Safety first
Mayor explains why trees needed to be chopped down; critics question the decision.
Dozens of trees being cut down in Centennial Park need to go, the city says, but critics are questioning the move.
Sixty Manitoba Maples, Willows and Poplars are scheduled to be removed from the centrally located park, the parks department said.
Acting director of parks, recreation and culture services Phil Cristi said the trees were assessed by certified arborists and the city is working with a third party to remove dead or dying trees.
“We’re not needlessly removing trees that are healthy. We wouldn’t do that,” Cristi said. “This is an attempt to clear out the trees that are either dead or dying or diseased, so it’s a preventive measure. We recognize at first glance it may look like, ‘oh my god what are we doing?’, but really we’re being proactive.”
Concerned posts on Facebook showing large trunks on the ground in the park prompted Mayor Walter Sendzik to address the issue in his city council remarks earlier this week.
“There’s been talk about deforestation, that in fact is not taking place,” Sendzik said Monday. “It’s a rehabilitation of that park.”
Sendzik said the parks team has done a great job identifying the trees that are natural species to the area that they want to continue to have thrive there while a lot of scrub is being taken out.
“There has been concern online about it. I can rest assure the residents that there are horticulturists that are in there, forestry folks that are making sure we’re not just going in and scrubbing everything out,” he said.
“We’ve neglected the park for so long that this is an opportunity to go in and really get it back to the conditions we want it to be.”
But John Bacher, the resident who posted a “Centennial Gardens Fiendish Deforestation” blog online after seeing the trees felled in the park, said he’s not satisfied with that explanation.
Bacher was shocked to see chopped down trees when he went to the park last week with a friend to check out winter waterfowl.
“I went there to try and show him the ducks and ended up seeing the devastation,” Bacher said.
Bacher said the trees were native species, not invasive, and were a mix of ages, including some very young trees. Some of the removed trees were providing shade for an intermittent stream.
He said the trees in Centennial Park are in forested parkland which is sufficient size to provide habitat for wildlife like wild turkeys and the great blue heron. The city should leave part of the park as a natural forest, he said.
The parks department has said it is replanting a tree for each one removed, but Bacher said that doesn’t help some species.
“You can’t get a bat to rest in a tree unless it’s a mature tree. It has to have cavities and grooved bark,” he said.
Daniel Nardone, who took photos of the trees with Bacher, said they’ve received attention on social media but were hoping the public would call for a response to what happened and new tree bylaws in public parks.
“Maybe the people involved could have thought they were doing something good but inadvertently may have done something not good for the bat habitat that could potentially be in existence in Centennial Gardens,” he said.
Cristi said the city’s first priority is to address trees that pose a danger to the public.
“We’ve had some strong winds lately. We want people to enjoy the park in a safe manner,” he said, adding some of the removed trees were hollow in parts.
Allegations the trees are being removed for sight lines and disc golfers in the park are false, he said. The city has been trying to keep pace with its removal and replacement program and has an active list of work orders across the city.
“We wouldn’t remove trees so that a disc wouldn’t hit it or if it’s going to obstruct a course of anything like that. It’s for us to maintain the park and to mitigate risk,” Cristi said.
“That may be an end result, but the main reason for removing the trees is that they’re dead or diseased or dying and that they may pose a threat to folks.”
We’re not needlessly removing trees that are healthy. We wouldn’t do that. This is an attempt to clear out the trees that are either dead or dying or diseased, so it’s a preventive measure.” Acting director of parks, recreation and culture services Phil Cristi