Thursday, February 25, 2021

The Story of the Cottonwood Tree

Yesterday, Gossips published the news that the cottonwood tree across from the train station was being cut down. Last night, I was contacted by Ben Fain, who wanted to explain why he had made the difficult decision to have the tree removed.

Fain said it was the opinion of the landscape architect he was working with, as well as of three arborists he consulted, that the tree had to come down. It had been struck by lightning a year or so ago; there was evidence of the strike along the east side of the tree. He was advised that its continued survival was precarious. It was already starting to fall down. If it fell, it would fall to the west, taking out the powerlines. Given that information, he reluctantly decided to take it down.

Fain pointed out that the tree was not a cottonwood but a poplar and assured Gossips that the landscape plan for the site included a lot of trees. He jokingly said he thought he was spending more on trees than on the building.
COPYRIGHT 2021 CAROLE OSTERINK
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5 comments:

  1. veggivetFebruary 25, 2021 at 2:37 PM

    Thanks for the follow-up, Carole.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rob BujanFebruary 25, 2021 at 3:50 PM

    It's encouraging to have thoughtful and neighborly development in Hudson.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ben FainFebruary 25, 2021 at 7:47 PM

    I know I speak for everyone working on the red barn project down at 60 South Front Street, that we were all dismayed when we heard that our beloved tree had to be removed. It was struck by lightning last year and was severely damaged as well as we were told it was dying because of its age. We consulted three different arborists to see if we could do anything to save it but got the same answer. To quote one of the arborists, "It is my recommendation as a Certified Arborist that the tree and stump be removed in order to avoid any unfortunate or tragic events because of the lack of structural integrity of the tree."
    Anyway, we loved that tree. It sucks.
    We do plan on planting 40 developed trees in our backyard and hopefully along cross street and bring more green spaces to Hudson!
    Thank you again though for allowing us the opportunity to clarify.

    ReplyDelete
  4. peterFebruary 25, 2021 at 9:45 PM

    Thanks Ben. Much appreciate the good work you are doing on the waterfront.

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  5. unheimlichFebruary 28, 2021 at 6:39 AM

    Thanks for the explanation, and one which makes sense. It was discouraging to see, but is now less so.

    If you're thinking of planting, then for years there's been a city-wide effort to use native species. Please contact the City Conservation Advisory Council to learn more.

    ReplyDelete

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