Susan Lenfestey is a regular contributor. She lives in Lowry Hill.
A recent walk along Summit Avenue from Girard to Kenwood Park in Lowry Hill revealed block after block of bifurcated trees. Their lofty canopies remain intact, but the trunks are deeply notched in the middle. It was clear they had been cut back to avoid contact with power lines running through the branches. Still, the question lingered. Did the cuts have to be so drastic?
To find out, we contacted Chris McMaster, director of forestry for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. McMaster said the Park Board is not responsible for this trimming. Xcel Energy holds a franchise with the city to protect its power lines and contracts out that work. Aside from notifying the Park Board about the general areas where work will occur, Xcel and its contractors have little interaction with Park Board forestry staff. Contractors are, however, expected to follow established pruning standards while protecting the lines.
McMaster also noted that after Dutch elm disease devastated the urban forest in the 1970s, the utility told the Park Board it planned to bury all electrical lines by 1990. Replacement trees were planted with that assumption in mind. Burying the lines later proved too costly, leaving mature shade trees competing for space with overhead power lines.
Sitting in a warm, well-lit house and griping about the way the trees were pruned is pretty much the definition of “first-world problems.” But maintaining our urban tree canopy is everyone’s problem as the planet warms and we need all the carbon-sinking leaves and cooling shade we can get. We need to protect power lines and trees at the same time.
Xcel’s managers will respond to property owners’ questions and comments. If you have trees that you feel were trimmed too aggressively, let Xcel know. What’s done is done, but your feedback could lead to more selective trimming in the future.
