All of the trees at 3 Friends Dog Park will have to come down.
That’s according to a report by Mitch Michaud, a local forester, that was presented by Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen to the Soldotna City Council during their March 10 meeting.
That report paints a grim picture for the future of the trees currently at the park, which is home to about 1.3 acres of forested vegetation. The existing grove, Michaud wrote in his report, is “almost completely dead,” and the trees that aren’t already infected will be attacked by beetles in the spring. Even trees with green pines, Michaud wrote, are not indicative of an absence of the beetles, but rather are harvesting beetle larvae.
The progression of beetle infection, Michaud wrote, can be seen in the color of the needles, which will either be green, red or brown. When needles are green, active beetle activity is happening under the bark. Red needles indicate that beetle activity has stopped but mortality decline is beginning. The brown needle phase is when needles fall and some branches may break off.
“During post needle drop the trees continue [to shed] remaining needles, and fine branches,” Michaud wrote. “Wind, snow and ice and birds and small mammals cause a slow top-down decline of the tree.” Other threats the trees face include increased vulnerability to wind due to decay.
The city applied for a federal grant offered by FEMA for hazard mitigation, through which they hoped to get funding to mitigate the fire hazard created by the spruce bark beetles. The city is eligible for about $300,000 in funding, but they learned earlier this month that they won’t have access to the money for another 12 to 18 months. The city will also have to provide additional documentation.
In the meantime, the trees continue to die. 3 Friends Dog Park, which the city identified in their grant application, “poses unique challenges” because of how close it is to surrounding buildings and because a large number of people and dogs access it on a regular basis. As a result, the city plans to move forward with the removal of trees that pose the highest risk, which include ones suffering from interior rot that put them at a higher risk of falling and those next to the Marydale Manor apartment buildings.
That is still just a temporary fix. Eventually, all of the trees will need to be removed, which the city is planning to do next year either through its budget or using the FEMA funds when they become available.
Queen said that they realize this will be a dramatic change for the community and so the city plans to work closely with people who frequent the park as they plan for its future. At the same time they begin the process of removing the trees, Queen said, they’re planning to present a revegetation plan concurrently.
“The bottom line is that all of those trees are dead and essentially it will be a clear cut of the entire property,” Queen said during the March 10 council meeting.
Cathy Dawn, who brought her dog Fynn to play at 3 Friends Dog Park on Tuesday, said that the park is well-loved by the community and that she’s glad to hear that the city plans to engage the community in planning for its future. While Dawn chatted with other dog owners at the park, Fynn ran through the grove of trees, almost all of which were flagged with neon tape.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
