Sad day, JAWM

[Sherry in OH]

I am sitting here watching tree-choppers cut down the tall pines next door.  The pines the previous owner loved and where owls loved to roost.  Ahh, progress.  developers move in and destroy the natural beauty that attracted them to the area in the first place. 

Yes, I know the developer owns the property and can do with it as he pleases.  But cutting down healthy trees to put in a golf course-style lawn just seems wrong.  

 

[Innisfree]

I'm so sorry. Yeah, gotta agree that private property rights notwithstanding, we need the trees and owls more than we need lawns.

[happi duck]

I'd be crying.  They'll probably call the development "Owl Pines".  Dh sadly noticed that often developments seem to be named for what used to be there.

(hugs)

Edited April 13, 2021 by happi duck

[marbel]

I'm sorry. That would make me sad too.  I hate to drive by places that used to be full of trees and suddenly one day, poof gone, and then there are houses with no trees around them at all. I am so over the American suburban lawn. (I have one but if I had the choice myself, it would be very small lawn and more areas of native plants and trees.) 

[Harriet Vane]

I JAWY. I love trees. We are actually in the process of converting part of our back yard back to forest. I think it's best to work with the natural ecosystem, not destroy and replace. 

[JustEm]

I'm sorry, that sucks.  We have woods behind us that are owned by a developer.  They have approved plans to build a crammed townhouse development.  They've had the plans for a few years but haven't done it yet.  I fear the day they start because we have 3 owls that live back there. I don't want them run off.  I also don't want to stair at ugly townhouses from my backyard.  There will be a small row of trees that are on our property separating us from townhouses. Maybe the owls will move there

[mommyoffive]

Oh that is a sad day.  I would be really down about it too.

[Sneezyone]

Heavy sigh. I've been going back and forth with cutting down our pine trees. We have a 'selected' few (5) left on our main lot that provide great shade and cover for our acid-loving perennials. There's another side lot between me and my neighbor that's uncut. We both use it for blowing leaves and needles, by mutual but unspoken agreement. They house owls too. We've seen squirrel carcasses in our yard from time to time. We also have visiting rabbits, turtles, and geese. They also kill the grass my dog uses for potty breaks and the part (my dog can't reach) set aside for family badminton and volleyball. The pines provide free, premium mulch for my flowerbeds but the squirrels also use them as a launching pad to run across my roof and attempt entry (making me think there's a team of mice in my attic). We bought in this neighborhood for the established trees and greenery but mine are some of the only ones left so I don't want to chop them all down. We have a love/hate relationship.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Sneezyone

[Alicia64]

When my son and I would drive by a bunch of trees being torn down for housing, he'd say, "Poor trees."

 

[athena1277]

I hate how so much land is being bought up to cram housing in.  The property behind us was farmland, but the farmer died and his kids sold the land to a developer.  There is an area that becomes a small pond when we get a lot of rain and there are a few geese that love it.  They tore up the land and cut down all the trees along the edges of the property.  When the geese came back after the winter, they seemed a bit confused by the change.  For us the change means 4 2-story townhouses along my back chain link fence.  Now that it’s warmer, I can’t wait to get some trees growing to preserve some level of privacy.  I hope to make it more natural, edge-of-the-forest looking.

[wintermom]

I was just looking at my city by-laws and there are fines/expenses for removing healthy trees within city limits. I'm assuming that's for developers, too. I wish the fines were much higher so that it really hurt the developers enough that they would plan around the existing trees (which I believe they have do in some European countries).  Maybe there'd be some creative approaches to developments in North America instead of clear cut, blast the rocks practices. 

[bibiche]

Petition your town to enact and enforce tree preservation ordinances. That’s what Lake Forest did after the Mr T Chainsaw Massacre. 
 

I know people are going to be all “ But mah rights! “ about it, but some things should be decided by the community, not the individual, because they affect the entire community, not simply the individual.

I’m sorry to hear about your trees. It’s very sad. 😢 

https://chicago.curbed.com/2011/6/22/10460682/revisiting-mr-ts-1987-lake-forest-chainsaw-massacre

[Garga]

My friend’s house had lovely pines at the end of it. When it snowed, we’d call that little patch of pines Narnia. The trees weren’t on her property, but were right at the edge of the neighbor’s property. 

Of course, he chopped them all down and put in a 7’ tall solid plastic white fence. URGH. 

[bookbard]

So sorry. We had the same thing happen today - a hundred mature trees cut down by a developer, who is advertising the 'pristine parkland' to buyers. Developers have different rules about cutting down trees, they can go 'higher' than the local council - and with enough lobbying etc, they always seem to get their way. It's just so wrong. 

[Arcadia]

44 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I was just looking at my city by-laws and there are fines/expenses for removing healthy trees within city limits. I'm assuming that's for developers, too.

