KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – With Earth Day and Arbor Day both coming up in the week ahead, trees are receiving a prominent focus in the city of Kalamazoo.
City officials say over the past five years, they have planted between 300 to 500 trees annually, with the City also trimming many other trees to remove damage.
The City of Kalamazoo has established guidelines for enhancing its tree canopy and the lifespan of trees, and there is a tree committee consisting of several City staff and community and utility company representatives. The City also has an arborist dedicated to protecting trees.
The City of Kalamazoo’s Public Works staff and hired contractors are at work planting trees and replacing those that are dead or diseased on streets as well as on the Downtown Mall. The estimated age of the City’s urban trees may vary, depending on their species. The American Elm tree, for example, has an estimated age of 104 years with a typical “diameter at breast height” of 50 inches.
Trees such as elms have been impacted from Dutch Elm Disease, which contribute to the declining health of trees. City crews and contractors today are planting Silver Maple and Ash trees to replace the elms that have been lost from the disease.
In 2020, the City of Kalamazoo received a grant to digitize and access the health of all City right-of-way trees. Annual tree removal contracts have been in place since then, and trees have been removed as needed. A block pruning program to prune and remove dead and diseased trees, supported by a USDA Urban Forestry Grant of $1 million, along with funding from the City of Kalamazoo and the Foundation for Excellence, also has been implemented since 2020 to prune trees in sections.
The City’s goal is to prune all right-of-way trees every nine to 12 years.
Hopefully the spongy moth infestation isn’t as bad this year! Killed a lot caterpillars last year! Spray the trunks of trees before they climb! Best of luck this year!