[Summit] Norway maples as "invasive" trees

Tue Jun 29 13:49:51 UTC 2010

We have many beautiful fountains in cities and parks that have lots  of
trees around them - and the water don't stop flowing, one example is the
beautiful fountain in Kennedy Plaza. We can have both the trees and the
fountain.

Mona

On Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 9:14 AM, Amanda Woodward <awoodward7 at verizon.net>wrote:

> Again, why do the trees have to go to make the fountain run?
>
> I am very disappointed after reading the article that the SNA 100%
> supported the removal of trees.  We can debate the role of the SNA, but the
> bottom line is that the neighborhood expects them to represent us.  I can
> say that not a single neighbor of mine agrees with the removal of the trees,
> so there is a disconcerting disconnect.  To repeat a previous email - this
> is a neighborhood that takes embaces Arbor Day - need we say more?!
>
> I signed the petition for the fountain with the understanding that I was
> supporting the updating of the pump and plumbing only.  No way did I imagine
> I was supporting what I consider the worst possible situation.  For me, the
> trees 'make' the park.  I am satisfied with the fountain simply being a
> lovely folley without running water, amongst the ring of trees which I
> personally consider more inviting on a hot summer day than a scorching
> exposed area.
>
> Secondly, I signed the petition after considerable reflection as to whether
> I thought a fountain was frivilous during tough times.  I convinced myself
> that the canopy aided enough in reducing evaporation to justify a running
> fountain to help foster the contraction of social interaction back into the
> community ... worth the price of frivilous water usage.
>
> This is not really a question of fountain vs trees.  It is a question of
> whether someone wants grass rather than the interest of an undulating root
> fabric along the ground.  It is not required to remove the trees in order to
> repair the fountain.
>
> There is *plenty* of 'grass' in the park that is much enjoyed, no need for
> more.
>
> (PS - Jesse is a well spoken and thorough person - I write the above
> statements about the petition assuming he was absolutely correct about his
> assessment and in no way intended to be misleading.  I understand that
> others have influenced the plan since the initial petition.  I apologize if
> I have missed something telling in earlier emails, but I came in on the
> 'trees' emails when the discussion was about visability at the corners and
> did not realize what the prominant situation was until I saw the park last
> weekend.)
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Robert Mathiesen <rmath13 at gmail.com>
> *To:* Jeffrey Cavanaugh <jeff at cavanaugh.org>
> *Cc:* Summit Neighborhood <Summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
> *Sent:* Mon, June 28, 2010 12:38:36 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Summit] Norway maples as "invasive" trees
>
> I suppose that the same neighborhood pressure that led the city to restore
> the fountain could lead the city to maintain it and keep it flowing.  Why
> not?  That's how things work in most communities.
>
> Speaking just for myself, I spent my teen years living a few blocks between
> two free-flowing city-maintained fountains (in another part of the country),
> so I regard such fountains as one of the foremost amenities of city life.
> To me, personally, it is worth the loss of a couple of dozen trees.  Your
> "mileage" may vary, of course, and that's fine . . .  But there's no single
> obviously best solution to this controversy.
> - Show quoted text -
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 10:02 AM, Jeffrey Cavanaugh <jeff at cavanaugh.org>wrote:
>
>> I don't know if anyone has yet pointed out that this controversey made the
>> front page of the projo this weekend!
>>
>> It would seem to me that the invasive nature of the trees is irrelevant.
>> They have been there for over 30 years and widely planted elsewhere so that
>> ship has sailed.  I think it comes down to preference and the relative value
>> of different courses of aciton.
>>
>> First, I think, one needs to decide the value of those trees vs the value
>> of the fountain.  Keeping in mind there are lots of other significant trees
>> in the park.
>>
>> Second, one needs to evaluate how much of a tradeoff there really is
>> between trees and fountain - it seems some of the trees being removed are
>> due to stylistic preferences and are not critical for the fountain
>> restoration or for protecting the pipes going forward.
>>
>> Finally, something that has not been discussed much (I think), is the
>> value of the trees vs fountain in 5, 10 or 15 years?  I am concerned about
>> the reasons given in the Projo for the original shutting down of the
>> fountain which was expense of running it.  This is a classic pattern in RI
>> public works that something is built or lovingly restored and no money is
>> set aside ot maintain the thing.  What assurance do we have, assuming we are
>> willing to trade some trees for a fountain, that we will have a working
>> fountain in 3 years, 8 years or 15 years?  I hate to be cynical, but I've
>> seen this sort of thing before and I have very high doubts that the fountain
>> will still be running in 10 years.  Very high doubts indeed.  Because if
>> there's no commitment to KEEPING the fountain running, we could probably
>> have it broken up and hauled away and some trees and grass planted in its
>> place for  a lot less than $180,000.  If this question has already been
>> addressed, I apologize, the volume of e-mail has been substantial and
>> difficult to keep up with even with laptop, desktop, home access, work
>> access and iphone access!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 9:27 AM, Coryndon Luxmoore <
>> coryndon at luxmoore.com> wrote:
>>
>>>   There have been an number of comments and discussions in the ProJo
>>> comments and in the Parks presentation a few weeks back regarding the
>>> "invasive" nature of the Norway maples but little in the way of details
>>> about what that means.
>>>
>>> The US Forest service recommends that they should not be planted but I
>>> cannot find any recommendations about what to do with existing plants given
>>> that they were broadly used as city trees for many decades.
>>>
>>> I found few sites that discuss the tree and its impacts:
>>> - http://www.treecanada.ca/tree-killers/norway-maple.htm
>>> - http://www.invasive.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=3002 (Listed as a MA
>>> noxious weed)
>>>
>>> --C
>>>
>>>  --------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Coryndon Luxmoore
>>>
>>> Interaction Designer
>>>
>>>
>>> coryndon (at) luxmoore (dot) com
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
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>>> Summit at sna.providence.ri.us
>>>
>>> http://mail.sna.providence.ri.us/mailman/listinfo/summit_sna.providence.ri.us
>>> SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
>>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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