Nearly a hundred trees fell down at Webster Park in Epsom earlier this month when a storm swept through – but now a state forester thinks more should come down.
A roughly 1-acre patch of white pine trees by the park’s cemetery may have escaped the storm unscathed, but the trees in the overcrowded stand are liable to come down unexpectedly the next time around, a report filed by New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development Community Forester Scott Rolfe warns town leaders.
Rolfe was asked to look at the park after the Sept. 11 storm, which sent trees down on a gazebo and a parked car – whose passenger was sent to the hospital. He found a problem common to municipal parks and forests: little to no tree maintenance.
When trees go unpruned and tree stands un-thinned, that’s a problem, Rolfe said. Trees that grow in too tight a space will compete for too few resources, creating under-developed root structures and trees with multiple trunks. Another strong gust of wind could fell the trees or break off branches.
Rolfe recommends in his report that the town remove all of the older trees in that area, leaving behind only much smaller, younger and healthier trees. It also recommends removing all softwood trees from the northern area in the park that was hardest hit by the storm.
Traditionally thinning the stand instead of radically removing so many trees isn’t a live option, his report cautions, because doing so in so dense a forest area would likely further damage any remaining root structures, and increase the risk of falling trees.
To thin the stand more lightly with specialized equipment on a select number of trees could be an option but “may be cost prohibitive,” the report notes, and would leave the stand at “a high risk to damage from future weather events.”
Simply taking out all of the older, taller trees would likely be cost-neutral for the town, Rolfe said, because they could sell the lumber from the trees. But many communities faced with this decision object on “aesthetic” grounds.
“That park has probably been known for its nice, white pine forest,” Rolfe said. “A lot of times, a drastic change like that isn’t really palatable for a lot of people.”
Rolfe’s report also recommends proactive approach to forest maintenance in the future, with regular thinning.
“This may be a perfect opportunity to highlight the need for planning ‘green infrastructure’ maintenance along with the existing built infrastructure for the future of Webster park,” his report concludes.
Selectmen have scheduled a meeting with the town’s volunteer forester and Rolfe for Monday morning to decide about how to proceed. Following an initial clean-up, the park has reopened to visitors.
(Lola Duffort can be reached at 369-3321 or lduffort@cmonitor.com.)