Tree Damage

All pictures taken on

December 10, 2011

My tree after the flail mower on December 9, 2011.

The tree was planted over 50 years ago; it is too close to the easement but it stands at the top of a slope.

If limbs extending into the ditch is the problem, why was so much taken above the slope? The topmost fragment that

was flailed is at least 8 feet above the hill.

The bottom of the ditch is at least 6 feet below the hill. So the height of the topmost part that was cut is around 15 feet

above the road bed.

The tree is also about 25 feet from the driveway and entry point for a farmer’s field to the North.

Before AfterApril 2009 December 2011

A few miles away on someone else’s roadside property, I spotted this devastation.

The owner says pheasants have used these trees for roosting.

Here are my questions:

• Why can’t there be a distinction between landscape trees and obstructive brush?

• Why can’t there be a discussion of flail mowing policies? Where is the chance for public input?

• Is it fair that one person in the county make these decisions and also refuses to resolve them?

• If road safety is the issue, why can’t homeowners be notified to resolve it within X days and save the county the expense? Ameren manages to give fair warning.

• Since two officials said they would have left the tree alone, why can’t I be compensated for the professional arborist I hired to save my tree?