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Park district to ax trees

Dead and dying eucalyptuses in a Carmichael nature area present a safety and fire risk.

By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 23, 2006

With twin goals of safety and fire protection in mind, a park board decided last week that the insect-ravaged, dead and dying eucalyptus trees in a Carmichael nature area should be removed.

The Carmichael Recreation and Park District advisory board of directors unanimously voted to remove certain trees from the Schweitzer Grove Nature Area.

The grove, a 17-acre, mostly undeveloped neighborhood park, is heavily covered by eucalyptuses, some of them 100 to 150 feet tall. The trees provide shade for visitors who walk along the dirt paths that wind among the grove.

But some trees in the grove next to Albert Schweitzer Elementary School on Glenridge Drive have been hit hard by an insect from Australia, which has caused them to die or become sick.

A report from Tree Care Inc. arborist Jim Hunsaker sent to the park district described the situation:

"I found that the majority of the red gum eucalyptus trees have been severely infested with a pest called red gum lerp psyllid (Glycaspis brimblecombei)."

Hunsaker said in his report dated Aug. 24, 2005, that he found about 120 dead eucalyptuses in the grove:

"The pest causes severe damage to the foliage with defoliation occurring, which in turn weakens the tree, resulting in decline and dieback usually resulting in the death of the tree."

Hunsaker said there was a potential for serious injury, because of "potential failure by one of the dead trees or large dead branches."

The board accepted the recommendations of Hunsaker, park district staff members and fire officials that all dead and dying eucalyptus trees be removed and that a proper firebreak be cleared between the grove and surrounding houses.

In a letter to park maintenance supervisor Keith Maddison, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials called for a firebreak.

"The northern and southern boundaries are the most critical at this time due to the density of growth," fire district supervising inspector Gregory Lake wrote Jan. 24.

He noted that the area of Ca-stleglen and Donnybrook ways should be served first, because homes there have shake roofs.

Maddison estimated that the firebreak would cost $60,000, and removing dead and dying eucalyptus trees about $30,000.

Other measures endorsed by the advisory board included preventing new eucalyptus trees, encouraging the growth of native trees such as oaks and pruning low limbs to prevent fire from moving into the tree canopy.

Roger A. Caron, a resident who attended the Feb. 16 meeting, supported the board's action after the vote. A Castleglen Way resident for more than 30 years, Caron can see the grove from his front yard.

"This is exactly what I wanted, leaving the healthy ones," he said. "I think the area should be cleaned out, the bad ones taken down."

An 18-"hole" disc golf course in the park is regularly used by the Mutha Putters disc golf club. In disc golf, players toss a Frisbeelike disc into a target - an elevated metal basket - in as few attempts as possible.

Ron Brown II, a charter club member, applauded the decision.

"The trees will be thinned," he said. "It is a great opportunity to work with the residents and the park district."

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