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Saddened River Road trees were cut

Having read Jay's letter regarding the pruning on River Road I had to go see this for myself. This was a piece of industrial landscaping that I was very proud to find in Prince George, something that is few and far between.
letter

Having read Jay's letter regarding the pruning on River Road I had to go see this for myself. This was a piece of industrial landscaping that I was very proud to find in Prince George, something that is few and far between. What I saw made me want to cry and swear at the same time.

I have tried to understand the reason for this action and can only come to the conclusion that someone felt it necessary to limb up these trees in an attempt to prevent fire spreading. Is this a reaction to what happened in Fort McMurray? We do need to learn from their experience and understand the realities of living in a forested area that is designed by evolution to renew itself with fire.

But I think in this case someone was misdirected. If those trees were such a hazard, would they not have gone up in smoke when the mill blew up and burned a few years ago?

I was warned the other day about the hazard of using bark mulch or wood chip in my garden. It will catch on fire and cause my house to burn down. I use these materials to suppress weeds and help conserve moisture in the soil, they also help keep the rooting zone cool in summer something my trees and shrubs appreciate. To date I have never seen this as a problem but I plan to spend some time this summer seeing if I can start it on fire to see if it is an issue.

Taking time to analyze why one is doing something and how effective it is, then evaluating the perceived or real risk in a situation is the real lesson. For now, the mulch is serving its purpose and by fall I will decide if it is a hazard in my situation.

Grace Morrice

Prince George