PUBLISHED IN ,

Three West Campus Trees To Be Cut Down

Duke will replace three oaks as part of tree-care plan

The decay seen inside this tree caused Facilities to cut down and replace it last winter. Similar decay in three other trees encouraged Facilities to replace the trees on the West Campus quad this week. Photo by Bryan Roth.
The decay seen inside this tree caused Facilities to cut down and replace it last winter. Similar decay in three other trees encouraged Facilities to replace the trees on the West Campus quad this week. Photo by Bryan Roth.
By Bryan Roth

As part of Duke's ongoing work to keep a healthy collection of trees on campus, three 80-year old Willow Oak trees will be removed this week from West Campus quad due to wood decay and loss of roots.

Two trees will be removed from the residential portion of the quad - one in front of the FF entrance to the Few Quad dorm and another by the West Campus office of Residence Life and Housing Services at the Craven Quad. The third tree sits outside the Social Sciences Building.

Read More

Work will take place between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday beginning Tuesday. Depending on weather, work is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 6.

Roger Conner, superintendent for Duke Grounds, said removing the trees comes as a last resort. All three trees will be replaced by new Willow Oak trees that currently stand between 15 and 20 feet tall. The same process was completed last winter on two trees on the West Campus quad.

"We never want to take down trees - especially ones that have been with the campus for so long," Conner said. "These trees are unfortunately suffering from rot and poor root development in their age."

Facilities Management is working with Bartlett Tree Experts, a Raleigh-based tree-care company, to remove the Willow Oak trees, which stand as high as about 100-feet tall. In September 2010, Facilities and Bartlett Tree Experts staff ran decay analysis with sonar of more than 20 trees on West Campus to determine the health of the trees. All three trees being replaced this week were found to be missing roots and were beginning to hollow out due to rot, Conner said. The same kind of analysis will be run on 12 trees on East Campus this week.

As each tree is removed, staff will follow standards set by the International Society of Arboriculture, which include cutting off branches and pieces of the tree in sections and lowering them from the tree. Most pieces of the trees will be sent through a wood chipper, aged and used later for landscaping mulch at Duke. If healthy enough, some wood will also be donated to organizations that provide wood to local families who use it as fuel to heat their home.

Work areas will be marked, so members of the Duke community and visitors will be aware of when and where work is going on. Staff will remove one tree at a time.