A Hillcrest resident has seen some success in her effort to get trees felled along a trail behind their property removed by the city.
At its April 22 meeting, Salmon Arm council voted to have staff look at options, and related costs, to remove the 15 trees the city cut down along the Hillcrest Heights trail running behind Laurie Rollins’ 24th Street SE property. The decision was in response to an April 16 letter from Rollins along with photos and a signed petition.
In an interview earlier this month, Rollins told the Observer she and her neighbours had contacted the city to see about having several trees along the trail removed, “because they were dead standing and with the winds, we were concerned with them falling on a house.” In August 2023, the city cut down 15 trees. City roads and parks manager Darin Gerow had it confirmed by experts that the trees were an “imminent danger to the neighboring properties.”
“After felling of the trees, contractors removed all the fire-hazard limbs within this area and left the large diameter logs pinned against existing stumps to prevent from any further movement,” said Gerow, explaining the decision to leave the trees was made based on a Ministry of Forests’ list of benefits downed logs provide as they decay. These include: provision of shelter for wildlife, creation of growing sites for plants and fungi, enrichment and stabilizing of soils, contributing to living ecosystems and reducing erosion by wind, rain and melting snow.
Rollins believes the trees to be a fire hazard and a safety risk. The petition’s 106 signatories (each representing one household) concur.
“We understand the importance of preserving our natural environment, but the safety and well-being of our community must take precedence,” reads the petition, which refers to the felled trees as a “significant fire hazard to our homes and the surrounding area.”
Regarding the decision to leave the limbed trees, city administrator Erin Jackson said “it’s best practices, but there is nothing binding the city to that.”
Couns. Louise Wallace Richmond and Sylvia Lindgren asked if there might be something the city could do.
“I think at the very least, the bulk of that should be cleaned up, and there are ways to arrange the logs in the forest that would be a lot more appealing…,” said Lindgren.
Coun. Tim Lavery made a motion to ask staff to look at reasonable options and costing to complete that work.
“I think the worst mistake we can make here is try to solve this given our level of expertise,” said Lavery.
Coun. Kevin Flynn said he would like to see the affected area of trail cleaned up.
“I don’t think it’s safe from a FireSmart point of view,” said Flynn, asking for council’s support of the motion, which was received.
Mayor Alan Harrison urged council to walk the trail and have a look.
“That should be part of our homework so we make an informed decision,” said Harrison.
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