It’s sad to say goodbye to a feature tree, especially when many others have been lost over the last eighteen years. But this evening I’m not disappointed at all — nor even slightly conflicted — to celebrate Ben Collins’ surgically precise removal of a hollow, woodpecker hole riddled ash tree on Rosslyn’s waterfront. Sayonara, 3-stem hazard tree!
Increasingly frequent and severe storm damage in recent years has prematurely abbreviated the lives of both of ancient maple trees that once flanked Rosslyn’s entrance. In both cases (and several others around our property) the towering monuments succumbed to a lethal combination of heart rot and once atypically mighty winds.
I originally brought this 3-stem ash tree to the attention of arborist and frequent Rosslyn problem solver, Aaron Valachovic, a year or so ago. He was uncomfortable with the precarious tree’s proximity to the powerlines, so he reached out to NYSEG. They took a look and said it didn’t seem to be a problem to them. It struck me as curious since one of the main electrical cables has been dangling down (visible in the final photo below) ever since a big storm damaged it during the summer of 2023.
Not a hazard tree, so far as they were concerned. Nor were they concerned about tree work happening, so close to the powerlines. Curious.
A “hazard tree” is a tree that has a structural defect that makes it likely to fail in whole or in part. (Source:US Forest Service)
This tree has been dying ever since the 2011 floods, and despite the fact that it is been a very real warning destination for season after season of woodpeckers, it’s been clear that the tree is dying, dying, dead. Plenty of indications of rot reminded us that it was time, with or without the assistance of NYSEG. 
Fortunately, Ben Collins, another friend and local arborist who has remediated plenty of aerial challenges at Rosslyn over the years delivered the expertise (and some cool equipment). Climbing high, he then whittled down all three stems, quickly discovering the well established carpenter ant colony, and then chasing the rot down, down, down the hollow trunks.
Once he reached the union of all three stumps, just above ground level, it was clear that even the most robust (ie. large circumference) base of this tree was highly compromised. Fortunately his extraction was safe, thorough, and swift. And he tidied up the site with his groovy green grappling machine!
We all exhaled a collective sigh of relief. Ash gone. What a huge relief. Thank you, Ben. And sayonara, 3-stem hazard tree!
What do you think?