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GLT's Grow: Why Trees Have To Go

Coconine National Forest
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Flickr via Creative Commons
I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK ... removing trees might be a tough thing to do, but necessary for a variety of reasons.

There are lots of reasons why we have to cut down trees. Understanding those reasons can help us face the cruelest cut.

  • A main reason why trees are cut down has to do with the health of a tree. An ailing tree can become a hazard as it loses limbs and could possibly topple over on a home, car ... or you.
  • Some trees are cut down to save utility lines. In Illinois, the Illinois Commerce Commission decides what has to go and then compels power companies to remove trees that might knock down utility lines in bad weather. This is why we plant dwarf varieties around utility lines these days.
  • We also cut down trees for fire control. Dead plant materials feed fires. Cutting trees down also create fire breaks.
  • A diseased tree that has an illness that might infect another of its species. Cut the sick ones away to preserve the nearby trees.

GLT's Grow is your source for sage gardening advice and down-to-earth tips. Host Patrick Murphy and co-host Laura Kennedy are ready to take on all your gardening questions, so submit yours today.

WGLT depends on financial support from users to bring you stories and interviews like this one. As someone who values experienced, knowledgeable, and award-winning journalists covering meaningful stories in central Illinois, please consider making a contribution.

Reporter, content producer and former All Things Considered host, Laura Kennedy is a native of the Midwest who occasionally affects an English accent just for the heck of it. Related to two U.S. presidents, Kennedy appalled her family by going into show business.