A pair of trees that have stood sentinel outside the original Flathead County Courthouse for a century are likely in their final days after the county determined the damage and rot in one of the trees makes it a safety hazard.
The Flathead County Commission discussed the issue with county parks Director Jed Fisher during a scheduled hearing earlier in the month. Fisher informed the commission that taking down the trees would likely cause a bit of public outcry, given the special way they frame the courthouse doors.
Fisher noted that he had written to the commission before with concerns about the tree on the west side of the lot, which had been hit by a driver a few years ago and has been dying and rotting ever since.
He said he was particularly worried about how the tree would respond to recent wind episodes, during which the wind whipped up to about 35 mph. There is potential for the tree to fall and damage property or injure someone, he said.
And Fisher also noted the likelihood that both trees would be removed if one goes.
“There’s this long talk about having an aesthetically pleasing look and (symmetry) and both trees being removed,” Fisher said.
At least two tree-focused professionals – one a logger, one a forester – have shown concern for the trees – one reached out to Commissioner Phil Mitchell, and the other from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation wrote a report for the county about the rot in the westerly tree.
Fisher said the problem with both trees is that they’ve been topped for so many years as a form of maintenance that they’re now “very top heavy.” Topping trees is considered the least healthy way to maintain trees, according to the Arbor Day Foundation; it’s the chopping off of branches and the top of the tree, which actually promotes rapid growth of new branches, the foundation said.
With both trees now top heavy, Fisher said they could topple onto the recently refurbished historic courthouse, or the new lawn, or even an unlucky person.
But, given the trees’ high profile placement on the U.S. Highway 93 couplet right in downtown Kalispell, Fisher said he wanted to ease into the process so as not to alarm the public. He said that while it is the county’s job to maintain its property, he wanted to let the public know why the trees were facing removal before going in and chopping them down.
“My guys are very leery of just pulling out there early in the morning and just taking out two established trees,” Fisher told the commission.
Mitchell, who said he has a horticulture degree and is thus a fan of trees, said he understood the necessity for removal, even if he didn’t like the idea of it.
“I want trees,” Mitchell said. “I’m sorry, these are not good trees to keep.”
The commission did not make a decision on the trees during the meeting, and a timeline to determine their future has not yet been set.