October 17, 2000 - Meeting

City Forester Kelly Fleisner addressed concerns about the loss of the view from Skyline Parkway as trees mature. The meeting was well attended as this is an issue of personal concern to many on Skyline Parkway. Kelly explained that:

• If the trees in question are on City land, then they may be removed:
  1. IF there is no objection from people living near the trees. In many cases the trees blocking the view of people living above Skyline Parkway are providing privacy and noise reduction for people living below the Parkway, creating a conflict in which Kelly tries to reach a compromise, with a tendency to favor no action if agreement cannot be reached.
  2. IF the work is not too dangerous (the ground not too steep and the trees not too large, i.e. no chainsaws required) the neighbors may remove the trees themselves.
  3. Otherwise the neighbors can pay a professional to do the removal.
• If the trees are on private land, the City has little control, but Kelly will help parties to try and reach an agreement.
• The original design of the Parkway did not include an uninterupted view of the Lake, and that is not the City's current objective.
• The priority with the limited resources available is the opening of the major pull-off overviews on the Parkway.
• The upcoming corridor management plan for Skyline Parkway (a State Scenic Byway) should be a major opportunity for Duluthians to define the way they want the Parkway to be.
• Trees are often lost when streets are upgraded, due in part to a lack of coordination between the road and forestry divisions.

An obvious over-riding theme was the lack of funding for the City's Forestry programs. Kelly is responsible for three field foresters and whatever volunteers he can arrange, and has to cover all the parks, including those less wild, the trees on streets, and the trail systems. And yet funding has been repeatedly reduced for City Forestry - Kelly's position used to be two people.