Friday, May 10, 2013
County Executive Ike Leggett helped plant a yellowwood tree at the Bethesda Library on Arbor Day, April 26, 2013.
To show support of Montgomery County's proposed Trees and Tree Canopy Conservation Law (Bill 35-12), County Executive Isiah Leggett stopped by the Bethesda Library at 7400 Arlington Rd. on Arbor Day (April 26, 2013) to help plant a yellowwood tree. In remarks before the tree planting, Leggett said, "Montgomery County has a lot of trees—and I would like to keep it that way." "Although trees cover over half of our county, our urban tree canopy is now being endangered by new development patterns that are redeveloping our older, urban areas. My Bill 35-12 proposes creation of a dedicated tree replacement fund to replace tree canopy that is significantly disturbed during development. This legislation is a balanced, commonsense approach to …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The 2-to-4-foot free trees will be delivered directly to recipients' properties.
Just in time for Arbor Day (on April 26), Pepco is giving away 2,000 free trees to customers in Maryland and Washington, DC. Households may reserve up to two trees each at www.arborday.org/pepco, and the program will continue until all 2,000 trees have been reserved. Reserving a tree is easy—simply enter in your address at www.arborday.org/pepco, and you'll be guided via an interactive map tool to select the types of trees that will work well for your property, and the locations for those trees. The 2-to-4-foot trees will then be delivered to your property at an appropriate planting time. In exchange for the free trees, tree recipients are expected to care for the trees and plant them in the location chosen in the interactive map tool. …
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The Montgomery County Executive wrote an op-ed for The Gazette, hoping to garner support for a bill to fund the replacement of trees lost to development.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett took to The Gazette last Wednesday, writing an op-ed seeking support for his proposed Tree Canopy Conservation bill. Leggett (D) wrote: The good news is that trees cover more than half of the county. So why do we need this bill? The reason is that our urban tree canopy is now being endangered by new development patterns. As the land available for new development in our county grows scarce, we increasingly redevelop our older, urban areas. While this revitalizes aging communities, provides new homes, creates infrastructure close to existing employment centers and transportation networks and creates jobs vital to the county’s economy, it also affects our tree canopy. We must act now to protect and …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Montgomery County Council Tuesday introduced a bill designed to protect street trees.
Montgomery County Council on Tuesday introduced a bill looking to protect the county's tree-lined streets. The roadside trees protection bill (No. 41-12) "would require certain applicants to obtain a permit for certain roadside tree activities" and "would authorize the Department of Transportation to create a tree replacement fund to pay for needed roadside trees," according to a memo—addressed to the council by legislative attorneys Michael Faden and Amanda Mihill—introducing the bill. The bill would "implement a 2009 state law ... [giving] counties the authority to supplement state laws governing roadside trees," the memo continued. The bill concerns most roadside trees in county rights of way. The bill would require one to obtain a …
Monday, July 2, 2012
What you need to know about tree removal on your property following Friday's derecho storm.
Transportation officials are continuing to remove trees from county roads following Friday’s violent storms, and homeowners are flooding the county’s information line with calls about downed trees on their property. When it comes to downed trees near your home, be sure to check who owns the property before calling a tree removal company—it may not be your problem. “If the tree was growing on private property and fell over, it’s the responsibility of the private homeowner,” said Esther Bowring, a county spokeswoman. “If it’s a tree growing on publicly owned property, whatever entity owns that property has the responsibility.” Residents can report downed trees by calling 311 or visiting montgomerycountymd.gov/311. But with the county’s 311 …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Residents up in arms about plan to remove trees in Bethesda utility easement.
Bethesda residents say Pepco plans to cut nearly 80 trees in an easement near Pooks Hill Road, and they say they're ready to fight. Local officials are fielding a barrage of constituent complaints that the utility is cutting or trimming trees too aggressively, Council President Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) said. “I don’t want to get in the way of reliability, but I’m not looking for Paul Bunyan to come to town either,” Berliner said. “We’re trying to find a middle ground between Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed.” Pepco spokesman Bob Hainey confirmed the utility is managing vegetation in the easement, including removals, pruning and re-planting. But he wouldn’t confirm the number of trees being removed. “The scope of the vegetation management…
Mark Risk
12:45 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Payment into such a fund should be by DEVELOPERS only, not by private citizens who may fall victim to the aggressive MONTCO Tree Nazis and their permits. more ›