Living in Fear of Trees

If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?.... If a tree falls on your house the neighbourhood is certainly going to know about it.

 

If the tree falls it might crush the house 

The trouble with big urban trees is quite simply that they are, well, BIG. And as we have all been told "The bigger they are the harder they fall". Can't argue with that logic, yet this situation poses some hard questions.

The hard questions

1. Is there such a thing as a tree that is too big?
2. If there is, then just how big is too big?
3. Who decides?
4. If we remove one tree because it's too big then shouldn't we then go and remove all trees of equal or greater size because they must also be too big?

Are you living in fear of a tree?

Without a doubt the most common reason why people may want to have large trees removed from their property is fear. Fear of this enormous tree one day crashing through the living room while the family is watching reruns of Seinfeld. The thought is always at the back of the mind just gnawing away.

The Role of the Tree Risk Assessor

Yes I am an arborist, and Yes I am an ISA Certified Tree Risk Assessor and Yes I perform tree risk assessments almost every day. I have spent the better part of my working life observing, dissecting, moving and forecasting the actions of large trees. Have I ever seen large trees behave in a way that could not have been predicted? Absolutely. S#%t  happens, this is nature. We cannot predict the totality of forces and factors presented. Occasionally trees fall unexpectedly, occasionally they land on things that people hold in high regard. But not often.

To answer the hard questions

1. There is no such thing as a tree that is too big.
2. I'll say it again, there is no such thing as a tree that is too big. There are however many situations when a tree is quite legitimately hazardous. These situations need to be addressed.
3. The Arborist. The only person who should address the hard questions pertaining to tree risk should be educated, experienced, certified and informed arborists. The best scenario for these decisions would be a team of arborists representing different points of view.
4. Removing a tree because it's too big is like killing your grandfather because he's old. Large trees, when healthy, provide the most benefits.

Terry Thrale, Woodridgetree.com