Green Jersey

Residents lobby for trees

Above: A tree grows in Morris County. Photo by the author

Have utility companies been cutting down too many trees lately?

The Board of Public Utilities, responding to complaints, is revisiting its vegetation-management policy, according to a story in today’s Star-Ledger:

The board directed a team of BPU engineers, experts and attorneys to review a slew of complaints from municipal officials and residents about a significant increase in tree removal around electric lines and towers. The team was told to report back to the board in three months with recommendations.

The BPU had revised its policy in 2006 after a series of rolling blackouts affected New Jersey in 2003 and 2004, but many people say the new rules go too far.

When utility crews began clear-cutting swaths of trees around power lines last spring, many people around the state were shocked. In Upper Saddle River, trees around transmission lines were cut down to the stump. In Readington Township, officials said rows of 150-year-old trees were wiped clean.

When crews planned to spray herbicides to keep vegetation from coming back, Upper Saddle River residents got organized.

“I went all over the place,” said resident Joe Dobias, who hit churches and schools to collect 900 signatures in the five days before the BPU deadline for public comment.

Bridgewater resident Parvin Khan, who lost the majority of trees in her backyard, did the same. A tenacious organizer, Khan knocked on doors, called local environmental groups and nudged Mayor Patricia Flannery and state officials into action.