The Army Corps of Engineers expanded its tree marketing system in Altadena after a community pushback following an NBCLA report on the removal of oak trees that could still be healthy.
In addition to the addition of previously used blue dots, yellow dots, yellow ribbons and brown dots to the marking system, the Army Company announced.
Each signal is as follows:
Blue dots – Trees marked with blue dots on the base and barcode are deemed dangerous and are scheduled for removal. Yellow dots with yellow ribbons – Trees where property owners have filed a dangerous tree removal exemption will be marked with yellow dots on their base and yellow ribbons wrapped around the tree. The barcode is removed and this update is cataloged in the contractor’s system to ensure that the tree is in place. Brown Dots – If the tree is reevaluated and deemed non-difficult by a high-level ISA certified arborist, it is marked with brown dots above the existing blue dots. The barcode will be deleted and this update will be recorded in the contractor’s tracking system to ensure that the tree will not be deleted.
In a statement to residents, the Army Core said it hopes to use the new marking system to “enhance transparency and improve processes.”
Hazardous tree removal form exemptions are also available to owners interested in abandoning tree removal.
“We are committed to listening to the community and improving the process,” said Colonel Eric Swenson, commander of the Wildfires Recovery Field Office in USACE Los Angeles. “Our goal is to provide a clear, fair and transparent system that respects property owner choices while prioritizing safety. The marking and flexibility of the new tree regarding how information is received reflects our commitment to making this process as accessible and efficient as possible.”
The army asks that residents do not mark the trees themselves.
Altadena Green, a grassroots organization run by volunteer arborists, has gone on the streets in recent weeks to protest by marking the removal of healthy trees during phase two of the cleanup process.
“The Oaks are one of the most resilient trees,” said Wynne Wilson, a member of Altadena Green, in an interview with the NBCLA. “They’ll be back and we saw a lot of the orcs being marked for removal.”
However, the group’s efforts were initially full of mixed results.
“We’ve had two people so far. Despite the massive exemption, their trees have been removed. And they were marked and tagged by our team of arborists,” Wilson said. “We mark the health of the tree, how big it is, what we expect it to live.”
New research shows that these healthy trees may be absorbing more carbon than initially expected.
“During the daytime, trees occupy something like 60% of the fossil fuel CO2 being released,” said USC Professor William Bellelson.
Recent data from air quality sensors located around Los Angeles gives USC researchers insight into the lost canopy in burned zones.
“With the number of trees we lost, how much wood we lost, the absorption of CO2 that we lost because we lost so many trees, and the trees we can plant that we can start taking CO2 and starting to get that CO2 again,” Bellelson said.
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