The Implementation of a Tree Maintenance Program Has Made a Difference
We Have Come So Far in a Few Years:
From 2005 to 2010, Southampton's Shade Tree Commission was relatively in-active. This created a lack of oversight and care for our trees. Meetings were sparse. Continuing, tree education was non-existent. Trees were planted in the wrong place. Disease and harmful insects, including the Gypsy Moths, were killing trees. A program to identify hazardous trees did not exist. Southampton was no longer a Tree City USA community. A record showing the number of trees being removed and pruned was non-existent. The Department of Public Works (DPW) didn’t have adequate equipment to perform tree maintenance and relied on outside contractors when a tree would become an imminent danger. As tree failures were increasing; power and phone outages along with road closures were increasing. The watering truck failed and was not repaired. There was no opportunity for residents to make a difference in the community by planting trees.
In 2011, meetings were scheduled. During the first few meetings, Southampton's Shade Tree Commission developed a response and were committed to meeting regularly. The hundreds of dead trees that existed due to the Gypsy Moth disaster were discussed at the first few meetings in 2011. Outages that were plaguing the community were also discussed. Southampton is the only municipality with three electric companies. The Commission confirmed that Southampton was at the end of the grids and had fewer customers compared to other towns. As a result, they were told Southampton would receive lower priority during restoration. Since they couldn’t change that, they believed mitigation was key to preventing outages.
Members of Southampton's Shade Tree Commission identified hazardous trees and created a list. They then looked at who was responsible for maintaining them. Members of the Commission met with representatives from Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power and Light, Public Service Electric and Gas, Verizon, Burlington County Highway Department, 8th Legislative District Office, DPW, and the State Department of Transportation. Quite a few situations have been addressed and work continues to remove additional hazards.
The Commission worked with a Certified Tree Expert to create the municipality’s first Community Forestry Management Plan. In 2013, they submitted a grant proposal and the N.J. D.E.P. awarded Southampton a grant of $20,000.00. The funds were used to procure a bucket truck so that DPW could conduct hazardous tree removal and trimming in Southampton’s Right-of-Ways and on municipal property. The municipality having their own bucket truck has resulted in a faster turnaround time in completing the tree work and reduced costs.
Since 2011, 1,311 trees have been removed by the DPW and utilities. It is estimated that 18,220 were pruned. Removing trees is a last resort and Southampton's Shade Tree Commission has strict guidelines in place before causing their removal. Most of the trees were removed because they were dead, diseased, or insect infested. In a few instances, trees were removed from underneath the powerlines in heavily wooded areas with thick underbrush to provide for restoration accessibility and to prevent wildfires. They were also removed if they presented line of sight issues or dangerous structural defects.
These mitigation and resiliency efforts have proven successful. During the June 2015 bow-echo, Southampton was the only municipality along and south of the Route 70 corridor in Burlington County with large pockets of customers with power and few road closures. During Superstorm Sandy, even though there was a multi-day outage in JCP&L's service territory, there was only one tree that had come down in JCP&L's Southampton territory.
After Superstorm Sandy:
The one tree that came down during Superstorm Sandy in JCP&L's Southampton Township service territory came down on the power-lines that were on Old Forge Road. Old Forge Road is basically a closed off trail in LeisureTowne. The trail and powerlines running down the trail were inaccessible due to an overgrowth of trees and other vegetation and resulted in an extended restoration for JCP&L customers. Temporary tree work took place to allow JCP&L to access the downed wires and restore power. In the aftermath of Sandy, the Commission collaborated with the Department of Public Works, LeisureTowne, and Jersey Central Power and Light and had the trail cleared to make the trail and powerlines running down the trail accessible. In addition, several hazard trees were removed.
During Superstorm Sandy, PSE&G's powerlines serving Hampton Lakes and LeisureTowne came down due to tree damage. The powerlines serving these communities ran in-between New Road and Hampton Lakes, through the woods with thick brush. This made the damage location inaccessible by vehicle. A specialized rope climbing crew had to be called in to restore electric service to Hampton Lakes and LeisureTowne during Sandy. Restoration times were extended due to the wait for the specialized crew. After the Commission received word of this problem, they worked with officials from PSE&G make improvements. However, PSE&G did not have funding to move the powerlines after Superstorm Sandy. Therefore, the Commission worked with their forestry team to temporarily clear the area directly underneath the powerlines so that it was accessible to emergency vehicles. This year, thanks to their efforts to put this on PSE&G’s management radar, PSE&G used acquired funding to move their powerlines along Route 70. This will make electric restoration easier, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance safety.
In both of these cases, the vegetation underneath the powerlines was also cleared to prevent a wildfire from developing in the event of a downed wire. Emergency shut off devices sometimes fail, causing electricity to still flow through the downed wire, creating sparks. Additionally, an improperly wired generator or solar panel could back feed the wires creating a spark. A wildfire in this area can not only damage homes and threaten property, but it can also significantly endanger the wildlife, more so than removing the vegetation directly underneath the wires.
Of Significance:
The Commission has been working with Atlantic City Electric to move up their vegetation management to early 2016. In addition, Southampton's Shade Tree Commission has learned that PSE&G will be trimming their entire Southampton service territory.
