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Presbyterian Homes of Arden Hills Preliminary Landscape Management Plan Page 5 site and in the community in general), and may help maintain the health of other trees in wooded areas by preventing damage from dropping limbs. The optimal time for inspection for diseased elms is mid- to late -June. Anticipating infestations. Green ash, a tree well- suited to many areas of the site, accounts for a fair percentage of the trees in the buffer. Nature has endowed ash with the capacity for the kinds of changes that may occur here with development. There are other concerns for green ash, however. In southern Michigan, an infestation of Emerald Ash Borer has laid waste to tens of thousands of ash trees. Looking forward with the perspective of a landscape management plan, the Emerald Ash Borer has been found in locations proximate to the site, and the possible Toss of ash in the wooded areas of the site (and throughout our urban and natural landscapes). While we would not remove trees in advance of a possible infestation, a planting program would be planned so that new trees are reaching some point of maturity at the same time the green ash might be removed as a result of the Emerald Ash Borer. We are, in effect, planning their replacement. Without a management plan, the only replacement may be another volunteer species —and perhaps one that does not fulfill the goals for the sites' redevelopment Promotion of other vegetation in wooded areas. Some trees may be removed to promote the growth of smaller trees that might be more valuable as a component of the buffer in the long term. For example, removal of buckthorn, selective clearing of other ground layer species, and the removal of some larger trees that have evidence of a health or structural problem might allow for the more vigorous growth of other existing trees found in wooded areas, or for planting new trees that would eventually contribute to the effects of the wooded areas (including higher value trees such as oaks, which occur with limited frequency in the extant condition). With their competition removed from the landscape, oaks might be able to thrive and reproduce in some locations within the remaining wooded areas of the site. b. Maintenance One of the more important management activities for the site will be the performance of regular maintenance. The previous section identified tree removal activities, and while there may be an initial management effort that involves tree or vegetation removal, removal activities will continue. Through entirely natural processes trees will mature, decline, and die; they may be damaged by weather; or they may be impacted by the longer term effects of the redevelopment activities on the site. In any case, trees so affected will have to be removed. Other management practices will involve general pruning of existing or new trees to remove damaged, injured, or otherwise unacceptable limbs, or to promote the vigorous and healthy growth of trees in wooded areas. With the presence of human activity in even limited amounts in wooded areas, pruning will be an important management activity in order to prevent hazards to people. Pruning has not always followed sound arboricultural practices. Too often, a tree succumbs to the effects of poor pruning practices —years after the initial pruning. A good reference for pruning can be found at: