Residents and city planners gathered to discuss the need for thinning out a number of trees in the area in order to curtail the spread of harmful insects.

By Amy Swain

On Wednesday, May 25, residents gathered at the Somerville Water Department to discuss possible tree removals and replacements. Public hearings are routine when considering tree removal in the city, so interested citizens – more than fifty – were ready and eager to voice opinions.

Brad Rawson, Director of Transportation and Infrastructure continued with a presentation regarding plans for general tree removal and replacement. Rawson detailed the benefits of keeping trees in urban areas saying, “Every government knows that the key to keeping trees in a city is a matter of management and planning.”

The planning that has been done, to the dismay of many, is the plan to remove around one hundred fifty trees in Somerville. The city believes this step necessary due to the impending presence of the emerald ash borer (EAB), which is a beetle sometimes found destroying ash trees. While the beetle has not been found in Somerville yet, it has been found in Boston and surrounding cities.

The emerald ash borer tree parasite.

The trees marked for removal are weaker trees, which the bugs tend to target first. Further, more than two hundred more trees are to be treated for prevention of the pest, as a preemptive defense.

Other cases of the borer have cost cities millions of dollars in damages, loss of business, and excess costs of rushing to get rid of infested trees quickly. Arborists have examined all of roughly nine hundred trees in Somerville, and agree this is a necessary step.

Also discussed were some particular cases of removal for unrelated reasons. Residents of Howe Street and Quincy Street described cases of trees causing issues in their homes – cracking foundations and disrupting driveways. Residents argued the necessity of these removals, and each case will be looked over and decisions should be made for both within the next few weeks.

The preventative and mass tree removal will begin in June. The city does have long term plans for tree addition, but keeping this pest out of the city is the first step.