10th Street trees in Colusa coming down

The first of five elm trees marked for removal along 10th Street in Colusa started to come down Wednesday morning — and the work was scheduled to be done Friday.

Traffic on 10th Street, which is part of Highway 20 and therefore falls under the state's jurisdiction, was limited to one lane during the work.

The trees were declared to be a risk last March and were earmarked for removal.

Twenty trees were looked at, and originally 12 trees were on the removal list, officials said. However, after an expert studied the situation, that list was pared to five.

The state will not be replacing the trees.

There has been mixed reaction to the decision to cut the trees down.

Some people in Colusa, which is well-known for its tree-lined streets and in fact has a Tree City USA Designation through the Arbor Day Foundation, believe cutting down the trees was not necessary.

Others, however, think that if they are a danger to nearby homes, pedestrians and passing motorists, they should be removed.

Still others believe removing the trees is an unfortunate result of poor care given the trees over time, and that a better management plan needs to be developed.

The first step toward that might be a Colusa County Garden Club meeting scheduled for March 25.

University of California, Davis, arborist Warren Roberts will be surveying trees in the city parks and along some of the streets.

He will discuss his findings at the meeting, which is set for 6:30 p.m. at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church at Fifth and Webster streets in Colusa.

Caltrans also has been busy pruning trees along Market Street, including one near the county library that was causing issues with the American flag.

That issue was brought before the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, and the work was done the same afternoon.

According to county officials, Caltrans agreed to take care of that project ahead of the day’s scheduled maintenance program along Market.