LETTER: Trees axed for safety reasons

Editor,

Life is full of tough decisions. What am I going to do when I graduate? Who am I going to marry? Do we remove a tree that has stood for decades but poses a safety hazard?

That is a decision the university has to deal with regularly on Old Main Hill. This was the case with the “four majestic ladies” previously mentioned in a letter to The Statesman. I do not represent the university, but I do have first-hand experience with the four trees that were removed on Old Main Hill.

As with many of the cottonwood trees on the hill these four were in serious decline. All of them had columns of decay stretching from top to bottom. Trees with progressive decay pose not only a maintenance headache with constant limb breakage at the slightest wind or snow, but they also create a liability that is too great to bear. A 200-lb. limb falling from 60 to 80 feet would not merely cause injury to an unsuspecting pedestrian but in all likelihood cause death.

The decision to remove these trees was not made on a whim but made on expert advice for the safety of the general public. In watching and aiding in the removal of these trees I came to realize more fully the need for their removal. It is sad to see some landmarks disappear but for the safety of the general public, sometimes it is necessary.

Aaron Malmstrom