Woodbine Poplar Trees’ Maintenance Plan Discussed as Part of State-funded Study

WOODBINE – Woodbine Borough Council met Feb. 4. Its major portion was taken up with a discussion of an assessment made under state grant funding of the municipality’s historic poplar trees.
As a result of another in a series of grants the borough has aggressively targeted for a variety of projects to fund, Woodbine received $8,300 in state funds to assess the condition of trees for a two-block stretch in the 500-600 block of Jefferson Street.
This grant allowed for reporting on century-old trees to assess their present health and propose outlines of a management plan to maintain their future health. The majority of these trees are tulip poplars, also known as yellow poplar, with a few maple trees, most likely Norway maples.
The report was prepared by Bernard Sypniewski, a professor at Rowan University, through the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Community Stewardship Inventive Program. “We need to thank early borough residents who came from Europe and planted these trees, now more than 100 years old, around the time of the founding of Woodbine. Their foresight is allowing us to still enjoy such natural beauty through the borough,” said Mayor William Pikolycky.
According to Sypniewski’s report, tulip poplars are the largest hardwood trees on the North American continent and are native to Woodbine. They can be found in the woods throughout the borough growing naturally and can reach a height of 120 feet and a diameter of 5 feet.
They grow about one foot per year and reach weights of 19 tons. “I gathered data about each individual tree after surveying them in the summer of 2014,” said Sypniewski.
“Although tulip trees are considered ‘self-pruning’ this does not occur as rapidly as human pruning and these trees have never been maintained according to any schedule.
“All residents like the trees and appreciate their beauty and shade but they are concerned about falling branches which could cause injury especially to children. Thus, I recommend creating a routine maintenance plan to set up a pruning schedule which will decrease the risk of falling branches or even these very heavy trees toppling over during a storm or heavy wind.”
COAH Continues
Items of ‘Unfinished Business’ included a discussion of the current state of play related to the borough’s COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) requirements.
Borough Solicitor Richard Tonetta said in the on-going judicial review of all state municipalities’ COAH responsiveness, “we met with Judge (Stephen P.) Perskie and we are describing how the borough is meeting its COAH obligations. We expect to have enough credits to do so and so we are awaiting this judicial review.”
Rabies Clinic
“Woodbine continues to protect residents and pets against rabies,” said Mayor William Pikolycky. “Our next rabies clinic is March 5 from 10 a.m. until noon.”
County Regional Trail
Pikolycky said that the county regional trail initiative continues to gather momentum. “We’re having a county regional trail meeting on March 4, we really are hoping our efforts continue to bear fruit since it’s a great idea to support all other conservancy and environmental work.”
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.