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GREENWICH, Conn. – The Greenwich Daily Voice accepts signed, original letters to the editor. Letters may be emailed to greenwich@dailyvoice.com.
Dear Editor:
CL&P has just announced plans to cut down trees on private and public property along the New Haven railroad line. Private property owners have the right to determine whether their trees should be cut or pruned. We, the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, are dedicated to preserving and enhancing the tree and forest resources of Greenwich. We are therefore concerned by the recent press release regarding this tree removal along the New Haven commuter rail line — from Stamford through Old Greenwich and Riverside.
The Tree Conservancy is sensitive to the communitywide need to keep trees healthy so they may withstand the ravages of future storms and not succumb to heavy winds, again witnessed this week, that can lead to downed power lines. Trees are vital in reducing air pollutant particulates, minimizing radiant heat from the sun, inhibiting soil erosion, sequestering carbon dioxide and providing a habitat for a plethora of diverse species.
The Tree Conservancy supports the removal of sick and unhealthy trees that we deem “hazardous,” which is why we submitted testimony at the recent budget hearing in support of funding the town’s “At Risk Tree Program.” We do not support the removal of healthy trees, which is the current plan.
We support our trees' rights and hope they are given a fair trial and that members of the jury not include only the DOT, Metro-North and CL&P. We suggest that trees on town property be duly tagged so the tree warden can conduct a public hearing for those trees.
We also hope that private property owners will limit the removal of their trees to those that do represent a real threat to the community. Removal of a large number of trees along a corridor such as this can result in increasing wind velocity vectors enough to increase the collateral damage of nearby trees.
Signed,
The Board of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy
Lisa Beebe, Bob Brooker, John Conte, Cheryl Dunson Gina Gould, Mark Greenwald, Ginny Gwynn, Mary Hull, Peter Malkin, Miriam Mennin, Karen Sadik-Khan, Patty Sechi, Gary Silberberg
JoAnn Messina, Executive Director
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