I noticed last week that seven large pines trees (all of them white pines, I think), have been cut down in Carleton’s lower Arb. Other pines, red and white, remain.
I didn’t see a sign explaining the reason and I don’t see anything on the Current Arb Happenings web pages.
We removed a few white pines in the Lower Arboretum that were causing problems for our burn program. They were located on the edge of one of our prairie burn units and each time we burned that area they threatened to catch fire. We also removed a couple red pines because the white pines in the prairie unit had to be felled in that direction to avoid damage to oak trees.
Eventually all the pines in that general area will be removed. They are hard to burn near, they shade the prairie, they change the soil chemistry by the pine needles that shed each year, and perhaps worst of all, buckthorn is growing up underneath them since we can not burn under them.
A side benefit of taking them down is that the lumber goes to our art department and eventually becomes beautiful furniture and sculpture in the woodworking classes.
Nancy Braker
Arboretum Director
Carleton College
Thanks, Nancy. I actually contemplated doing a faux news piece along the lines of “Lower Arb is logged for Nancy’s new dining room furniture set” but thought it too over the top. Alas, I’m going to have push the boundaries, given this and Arlen Malecha’s comment.