Tree Topping in West Virginia
From West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia
In West Virginia, tree-topping -- the practice of severely cutting trees -- is particularly problematic, despite the prevelance of forest. Thousands of dollars in property damage are caused by topped trees in West Virginia every year, and countless thousands have been lost in property value (http://dnr.state.il.us/conservation/forestry/Urban/Treetopping.htm) after trees have been cut to stubs.
Tree Topping Law in West Virginia
Because no West Virginia laws exist regarding tree-topping, many West Virginia tree-trimming companies routinely encourage property owners to top trees. Because topping can cause trees to die and, in any case, produce weakly attached branches, more likely to fall, and as this is the opposite result of what land-owner's expect, tree-trimming companies in West Virginia may often act fraudulently (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud) when they perform topping.
The trimmer, knowlingly or unknowingly, benefits from returning every several years to recut the tree. According to the article Five Reasons to Stop Topping (http://www.plantamnesty.org/stoptopping/5reasonstostoptopping.htm), published by Plant Amnesty:
"A topped tree must be done and re-done every few years and eventually must be removed when it dies or the owner gives up. Each time a branch is cut, numerous long, skinny young shoots (called suckers or watersprouts) grow rapidly back to replace it. They must be cut and recut, but they always regrow the next year, making the job exponentially more difficult."
Some U.S. tree trimming companies have been successfully sued for decieving landowners regarding the result of topping, though in most cases trimmers likely don't understand correct methods of trimming. Tree trimming companies in West Virginia have been publicly denounced in the media for their actions, but have appealed that the property owner had requested trees be topped.
Many landowners incorrectly think topping will increase their property values. According to an article, What's Bad About Tree Topping (http://dnr.state.il.us/conservation/forestry/Urban/Treetopping.htm), published by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, "Topped trees lack natural beauty and may reduce your property values. Also, a topped tree can become hazardous and cause property damage, making it a liability."
Negligence lawsuits and a steep drop in property value are among the costs of topping, the Urban Tree Foundation (http://www.urbantree.org/topping.asp) concurs. Property owners have often found themselves ingrained in lawsuits caused by their topped trees:
"One (hidden cost of topping) is the reduction in property value. Healthy, well maintained trees can add 10-20 percent to the value of a property. Disfigured, topped trees are considered an impending expense. Another potential cost of topped trees is the potential liability... Since topping is considered to be an unacceptable pruning practice, any damage caused by branch failure of a topped tree may lead to a finding of negligence in a court of law."
Tree Topping as a Cultural Curiosity
Because West Virginia includes some of the largest regions of unbroken forest in the Eastern U.S., one might assume that its people would understand the way of growth of trees. But more than half of West Virginia's population has been relocated here less than a century and resides largely in urban and suburban centers and areas industrialized by coal mining. Its members have had little interaction with un-topped trees. Over several generations, their familiarity with the natural landscape has all-but-dissappeared.
As in many other states, power-company tree-trimmers began to take odd-jobs trimming residential properties in West Virginia in the mid-1900s. These trimmers understood little about tree growth, but trimmed as they had been trained, cutting branches arbitrarilly.
"Topping is believed to have started as a method of clearing utility lines. This practice was perceived by some as an appropriate way to reduce a tree’s height," according to the article Tree Topping, or How to Create at Disaster (http://www.co.st-lawrence.ny.us/Cooperative_Extension/forestry/TREE_TOPPING.html), published by the Saint Lawrence County, NY, Community Forestry Program.
By the late 1900s incorrect practices had virtually ruined whole suburban neighborhoods in America, including many in West Virginia. Great deciduous trees, which had once shaded lawns and homes from summer heat, had died and fallen. Many trees that have survived have been hacked into unnatural and dangerous forms and will soon fall.
Improper tree care also negatively effects West Virginia's tourism industry. Because topped trees are unattractive, tourists find heavily topped communities unattractive and avoid visiting them. As a result, some towns located in tourist-industry regions cannot draw as many visitors as their better-tended counterparts.
Stop Topping: Take Action
Several communities, particularly in northern West Virginia, have taken steps to manage tree-topping. Some have enacted tree-care ordinances that apply to public property. The following West Virginia towns were listed as participants in the "Tree City USA" program at the National Arbor Day Foundation Web site in May 2007: Bath, WV, Ceredo, WV, Charles Town, WV, Follansbee, WV, Hinton, WV, Lewisburg, WV, Moorefield, WV, Morgantown, WV, Parkersburg, WV, Petersburg, WV, Ronceverte, WV, Shepherdstown, WV, Williamstown, WV.
Consider employing a tree-trimmer who is a certifield arborist, trained in the proper management of trees. The International Society of Arboriculture (http://www.isa-arbor.com/home.aspx) can provide a list of certified arborists operating in West Virginia.
Though there is currently no state effort aimed at curtailing tree topping in West Virginia, several community programs are being developed to focus attention on the program statewide as a matter of safety.
External Links:
NAF Tree Topping (http://www.arborday.org/trees/NineNum1.cfm)
National Arbor Day Foundation (http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm)
Plant Amnesty: Five Reasons to Stop Topping (http://www.plantamnesty.org/stoptopping/5reasonstostoptopping.htm)
Illinois DNR: What's Bad About Tree Topping (http://dnr.state.il.us/conservation/forestry/Urban/Treetopping.htm)
St. Lawrence Co., NY: Tree Topping or How to Create at Disaster (http://www.co.st-lawrence.ny.us/Cooperative_Extension/forestry/TREE_TOPPING.html)
