Memorial Park tree removal

Starting tomorrow, Thursday 9/18,  the Town’s Forestry division will begin work removing 10 large Ash trees in Memorial Park. After close monitoring by the tree warden, these trees now pose a safety risk and must come down. All of the trees slated to come down have been infested by the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive non-native pest that causes severe decline and mortality in Ash trees. In the graphic, you can see the bare branches at the top of the Ash trees, which is indicative of the infestation.

- On 9/18, crews will begin taking down four Ash trees at the Salem Street entrance by the tennis courts.

- On 9/23, crews will begin taking down six large Ash trees on Harrison Ave. Weather permitting, this should be completed by 9/24.

During the work on 9/23-9/24, Harrison Ave. will be closed between Orange St and Charles St, and there will be a tall crane on-site. It’s expected the trees will be removed by Wednesday September 24, weather permitting. New trees will be planted by the Forestry division as soon as the old stumps are removed! 

This planting plan includes re-planting with a variety of different species, to help prevent future situations where one pest kills many trees in an area, and to increase diversity in the park’s canopy. Potential replacement species include trees like Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica), Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), London Plane Tree (Platanus × acerifolia),Princeton Elm (Ulmus americana ‘Princeton’), Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis), October Glory Red Maple (Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’), and Red Oak (Quercus rubra).

Image provided by the Town of Reading.