The scene is ugly but it’s therapeutic.
These trees at Prospect Drive in Schenley Park were removed because they were infected with oak wilt. The eradication project was scheduled for February but didn’t get rolling until early April.
Last Friday it was partly complete. The oaks were gone but their stumps remained. These stumps will be removed, too, so the disease cannot spread.
How old were the oaks? The rings on one of them tallied 87 years.
It takes more than a lifetime to grow a tree and less than a day to chop it down. Alas, these oaks would still be here if they had not become victims of highly infectious oak wilt fungus.
When the ground is ready and the time of year is right volunteers and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy will plant new trees.
(photos by Kate St. John)
UPDATE 2 June 2014: Click here for the most recent update.
time to get rid of old notions!!do chemical injections not tree cutting.money is no excuse
Dear anonymous, infected trees cannot be saved by chemical treatments. Please see more here: http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2014/02/04/schenleys-oak-wilt-trees-are-coming-down/#comment-51925
Total bull crap and corruption destruction. The PPC is a threat to conservation . They have done a horrible job with almost everything they touch. If they look at a tree , watch out it will be chopped into the green $$$ .
perhaps some like the schenley plaza in between carnegie and hillman libraries. But , the PPC did get rid of all those gorgeous old trees , and got rid of food trunks to put up an Eat n PARK
Kate- Thanks so much posting about this issue! I was not aware of the oak wilt issue and had not seen any other info about why these trees were cut. It’s a shame and can evoke irrational reactions in many, but given the well-referenced information you’ve provided it is obviously necessary. I do wonder if PPC could do more to educate the public when they encounter these shocking cut sites.