Close to 200 trees have been identified for removal at Salmon Arm's Pileated Woods Park.
In June 2024, city staff confirmed the Pileated Woods trail system, located east of 5th Street SE between Auto Road and Old Auto Road, was on their radar. The needles of many trees in the park had turned reddish brown, a sign of disease and/or environmental stressors.
"The City is aware of the trees within pileated woods and are actively trying to gather information and facts to which an educated decision can be made on a proper management strategy," said city roads and parks manager Darin Gerow.
On the Aug. 26 council meeting agenda is a report from Gerow about the situation at the park and work done to date to address concerns there.
In June, city staff engaged a group of community professionals to help make informed decisions on tree management in the park. The group included members of the Shuswap Trail Alliance, city staff, entomologists, registered foresters and tree professionals.
It was determined tree degradation within the park was most likely the result of a wood boring beetle.
In mid-August, the city had a hazard tree inventory and management plan done by Bartlett Tree Experts. The inventory involved identifying tree health and condition and recommending risk evaluations and removals of appropriate trees.
Through the inventory process, 208 trees of six different species were found to have "defects or concerns," and it was recommended 178 of those trees be removed "due to condition or because (of) their location in relation to other trees to prevent competition or damage to infrastructure."
With this information, the Pileated Woods trail system was closed to the public on Aug. 16.
City staff plan to meet again with the community professionals to determine a course of action, "prioritizing work to mitigate the imminent dangers, along with an estimated cost for the work." Subsequent to that, a staff report with a preferred course of action will be brought to council, and will be reviewed by the Salmon Arm Fire Department to "ensure our activities will ensure fire safety."
It was noted the city currently has $42,000 budgeted for danger tree removal, with $5,000 of that already committed.
In June, the Observer heard from Shuswap resident Nicole Jeans Williams, a former forest health consultant and wood product pest management specialist, who said the recent tree mortality in Pileated Woods appeared to be the result of both Douglas-fir and wood boring beetles such as buprestid and cerambycid beetles.
"These large wood-boring species are not typically primary tree killers, but due to recent drought and stress conditions this phenomenon is being seen more frequently on fir (also ponderosa) throughout Southern B.C. and as far as the south western U.S., usually on dry slopes or on edges of openings or ROWs, and at low elevations," explained Williams via email. "Douglas-fir beetle continues to cause spotty mortality on the slopes of Mount Ida and South Canoe. Wood borer mortality can often be distinguished from DFB by large scale bark removal by woodpeckers because the wood borer larvae are quite large and juicy.”
