Reno Crews Start tree removal project in Virginia Lake Park

This week, the city of Reno started a project for removal and maintenance of tree in Virginia Lake Park. In the next few months, urban foresters will take 19 Siberian elm trees and cut over 50 others.

“Our main interest is the security of the public … to ensure that you are sure by removing dead wood or lazy pieces of wood that could fall under the strongly used pedestrian path,” said Matt Basile, Urban Forester with the city of Reno. “Unfortunately, some of the trees that need to be removed must be in very poor condition and the trimming is simply not an option at this time.”

According to Basile, the trees that remove the trees were probably planted in the early 1930s when they built the lake because the trees had an average life expectancy of 100 years.

“They all reach the end of their usable life in the landscape at that time.”

The closure of the subway and the hiking trail around the lake lasts from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. while the crews work.

At the end of April, Reno Foresters planned a special event at Arbor Day on the park's playground

We plan to plant 25 new trees, and then we are working on some financing options to repair some of the existing irrigation systems around the lake. That would enable us to plant many of the trees that we lose at that time. “

According to Basile, the crews should complete the project by the end of June, but they want to do it earlier.