Dacian oaks

Most of the willow oaks that line the streets in my neighborhood were planted during the neighborhood's early development. This probably dates the trees to the 1910s-1930s. 

Which came first, the trees or the power lines? Did the electric company or urban foresters foresee the impending conflict between trees and lines a century ago? 

Eventually, as the trees grew, Duke Energy handled the problem by trimming the trees thus: 

Trimmed willow oak on North St. between Monmouth and Dacian

These butchered trees can be seen all over Durham's early near-downtown "suburbs." (A notable exception is Monmouth Avenue, where someone had the foresight to run the power lines through an alley rather than on the street.)

The normal life span of a willow oak is about 100-125 years--less, if they're butchered by the energy company.

A few weeks ago, the City of Durham notified neighbors on a block of Dacian Avenue (which runs parallel to Monmouth, one block north) that all of the old willow oaks on the public right-of-way were coming down. Some neighbors attempted to negotiate less drastic options with the city--for example, selective removal of the weakest trees, rather than all at once--to no avail.

Dacian before tree removal

So the neighbors thanked the trees:

And then the trees came down.

In the photo below, it's startling to see how much the unbutchered tree on the right towers over the power lines.

Remember the Dacian oaks, and go hug a tree today.