Sadly, many of the tall cedar trees along the east boundary of UUFC’s property will have to be removed this summer, probably in August. After 4 years of discussion, consulting, and much review the Board of Trustees has approved the removal of 30 trees from our east property line for safety reasons. The removal will start sometime in August, 2023. No oaks or other hardwoods will be removed. This is reduced from the proposed removal of 47 trees that was recommended by Corvallis Arborist LLC in 2022.
Because of the danger of the tall Incense Cedar trees falling on our or our neighbors’ buildings we have had to make the hard decision to remove them. We hired Corvallis Arborist LLC (JonPywell) to evaluate all of the trees on our property and he produced a detailed report in November of 2022. The bottom line is that he recommended that we remove 47 trees because they are a threat to buildings. The threat is that as the trees get bigger, they are more likely to be blown over by strong winds. Many are already leaning. The UUFC Board of Directors has reviewed this recommendation and had discussions with many of you and settled on a plan to remove 30 trees that appear to be the most threatening. This is not something they have done casually. These trees were planted in 1952 by two of our beloved congregants and have been a valued part of our campus for over 70 years.
We have contracted with a very experienced tree removal contractor, Mid-Valley Woodsmen (Josh Cantrell), who will have to climb each tree and cut small portions from the top and lower them down with ropes. Josh is very aware of our desire to have as little impact on the remaining trees and vegetation as he can.
Because these trees have to be cut into small segments to get them down safely, we will not be able to sell the wood as sawlogs. Most of the wood will be chipped and sold to a paper mill or used for landscaping.