Hi folks! Friends of Pulaski Park has been in contact with Pan Am railroad since our last blog entry, and they have been nothing but helpful and willing to cooperate with our river view clearing project. They are investigating one way to go for the view clearing. Once they've completed their due diligence, we'll know more about how this work can proceed, who will be responsible for what, and who's going to pay for the work. These things, as I'm sure you know, take time.
I toured the park with an environmental consultant, and he tells us that there are large specimens and vast quantities of invasive species on Pan Am's property, species such as Honeysuckle, Norway Maple, Black Locust, and Asiatic Bittersweet. Why do we care? Two reasons: One, according to this consultant, environmental regulations encourage Invasive Species Removal because they choke off native tree species and other native species. Some of these trees, however, are 40 feet tall, so I'm not sure how they get taken out. The environmental consultant said erosion control is managed by replanting an area with low-growing native species. Two, the vine-type invasive species, especially bittersweet and honeysuckle, will eventually choke off and kill trees, which would then create a dangerous situation for the railroad.
There is also an environmentally allowable view clearing option called "Vista Pruning." Vista Pruning allows 10% of a canopy to be strategically thinned to open up a view.
Bear in mind that even though the two types of clearing outlined above are ALLOWABLE, we would still need to seek an ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT from the city, the state, or the feds, depending. More time, more money.
Wish us luck, and if you'd like to help down the road, please sign in on our 'Support Pulaski Park' page.
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