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“The mission of the Belgrade Tree Committee is to encourage stewardship and appreciation of Belgrade’s trees through education, research, conservation efforts, and public information.” Tree Committee meetings are held at the Town Hall, 5:30 pm, on the third Tuesday of each month. Interested citizens and volunteers are welcome at our meetings. Tree Ordinance
for the Town of Belgrade The Tree Committee believes the Tree Ordinance is a good idea and that the vote of 290 (for) to 449 (against) would have been significantly different if we ourselves had done a better job explaining it to you—the voters—before you reached the polls on June 12. Between now and the next general election in March 2008, we resolve to get more information to you and to explain the benefits of the tree ordinance. First of all, the Tree Ordinance is about trees located on public land. Public land is land owned by the Town of Belgrade. It includes public parks (such as Hayden Park) and rights of way alongside public roads where the public is allowed to drive or walk. That’s it. The ordinance does not propose to regulate your activities related to your own trees and shrubs on your private land. The ordinance recognizes the Town Tree Warden and the Tree Committee. These volunteers make recommendations to the Town Select Board and, with the Select Board’s approval, often perform the actual labor—planting and maintaining trees on public property. They are charged with formulating a Community Tree Plan that includes documenting trees of historic significance so these can be protected. They do research for the town—collect cost and time estimates for work that’s required and present these to the Select Board for its consideration. They identify and ask for state and federal grants (such as the Project Canopy Grant of $2,500 which was spent on community trees in 2006). These activities are already happening in our town. The Tree Ordinance gives the town the authority to require a permit before tree and shrub work can be done on public land. This includes spraying, fertilizing, and pruning of public trees—as well as planting and removing trees on public land. The permits are free. Any citizen may request a permit from the Town Tree Warden at the Town Office. The purpose of this provision is to ensure accountability for the type of work that is performed and the type of materials that are applied. It’s a preservation issue, an aesthetic issue; and it’s a public safety issue. The Tree Ordinance prohibits abuse of publicly owned trees—i.e., cutting, carving, moving, nailing, wiring, roping, or spraying public trees. This is a preservation issue. The Tree Ordinance requires publicly-owned trees be protected during construction. This means the public trees will be guarded by a frame or box so they will not be damaged by equipment or construction debris. This too is a preservation issue. The Tree Ordinance prohibits snuffing out water, air, or sunlight to publicly-owned trees. The Tree Ordinance provides for enforcement, penalties, and for appeals. We members of the Tree Committee believe this limited control is necessary to ensure the preservation of one of our town’s most valuable assets—its trees. The Tree Ordinance will help our town protect the idyllic environment that is the envy of so many who visit us and the source of our own daily enjoyment. If
you have any questions, send us an e-mail. Give us a call. Stop us
when you see us. Come to our meetings. Serve on our committee. If
you have suggestions to improve the Tree Ordinance, please make your
suggestions known. We have a couple of months to make it better. Watch
for more information about the Tree Ordinance; talk to your neighbors,
and vote with us next March! Vacancy on Tree Committee The
Tree Committee is looking for someone to fill a vacant seat on the
The committee is fortunate to have several tree experts among its members, but not all Tree Committee members are experts. Some members simply love trees, want to learn more about them, and don’t mind getting dirty. All members are interested in stewardship of the town’s trees. Tree
Committee Members Ex
Officio Members What have we been doing? During 2006 the Tree Committee sponsored the Kennebec County Master Tree Program. Many committee members attended six classes taught by arborists and botanical professionals. Lecture topics included soils, basic tree biology and identification, tree pruning, insects and diseases, and tree planting. Advanced classes are planned for the future. Watch for details and registration information at this site. In the past year the committee has planted over 40 new trees at Loon Call, Hayden Park, at Belgrade Central School, and in two areas along Main Street. These trees were purchased with a $2,500 grant we obtained from the Maine Forest Service. What do we plan to do in the future? This year the committee will focus on reaching out to the community, explaining our purpose and establishing a valued presence among the citizens of Belgrade. Some may think we should have done this first, before attempting other projects we attempted; but we were—well—green, and we think we have it right now. We think the Tree Ordinance is important for our town, and we think more voters would have agreed if we had provided better information before the June election. We plan to work hard this year to be certain voters know the ordinance is limited to public trees and shrubs on public property and has financial, aesthetic, and public safety benefits for our town. We hope you will read the earlier article posted here and the whole text of the ordinance itself, which we will be certain to post here well before the next town meeting. We plan to reach out to other town committees to build a cooperative working relationship and, hopefully, to positively influence decisions that affect stewardship of the town’s trees. Eventually,
we hope to qualify Belgrade as a Tree City USA. The National Arbor
Day Foundation awards this designation to towns that qualify. Benefits
include national recognition for good tree stewardship, access to
a wealth of free public education, and—all else being equal—a
better standing when competing for state and federal forestry grants.
To read more about Tree City USA, visit How to contact us The Tree Committee welcomes your questions and ideas for future projects. Committee members’ names are available at the Town Office and are published annually in the Town Report. Tree Committee members serve staggered terms expiring in April. You may volunteer to serve on the committee in the future or to participate in any of our projects through a member of the committee or in person at any of our meetings. Tree Committee meetings are held at the Town Hall, 5:30 pm, on the third Tuesday of each month. If you have questions or issues you’d like to discuss or if you just want to find out what we are doing, we welcome you to attend one of our meetings. Photos
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