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In recent weeks, Pepco has pursued an extremely aggressive tree trimming schedule throughout the county, targeting specific tree species, trees that they assert may decline in the future and trees on opposite sides of the road from power lines. One heartbreaking example- the 147 year old tree below. This specimen tree, a majestic Hackberry, stood with full healthy canopy. Pepco's forester said that the tree had several branches that touched one other and may fail in the future. Last month witnessed Pepco crews cutting down hundreds of trees along historic tree lined roadways in the Agricultural Reserve. A number of the Reserve's rural roads are designated and protected under the Master Plan as "rustic" because of their unique rural character. Moreover, these rustic roads serve to promote of Agri-tourism and provide for habitat preservation.
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Dolores Milmoe of Audubon Naturalist Society with what was a healthy, 147 year old tree that stood along the banks of Horsepen Branch out of proximity of power lines.
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Please write to the County Council and ask them to hold Pepco accountable to the County Master Plan. There is a balance that can be achieved between reliability and preservation.
county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov
Copy Us: info@mocoalliance.org
The Council will take up this issue on July 18th.
Why does this matter? What should you write?
Pepco's aggressive tree work along Rustic Roads presents conflict with the County's Master Plan and undermines important County efforts to promote stormwater control and environmental preservation.
Ask the Council to require Pepco (and other utilities) to:
~Gain Montgomery County's Department of Transportation approval of tree removals and coordinate with existing easements and resource inventories.
~Obtain written approval from land owners directly and provide opportunity for owner to be present while work is performed.
~Cease targeting various tree species for clearing.
~Explore underground wires for high valued forest stands and roadways of particular public value.
More than an aesthetic issue, the trees along rural roadways provide critical buffers, preventing soil and chemicals from reaching streams and the Bay.
Reliable power is important to all County residents, but Pepco needs to balance tree trimming with community concerns and established laws.
The more than 50 Rustic Roads in Montgomery County (and the "exceptional" Rustic Roads such as River and Montevideo) are "roads that have such unusual and pleasing character that preservation of the road is highly desirable".
This is only the most recent in a long line of aggressive cuttings Pepco has undertaken in MC, including a January 2011 cutting along MacArthur Blvd, directly outside the entrance to the C+O Canal National Park.
More on this issue in the press: N. Potomac Patch, More from Patch, the Gazette
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