Tree stewardship

I was recently asked to write about the subject of tree stewardship. I'd been mulling it over for a while, and then I got a call that serves as a perfect example.

Briefly, here's what happened. The clients were very concerned that a large tree near their condominium was scheduled for removal in a few days. The homeowners association and the arborist they had hired apparently had decided that the benefits of this tree no longer outweighed the risks and costs of maintenance. The clients requested my opinion with the hope I would support their desire to save the tree. You might be able to see where this is going.

I visited the site and found that the tree was what I consider to be an elderly Monterey pine. Though it did not show signs of the beetle infestations commonly associated with their decline and death, the foliage was thinning and there were numerous dead branches scattered through the canopy. The tree was placed in a location that provided a wonderful sense of the shelter of the forest for the clients' home. But it is rare to see Monterey pines of that size and age living with good vitality beyond about 30 to 50 years in Napa Valley, and this tree was no exception. I had to tell them that, yes, the tree could live on for an indefinite number of years with good care, but it should be considered to be in decline. Furthermore, its great size constituted an increasing risk (not an imminent hazard) to the building and several parking spaces nearby. Who was willing to accept that risk, and the extra costs of maintenance, the HOA that had already decided to remove it?

My experience forced me to throw cold water on their hopes for a recommendation to save the tree.

So, with that in mind, here are a few thoughts on tree stewardship.

Tree owners have been my clients now for more than 10 years as a professional arborist. I help people make decisions about the long-term health of trees and the risks of living with trees. Most often, as we discuss the care of trees, we consider them as privately owned things, which the property owners possess and may treat as they desire. But that is not the whole picture.

Trees, being among the largest objects that most people will ever own, tend to be visible to all who pass or live nearby. Trees bestow benefits and may present problems and risks that go beyond the lines of private property. And since many trees have life spans far exceeding those of people or an individual's tenure as owner, those benefits, problems and risks may go beyond the time frame of private ownership. There is a public interest, and for me as a professional, a public trust regarding trees. In that light, the role of steward applies.

A steward is not an owner, but a manager entrusted by the owner with responsibility to perform a service or care for something on the owners behalf. When that something is a large, long-lived tree, the owners may include people long since passed, generations yet to be and the living community at large.

When we remove an old tree we may be thwarting the intention of the planter or denying its benefits to the community or to a future generation. We might also be preventing a catastrophic tree failure. Likewise, when we plant trees we might be fulfilling the wishes of our forebears, improving the beauty and livability of our neighborhoods and creating a beneficial legacy for those who follow us. But if our planning is not thoughtful, in spite of our good intentions, we might be setting up problems for the future.

In a sense, whether we are employees of public works or parks departments, commercial arborists or owners of private property, we are tree stewards.

Bill Pramuk is a registered consulting arborist with Britton Tree Services Inc. Please email questions to bpramuk@pacbell.net