Removing Hazardous Trees Hits Stumbling Block In Calaveras County
Calaveras County, CA – Calaveras County’s Tree Mortality Program has been moving full steam ahead until now.
County officials share that three removal projects have been completed along the Highway 4 corridor, but as Project 4 in Big Trees Village is underway; they have hit a road block. Although a first round of letters with a Right of Entry (ROE) form already went out to property owners in West Point, Wilseyville, Railroad Flat, Glencoe, Avery and Murphys, few have been returned. To try to get the program back on track, a second letter has been mailed targeting property owners who did not respond to the first mailing along with paper door knob hangers reminding residents to return the form.
The problem, according to county officials, is that without the signed consent, hazardous trees cannot be chopped down. The ROE gives foresters permission to go on properties to identify and mark hazardous trees only. County officials stress that this service is completely free to property owners. They also warn, “If hazard trees fall onto a county road and cause damage to the road or injure someone traveling on the road, property owners could be held liable.”
