The town of Paonia has identified several beautiful and healthy trees on Box Elder Drive for removal in August 2020. Yes - it's true that the root systems are impacting the existing sidewalks and yet, it's not true that removing them is the only solution. These trees provide shade, beauty, and value .... and $$ cannot replace an ancient tree.
Location: 324 Box Elder, 329 Box Elder, 338 Box Elder, 318 3rd St and 509 3rd Street
Proposed solution: Replace sidewalks with steel reinforced concrete. Instead of making the homeowners pay for this work, we propose this be a community effort because we all benefit from these beautiful trees in one way or another.
Please sign this petition to support the effort to SAVE these trees, and let us know if you are willing and able to contribute money, materials, or labor to the sidewalk effort (greghottinger@gmail.com) The trees thank you!
--> In the meantime, the town needs to plant the trees that will ultimately replace these big beauties!
Speaking of big beauties, the tree in the picture was an amazing elm taken down for the sidewalk reason in 2019 on Onarga (measured 18"3' inches in circumference!) We didn't act quickly enough so let's learn from that loss and work to set tree policies that help us navigate the many challenges ahead.