From 2005 to 2010, Southampton's Shade Tree Commission was relatively in-active. This created a lack of oversight and care for our trees. Meetings were sparse. Continuing, tree education was non-existent. Trees were planted in the wrong place. Disease and harmful insects, including the Gypsy Moths, were killing trees. A program to identify hazardous trees did not exist. Southampton was no longer a Tree City USA community. A record showing the number of trees being removed and pruned was non-existent. The Department of Public Works (DPW) didn’t have adequate equipment to perform tree maintenance and relied on outside contractors when a tree would become an imminent danger. As tree failures were increasing; power and phone outages along with road closures were increasing. The watering truck failed and was not repaired. There was no opportunity for residents to make a difference in the community by planting trees.
In 2011, meetings were scheduled. During the first few meetings, Southampton's Shade Tree Commission developed a response and were committed to meeting regularly. The hundreds of dead trees that existed due to the Gypsy Moth disaster were discussed at the first few meetings in 2011. Outages that were plaguing the community were also discussed. Southampton is the only municipality with three electric companies. The Commission confirmed that Southampton was at the end of the grids and had fewer customers compared to other towns. As a result, they were told Southampton would receive lower priority during restoration. Since they couldn’t change that, they believed mitigation was key to preventing outages.
Members of Southampton's Shade Tree Commission identified hazardous trees and created a list. They then looked at who was responsible for maintaining them. Members of the Commission met with representatives from Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power and Light, Public Service Electric and Gas, Verizon, Burlington County Highway Department, 8th Legislative District Office, DPW, and the State Department of Transportation. Quite a few situations have been addressed and work continues to remove additional hazards.
The Commission worked with a Certified Tree Expert to create the municipality’s first Community Forestry Management Plan. In 2013, they submitted a grant proposal and the N.J. D.E.P. awarded Southampton a grant of $20,000.00. The funds were used to procure a bucket truck so that DPW could conduct hazardous tree removal and trimming in Southampton’s Right-of-Ways and on municipal property. The municipality having their own bucket truck has resulted in a faster turnaround time in completing the tree work and reduced costs.
Since 2011, 1,311 trees have been removed by the DPW and utilities. It is estimated that 18,220 were pruned. Removing trees is a last resort and Southampton's Shade Tree Commission has strict guidelines in place before causing their removal. Most of the trees were removed because they were dead, diseased, or insect infested. In a few instances, trees were removed from underneath the powerlines in heavily wooded areas with thick underbrush to provide for restoration accessibility and to prevent wildfires. They were also removed if they presented line of sight issues or dangerous structural defects.
These mitigation and resiliency efforts have proven successful. During the June 2015 bow-echo, Southampton was the only municipality along and south of the Route 70 corridor in Burlington County with large pockets of customers with power and few road closures. During Superstorm Sandy, even though there was a multi-day outage in JCP&L's service territory, there was only one tree that had come down in JCP&L's Southampton territory.
After Superstorm Sandy:
The one tree that came down during Superstorm Sandy in JCP&L's Southampton Township service territory came down on the power-lines that were on Old Forge Road. Old Forge Road is basically a closed off trail in LeisureTowne. The trail and powerlines running down the trail were inaccessible due to an overgrowth of trees and other vegetation and resulted in an extended restoration for JCP&L customers. Temporary tree work took place to allow JCP&L to access the downed wires and restore power. In the aftermath of Sandy, the Commission collaborated with the Department of Public Works, LeisureTowne, and Jersey Central Power and Light and had the trail cleared to make the trail and powerlines running down the trail accessible. In addition, several hazard trees were removed.
During Superstorm Sandy, PSE&G's powerlines serving Hampton Lakes and LeisureTowne came down due to tree damage. The powerlines serving these communities ran in-between New Road and Hampton Lakes, through the woods with thick brush. This made the damage location inaccessible by vehicle. A specialized rope climbing crew had to be called in to restore electric service to Hampton Lakes and LeisureTowne during Sandy. Restoration times were extended due to the wait for the specialized crew. After the Commission received word of this problem, they worked with officials from PSE&G make improvements. However, PSE&G did not have funding to move the powerlines after Superstorm Sandy. Therefore, the Commission worked with their forestry team to temporarily clear the area directly underneath the powerlines so that it was accessible to emergency vehicles. This year, thanks to their efforts to put this on PSE&G’s management radar, PSE&G used acquired funding to move their powerlines along Route 70. This will make electric restoration easier, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance safety.
In both of these cases, the vegetation underneath the powerlines was also cleared to prevent a wildfire from developing in the event of a downed wire. Emergency shut off devices sometimes fail, causing electricity to still flow through the downed wire, creating sparks. Additionally, an improperly wired generator or solar panel could back feed the wires creating a spark. A wildfire in this area can not only damage homes and threaten property, but it can also significantly endanger the wildlife, more so than removing the vegetation directly underneath the wires.
Of Significance:
The Commission has been working with Atlantic City Electric to move up their vegetation management to early 2016. In addition, Southampton's Shade Tree Commission has learned that PSE&G will be trimming their entire Southampton service territory.
The Commission caused this tree to be removed on Buddtown Road in 2015. The tree had developed a shear crack from a weak branch union.