 

3 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Developers have different rules about cutting down trees, they can go 'higher' than the local council - and with enough lobbying etc, they always seem to get their way. It's just so wrong. 

I think developers here are allowed to cut and replace instead of move and replant. 

[kbutton]

3 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

Heavy sigh. I've been going back and forth with cutting down our pine trees. We have a 'selected' few (5) left on our main lot that provide great shade and cover for our acid-loving perennials. There's another side lot between me and my neighbor that's uncut. We both use it for blowing leaves and needles, by mutual but unspoken agreement. They house owls too. We've seen squirrel carcasses in our yard from time to time. We also have visiting rabbits, turtles, and geese. They also kill the grass my dog uses for potty breaks and the part (my dog can't reach) set aside for family badminton and volleyball. The pines provide free, premium mulch for my flowerbeds but the squirrels also use them as a launching pad to run across my roof and attempt entry (making me think there's a team of mice in my attic). We bought in this neighborhood for the established trees and greenery but mine are some of the only ones left so I don't want to chop them all down. We have a love/hate relationship.

Mature landscaping requires a lot of decisions that are not fun, and when one kind of tree reaches the point where it starts to rot or die, then all of that particular kind of tree in the neighborhood planted at the same time start coming down quickly. It's so sad. In our old neighborhood, a bunch of tulip poplars that were getting old that came down close together (ours came partly down with Hurricane Ike and revealed itself to the be the victim of carpenter ants), and the maples are starting to die up and down the street. In our current neighborhood, our neighbor just had three trees taken down--two oaks that had some rot, and a pine tree that was misplaced when it was planted and growing over the sidewalk. Another neighbor had a mature tree fall in a wind storm a couple of weeks ago, and it fell across BOTH of their vehicles! I am really glad that our current neighborhood has a variety of trees--it should help keep the suddenly bare look at bay. We are trying to keep in mind when it's time to start planting replacements so that it won't be a huge change if we have trees that have to come down. 

OP, I feel bad for the owls. I am ambivalent about pines though--they tend to come down easily in wet, windy conditions. Many people see them as a hazard near homes. I don't like to see trees taken down just for the fun of it though. 

 

[Bambam]

We've been in HOA neighborhoods that you have to ask permission before you take down a tree over a certain diameter trunk. People complain about that too (because often they won't let you take it down without a solid reason (i.e. diseased/dead)).  It makes me sad to see so many trees being cut down. 

We have just under three acres. We had to cut down a tree that was dead and a hazard to other trees. We cut off the limbs and left the main trunk on the ground. So many other trees and bushes have started growing right next to it! It's providing a nice habitat for some critters as well (bugs mostly). It's far enough away from the houses that it doesn't bother anyone (or at least that I know of!)

[Kassia]

We live in a very wooded area with fairly big lots in a semi-rural area and it makes us so sad that people move in and clear their lots as if we live in a suburban development.  Why move to a beautifully wooded piece of land and then get rid of all the trees?  It makes no sense to us.  

[KungFuPanda]

I cut down a lot of trees, but only AFTER one fell on my house.  That was traumatic.  I still have a dozen left on my 1/5th acre. (My neighborhood is super woodsy and the didn't clear cut the trees before building the houses.  It looks very nice, but you occasionally get really mature forests attacking houses.  Not too long ago, they cleared a bunch of greenspace to build a park.  It's 'green' but there are a lot of astro-turfed soccer fields now.  It's still a pleasant walk, but it's different. People have to live SOMEwhere I guess.  

Maybe you'll get a super cool neighbor who builds a food forest!

[Ausmumof3]

We had to get rid of ours but they don’t belong here and were dying plus fire risk.  We still have one and I would be sad if it had to go.  
 

A lot of massive gum trees were taken down near us to widen a road and that was pretty sad.

[KungFuPanda]

21 hours ago, Seasider too said:

Good point. Thanks to pine bark beetles we had to have some 80’ trees taken down, as did other neighbors. And a couple of years ago, three fifty year old maples at the same time, they were all the same age and rotting inside at the dying base (very dangerous tree situation, actually). And the oaks lining the street were all planted at the same time, and they’re starting to age out. 
 

But a developer mowing flat an entire tract of land... that’s a whole different ball game. 

A pine tree falls on your house and it's not THAT catastrophic.  A huge OAK tree falls on your house and that baby will go through your attic trusses, top floor ceiling,  and break the floor joists into the ground floor ceiling.  Then you'll become a person who talks about your trauma for 10 years.  😆 Still, there should be SOME responsibility to make decisions and not just clear cut.  You CAN leave some rather large trees without them being old enough that they'll start coming down in a few decades. Developers won't do it though unless they're legally required to.