Wilted, brown needles on the ends of branches are associated with pitch canker disease at Gill Tract, Albany

Diseased and Hazardous Tree Removal
UC Berkeley Gill Tract, Albany

On Jan. 28, 2008, crews are scheduled to begin removing a stand of diseased and hazardous Monterey Pines located at the northeast corner of UC Berkeley's Gill Tract property in Albany, at the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Buchanan Street. After careful evaluation, the campus has determined that the trees need to be removed to ensure public safety. Many of the trees are at significant risk of falling onto public sidewalks and streets, with winter storms compounding the potential danger.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and why was this stand of pines planted at Gill Tract?
These Monterey Pines were planted by researchers in 1963 to study tree genetics. Because the trees were planted as a research crop, they were positioned in an unnaturally dense formation. This resulted in significantly tall trees with relatively weak, narrow trunks.

Almost all of these trees have since become infected with pitch canker, a disease first recognized in California in 1986.

What is pitch canker?
Pitch canker is a fungal disease that causes individual pine branches to die, leads to a general decline in tree health and in most cases, premature death. The disease mainly affects pine trees in central coastal areas of California.

The earliest symptoms of pitch canker usually are dead branch tips in the upper part of the tree canopy. Needles on the ends of these branches are either wilted, red, brown or absent, and the infected branch usually exudes resin. A more advanced symptom of the disease is the appearance of resinous cankers on the main stem and larger branches of the tree that discharge pitch. After these stem cankers appear, the top of the weakened tree may be killed by bark beetles and the entire tree typically dies. To date, there is no effective treatment of pitch canker disease.

Photos of trees infected by pitch canker at Gill Tract in Albany can be seen at http://nature.berkeley.edu/site/pitchcanker.

Why do pines with pitch canker need to be removed?
Addressing a public safety hazard is the reason for removal of the Monterey Pine trees at the Gill Tract. Dead trees are a hazard. Trees with large dead limbs, dead tops and trunk cankers also present a serious safety risk because dead material can break and fall from the tree, or the tree itself could fall. Many of the diseased trees at the Gill Tract are at risk of falling on public streets and sidewalks.

Diseased trees may also contribute to the buildup of destructive beetles which can attack other pine trees. The timely removal and disposal of pine trees will help prevent this.

Are all of the hazardous pines infected with pitch canker? Are there other problems with them?
Most of the Monterey Pines at Gill Tract are infected. As infected trees are removed, remaining trees become more susceptible to wind forces, less stable in the soil and more likely to fail. These factors, in combination with a tree's trunk size, lean angle, overall health, and the lives and property that a failing tree could damage, are factors in determining the hazard presented by a tree.

How was the decision made to remove the trees?
Brice McPherson, associate specialist at UC Berkeley's Center for Forestry and Phil Cody, manager of campus arboriculture and wildlands in consultation with Jim Horner, campus landscape architect, evaluated each and every pine tree individually, looking at three major components:

• Failure potential, as assessed by the extent of pitch canker symptoms, lean angle, and the presence of conks, which are spore-bearing structures of wood-destroying fungi seen on trunks or branches.
• The size of branch, branches or entire tree that is in danger of falling.
• The threat to the safety of people and damage to property that could be caused when the tree or its branches fall.

The evaluation found that based on the characteristics of each individual tree, 184 of the trees should be immediately removed. Several of the trees are already dead. The campus team further determined that the subsequent effects of wind dynamics on the remaining specimens that are currently protected by the trees that must be removed would make them all much more likely to fail as well. Therefore, they recommended removing all 317 Monterey Pines, starting at this time with those that pose the most significant public safety risk.

Are all the Gill Tract trees being removed?
Only the Monterey Pine trees will be removed. There are more than 150 other trees at the Gill Tract, including cedar, redwood, palm and eucalyptus that will remain.

How will the tree removal take place?
The tree removal is scheduled to take place in two stages. In the first stage, 184 trees in an area closest to the public sidewalks and streets will be removed. This process is expected to last approximately two weeks. All activity is dependent on the weather.

After the Monterey Pines are removed, the meadow originally found in the area will be restored by seeding wildflowers and grasses.

The second phase to remove the remaining affected 133 Monterey Pines has not yet been scheduled

The safety of passers-by as well as project workers is of the utmost importance, as it is with any campus project. The tree removal project will proceed in a manner that ensures the safety of children passing to and from nearby Ocean View Elementary School and other pedestrians in the area. The projects will adhere to regulations concerning safety, dust, dirt, exhaust fumes and storm-water runoff.

How will the tree removal impact Cooper's Hawk nesting or other wildlife at the Gill Tract?
No species listed as endangered or threatened in the region were found at the Gill Tract after an extensive review in consultation with wildlife biologists that was conducted for the campus's 2004 Environmental Impact Report.

In recent years, Cooper's Hawks, a migratory bird considered a species of concern in California, have been spotted nesting in the Gill Tract, but Phase One of the tree removal project will be completed before the bird's nesting season begins in late February or early March. As a precaution, the university hired an avian specialist to conduct a nesting survey on Jan. 24. That survey confirmed that that there are no active Cooper's Hawk nests on the project site at this time.

Monarch butterflies have also been seen at the Gill Tract, but an expert evaluation published in the 2004 EIR concluded that the area is not considered an overwintering site for this species.

After the Monterey Pine trees are removed, there will be more than 150 other trees, including eucalyptus, oaks and other types of pine, that will remain on the property.

Is this work related to the proposed project to build a grocery store nearby?
No. The tree removal is being done in response to the public safety hazard posed by the sick and dying Monterey Pine trees. The proposed commercial and housing development site, further south along San Pablo Avenue is not part of the property where the trees are located.

For more information about campus planning at University Village and Gill Tract, please refer to the 2004 University Village Master Plan (http://www.cp.berkeley.edu/CP/Projects/UVA/MasterPlan_061804.pdf).

For further information please visit the web at http://www.cp.berkeley.edu/Projects_Info_Notices.htm. If you have questions or concerns please contact Christine Shaff at UC Berkeley Facilities Services at 510 643-4793.

---

The Golden Bear will lead you back to the Facilities Services Home Page

Last edited on 02/04/08.