The Village of Fox Point has a 2.8 acre natural area called Indian Creek Woods (ICW). Eighty percent of its trees were ash. This natural area abuts a park, multiple backyards, a village road and has a walking trail going through it. Safety is a main concern, especially with the ash trees beginning to decline from Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). It was obvious the trees needed to be removed before they became dangerous to residents and the workers who would remove them. The removal of all ash and undesirable box elder would result in a major visual change; over 80% of the canopy would be removed. It was vital replanting was part of the effort.
A view of Indian Creek Woods before ash removal.
Bids for the removal of ash and boxelder (approximately 250 trees) were solicited in the fall of 2018. Not only were the trees to be cut down, but the wood was to be removed from the site as well. Three bids were received, with the lowest bidder being selected. The work began in January 2019. It took approximately two weeks for the contractor to finish the work. They used tracked skid-steers with shears for most of the removals, while the largest diameter trees were felled after smaller surrounding trees had been removed. Although most of the woods is on a ridge, the lowest area is quite wet during the summer. By performing the work in the winter, this area froze sufficiently to allow access with the tracked equipment.
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