Aug. 30—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Parks and Recreation District lost more than 450 trees from severe weather on June 20-21 and Aug. 8, according to Erik Laber, city forester.
McElroy Park in Jamestown lost 84 trees from the severe weather on Aug. 8 after the Jamestown Parks and Recreation District lost around 380 trees in all its parks from the storms on June 20-21, Laber said.
“The impact just from the environmental and the aesthetic aspects is difficult and it’s going to take us years, generations to recover and recreate what was once there,” said Amy Walters, executive director of the Jamestown Parks and Recreation District.
Meidinger Park in southwest Jamestown also had tree damage as well, she said.
“McElroy Park took the brunt of this last storm,” Walters said. “We had lots of major tree damage. We had a pretty large tree come down on the playground equipment, a lot of damage to Trapper Field and then the youth softball fields in that area as well. So we’ve got a lot of damaged fencing and all of those things.”
Walters said it’s difficult to assess the total amount of damage because insurance doesn’t typically cover downed trees in the parks unless it causes property damage.
“You can’t really put a price on replacing a 30-, 40-, 50-year-old tree,” she said.
The Jamestown Parks and Recreation Commission is expected to approve an emergency declaration at its regular meeting on Sept. 8 for the damage caused by the severe weather on Aug. 8
Laber said at least 50% of the trees in Jamestown were affected by the June 20-21 storms. He said the trees were either destroyed, tipped over, had major damage or some damage.
He said anywhere from 300 to 1,000 trees were affected from the severe weather on Aug. 8. Some trees already weakened from June 20-21 storms are showing more signs of decline or damage, he said.
“If it was already leaning, leaning more, some of them that were leaning quite a bit tipped clear over,” Laber said. “Having the rain with it didn’t help because that softened up the ground.”
Severe weather on Aug. 8 caused significant damage, primarily to trees, over the southern part of Jamestown with the largest damage generally between Foxtrot Road on the west and 10th Avenue East on the east, resulting in a path length of about 2 miles, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS said the width of the greatest damage stretched from near 17th Street on the south end to around 11th Street on the north, about a half a mile.
“In that strip, it was 50% or better,” Laber said, referring to the amount of trees damaged from the severe weather on Aug. 8. “The rest of the city, it wasn’t quite so bad. … In the area that was worst affected, at least half of them either were damaged or tipped over or had things thrown into them that broke branches, etc.”
Laber said ash, spruce and Linden trees were mostly affected from the severe weather on Aug. 8.
“There were other things too that were affected but … it was still the same three species that were really hit the hardest again,” he said.
Walters said the Parks and Recreation District had to address the safety concerns in the parks from the downed trees and then removed trees from the roadways. She said employees are working to clean up the other downed trees and branches from the parks.
She said it has been challenging to remove some of the affected trees because of the moisture. The ground is too soft in some areas such as the sensory garden at Solien-Denault Park, she said.
Walters also said the district has a small crew and employees need to complete daily or weekly tasks as well as completing other projects before winter. She said the district’s employees have put in many hours to clean up the trees in the parks.
She said the employees have to do hard work and their safety needs to be prioritized as well.
“We need to give them the rest that they need and an environment to be able to get that work done,” Walters said. “So it’s been a challenge for our organization.”
Laber said a new grant program just became available through the North Dakota Forest Service for removal and replacement of ash trees. He said he’s not sure on the rules and requirements of that grant but it probably cannot be used for downed trees.
He said a grant was used to remove some poor quality trees and ash trees that were healthy but had forked trunks in McElroy Park, making them more likely to break and damage property during severe weather with high wind speeds.
“We’re just kind of being hard on the ash trees so that anything that does have a problem, you get it out before emerald ash borer hits or before it turns into a problem,” Laber said.
He said the city plans to apply for a grant to plant trees on 2nd, 3rd and 4th Avenue Southeast. The city previously was awarded two grants to remove trees from boulevards in those areas, Laber said.
He said the goal is to diversify the types of trees that are being planted. Ash trees make up about 45% of the tree population on public property.
“If that’s any indication of what’s on private property, that’s not a good deal,” Laber said. “The more diverse we can get when we’re planting, at least then if something comes down the line — a new bug or new fungus or something — then maybe you only lose 5% or 10% of your trees, not 45%.”
Walters said diversifying the trees in the parks will keep the Parks and Recreation District ahead of emerald ash borer. She said ash trees make up a majority of trees in the parks.
She said the district has a budget for forestry, allowing the district to continuously plant new trees.
“Obviously, the significant damage is going to accelerate that,” she said.
Although other areas in Jamestown would have been prioritized, she said McElroy Park will likely become a priority.
Walters said the district will seek additional grants and work with the North Dakota Forest Service to secure additional funding. She said the district is working with consultants on a North Dakota Forest Service grant for landscape planning in Liechty and McElroy parks.
“A large part of that does involve planning for forestry, tree planting, landscape design, so we’ll be looking to wrap that up here and in the next couple of months,” she said. “We’ll have a strong plan then to carry us through.”
Laber said grants may be available through the Jamestown Community Foundation for planting trees on boulevards.
“If people did lose a tree, if they get a hold of me, we can try to work on getting a new tree there and then they can get a little rebate for it,” he said.
Laber said residents should check their trees for cracks, heaved roots and broken, hanging branches. Residents should also check if the trees are tipping or have split trunks.
He also said residents needing work done on trees can check the city of Jamestown’s website for licensed arborists, noting 11 arborists are now licensed by the city.