Why is the City planning to remove trees in Pioneer Park?

The City is considering a wetland restoration project in and around the existing wetland in the southwestern portion of Pioneer Park. The trees within the wetland areas are mostly green ash and are dead or dying. The remainder of the trees within the wetland areas are mostly fast growing trees such as box elder, aspen, elm, paper birch. Many of these trees are diseased, dying, or at the end of their life cycle.

Trees that would be targeted for removal are ash trees due to the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer, and other fast growing softwoods like aspen, box elder, and elm.  Over 80 percent of the trees within the project area are ash and almost all of them are already affected by the Emerald Ash Borer beetle. These ash trees are already dead or will die in the next year or so. The buckthorn and softwoods are choking out the desired native trees such as slow growing oaks and basswood. By removing the dead and invasive species, the oak seedlings will have an opportunity to get established and grow.

Management and removal of unhealthy trees along the wetland edges is implemented to restore the site to a healthy ecosystem. This is a nuanced ecological approach that will remove what does not belong, and replant what does belong.

Show All Answers

1. What is a Wetland Bank?
2. Why Restore the Pioneer Park Wetland?
3. What Does Wetland Restoration Mean?
4. Why is the City planning to remove trees in Pioneer Park?
5. How much of Pioneer Park will have trees removed?
6. Will all the trees within the project area be removed?
7. How much of the park will change to wetland?
8. Will the trails still have shade?
9. I see trees that look good and have been tagged. What does the tag mean?
10. Is this project being done to make room for more housing developments?
11. How will this affect the wildlife in the park?
12. When is this project going to start?
13. How is the money from the credits sales being spent?
14. Why can’t the east boundary be moved west to the ditch?