Tree removal at Pioneer Park

Say goodbye to some of Drake Park’s tallest and oldest trees.

Crews will cut down three silver maples and a black locust in Drake Park Tuesday, as well as 12 black locusts in Pioneer Park, part of an effort to clear out trees stricken by insects and rot and keep the problems from spreading to other trees.

Bend Parks & Recreation District crews are working with a pair of tree service companies on the tree removal, expected to start at 8 a.m. today and run throughout the day.

Some of the work at Pioneer Park could carry over into Wednesday, Bend Parks & Recreation District natural resources manager Sasha Sulia said.

“It’s pretty sad they have to go,” Sulia said of the trees. But an examination by a tree specialist last summer found the rot and insects were a growing problem. Insect damage is clear in the black locusts, while the maples in Drake Park are diseased with rot.

The Drake Park trees run along Riverside Boulevard, close to downtown. Most of the trees coming down at the two parks are 60 feet to 70 feet tall and at least 70 years old, Sulia said, and nearing the end of their lifespans.

“You’ll notice that they’re gone,” Sulia said. But crews plan to plant new trees of a different species where the 16 trees in Drake and Pioneer parks are coming out. Sulia said park officials are still finalizing the species with which they’ll replace the silver maples and black locusts.

It will take years for the new trees to grow and replace their towering predecessors. But Sulia said not taking any action would mean letting the trees die from infestation or disease.

Crews on Tuesday will take the trees down in phases, rather than chopping them at the base and letting them fall. They’ll completely remove one or two trees at a time, moving to others throughout the day, Sulia said.

During last summer’s examination, crews found other trees suffering from insects and rot. But park officials think they’re healthy enough to be taken care of with tree pruning and some pesticide spraying. That work could be done in the coming months.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, eglucklich@bendbulletin.com