Homeowners often wonder about the value of their trees when removals appear necessary or when a tree has suffered damage at the hands of a contractor, neighbor, or storm.

Homeowners often believe that trees in their landscape have economic value for use as lumber or other wood products. The main impediment to selling your landscape trees is the cost of their removal.

Reminders about the dangers of moving firewood and spreading insect infestations and growth of invasives.

Managing hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) can involve use of insecticides. When it does, the non-target impacts (negative effects to other organisms) need to be thoroughly considered
and weighed against the environmental cost of inaction or alternative management approaches. Insecticides applied for HWA management are used for conservation purposes, which may seem counterintuitive. However, hemlocks are a key forest species, and so their loss can result in severe ecological consequences. To justify insecticide use against HWA, we have to ask: What are the possible negative consequences of using insecticides in the forest? We must consider these trade-offs in hemlock management. It is important to remember that there will be trade-offs in any kind of resource management discussion, even if it may not initially seem apparent. The negative environmental consequences of hemlock mortality must be weighed against the known consequences of insecticide use to preserve hemlocks.

Many homeowners believe that the trees in their landscape have significant economic value for use as lumber or other wood products. These trees, whether pine or hardwood, seem to occupy such a large space in the landscape that it’s difficult to imagine they can’t be used to build houses, furniture or put to some other valuable use. Landowners also hope that this value will help offset the cost of the tree’s removal, which can be very expensive.