The Voluntary De-forestation of T-Town

I was happy to hear that AEP/PSO listened to the concerns of Tulsa homeowners and have modified their tree trimming practices and those of their contractors.

Maybe just coincidently, I have noticed a disturbing trend in my mid-town neighborhood of voluntary de-forestation. By that I mean, homeowners are cutting down mature trees at an alarming rate.

We longed to move into our present neighborhood for years, but housing prices were too high for us then. Along came the oil bust of the mid-80's and corresponding decline in housing prices in Tulsa. Then came our chance. We loved the central Tulsa location. Convenient to just about everything, and still is! We loved the style of houses and how neatly the yards were kept. But we especially loved the canopy of mature shade trees, no doubt planted so carefully by former homeowners. You see, you plant a tree as an investment in the future. You know someday, someone or something will enjoy the shade, the beauty, the fruit, the leaves, etc. I love Joyce Kilmer's poem about trees.

I can remember driving to work in the mid-70's down 21st Street and admiring the beauty of those trees lining both sides of the street. Trees add so much to the esthetic beauty of any place.

I have included some pictures of trees that have been cut down recently. These are the ones that are just a block or two away from my home and on my walking trail. They are being cut down at an alarming rate. All of these in the last year. Some in the last few weeks.

The last picture is a tree that I had to have cut down. It was severely trimmed by PSO a few years back. This set the tree up for borers and it slowly died. I hired a contractor to cut it down as it was between two houses and close to the power lines. PSO would not cut it down.

All the rest of the pictures were of trees not previously trimmed or in power line easements. Our neighborhood is starting to turn over with lots of new people. I guess they don't love the mature trees as I do. At least two of them turned the tree into a form of art.....

Does anyone else know of this voluntary de-forestation going on in Tulsa?