecki said. “That tree
is just cooking every day.”
Dave Vitelle of Bear
Mountain Fire has the con-
tract for tree removal. Though
he makes part of his living
cutting down trees, Vitelle
loves them and hates to see
them go.
He recommends watering
priority trees and getting rid
of junipers in close proxim-
ity because they have a high
capacity to “steal” water.
Vitelle is leery of attempts to
provide extra nutrients. He’s
seen that create bad scenarios
where more harm is done than
good.
“It’s a pretty complex sys-
tem,” he said. “I generally try
to stay away from any fertil-
izing of trees.”
He also advises not doing
anything that will add more
stress to trees.
“I would avoid any prun-
ing of live limbs — or even
dead limbs if they’re attached
to live.”
Watering should be done
in the early morning hours or
in the evening.
Galecki concurs that
watering can help — but it’s
not a silver bullet.
“I do suggest watering
and Paul does water — and it
can help sometimes,” he said.
“However, if they’re turning,
there’s not much you can do.”
And the trees are turning
fast after first showing signs
of stress. Galecki says that the
Seats open
on parks
advisory
board
photo by JiM Cornelius
Birch trees have been hard hit by dry conditions and the baking sun of a
two-week heat wave.
accelerated rate of decline is
unusual.
There’s pressure to get
dead trees removed quickly,
too. Dead trees are an open
invitation to infestations that
can make a bad situation
worse.
“You’ll start to have issues
with insects,” Galecki said.
Bertagna said that the
City’s tree nursery is in good
shape.
”The nursery is good —
but of course it’s irrigated,”
he said.
The problem is, of course,
not confined to the city limits.
A drive along the highways of
Sisters Country shows brown-
ing pines everywhere.
“It’s spooky; it really is,”
said Bertagna. “I don’t like it.”
And it could get worse.
Vitelle notes that climate
forecasts show the possibil-
ity of the development of El
Niño conditions, which could
mean another dry winter —
setting Sisters Country up for
more die-off.
“It’s going to be tremen-
dous next season,” Vitelle
said. “I hope not, but…”
It’s painful for folks who
love trees to see so many
browning up and dying off.
And it’s frustrating that
there’s so little that can be
done to arrest the process.
“There’s no scientific
secret answer,” Galecki said.
“We’re just doing the best we
can.”
The City of Sisters is
accepting applications for
one “in-city” (three-year
term) and one “out-of-city”
(three-year term) volun-
teer position to serve on the
Sisters City Parks Advisory
Board.
The board advises the
Sisters City Council on mat-
ters pertaining to the acqui-
sition, development, main-
tenance and preservation of
public parks, trails and open-
space areas.
The City Parks Advisory
Board typically meets once a
month and consists of seven
members appointed by the
mayor, with the consent of
the Council. Applications can
be found at www.ci.sisters.
or.us or at Sisters City Hall
located at 520 E. Cascade
Ave. Applications will be
accepted until 5 p.m. on
Friday, July 31.
For more information con-
tact Community Development
Director Patrick Davenport
at 541-323-5219 or at
pdavenport@ci.sisters.or.us.
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