Trees at Work

(This column was published on November 25, 1995 in The Buffalo News.)

   The quality of life of Buffalo and the surrounding towns and villages of 
western New York is extraordinarily enhanced by our mature street and yard 
trees.

   Because readers may have trouble with that opinion at this season when 
those trees are mostly bare and lingering leaves still have to be raked up and 
carted off, I had better justify that statement.

   Consider what a recent issue of "National Wildlife" says about Atlanta, 
Georgia, site of last summer's Olympic games. Landsat satellite evidence shows 
that development in that city has resulted in the loss of 65 percent of its 
trees over the last 20 years. That and earlier tree canopy loss makes urban 
Atlanta now as much as 12 degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside 
during the summer months. The report goes on to say that every 10 percent 
decrease in tree canopy produces a one to two degree increase in summer heat.

   So the rich mix of trees on the Niagara Frontier provides even more than 
beauty. It contributes to our comfort and to our pocketbook at the same time. 
The regional savings in air conditioning costs for individual homeowners and 
municipalities surely amounts to many millions of dollars each year. Much 
credit for this should be given to earlier planners, current park employees, 
and the thoughtful developers who retain as many trees as possible around the 
houses they build.

   It was with those thoughts in mind that I noticed several dying maple and 
locust trees along my suburban street this fall. Then a caller wanted to know 
why the trees of his neighborhood were unhealthy. I considered other evidence 
too. Clearing the backlog of many hundreds of dead trees in Buffalo is 
overwhelming the city's understaffed Parks Department. Southern tier beeches 
are under attack by Nectria canker and many regional maples have been injured 
or killed in their battle against pear thrips and an associated fungus, 
anthracnose. Last winter's repeated cycles of cold and warming was very hard 
on trees. And the city's elm leaf beetles pose a continuing threat as do other 
insects including tent caterpillars, spanworms, scallop shell and gypsy moths, 
cankerworms, and webworms.

   Concerned about all of that bad news, I contacted Wayne Cooper, Regional 
Forester for Western New York. His comments and the information he and others 
have since provided has reassured me. He considers the trees and woodlands of 
our region to be in good shape. There are local problems and there are always 
threats, he said, but at this time almost all indicators are favorable.

   Wayne also informed me that our cool and damp summer was beneficial to 
trees and at the same time inhospitable to many insect pests. There has been 
no unusual tree mortality and data suggests, for example, that about one out 
of every hundred red or sugar maples dies each year. Many trees have even 
shorter life spans, fruit trees and Norway maples in particular.

   That does not mean that all of our trees are out of harm's way. In 
particular, if any of your trees lost leaves early or their canopy was thinner 
than usual this past year, those are sure signs of stress.

   We should nurture our trees, replace those that die and plant additional 
trees whenever possible. Street trees especially need our attention. They are 
subject to poor drainage, salt spray, and compaction. Watering, fertilizing, 
pruning dead branches, and aerating the soil around trees are tasks we should 
all include in our yard care list for early spring.

   We enjoy a lovely green space here in Buffalo. It is in our interest to do 
everything we can to keep it that way.