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Dying Oaks on Bypass Avoidable Problem |
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Thursday, 13 November 2008 |
 Amador County - A certified forester told the Sutter Creek Planning Commission last Wednesday that the dying oak trees at the Highway 49 Bypass are an avoidable problem. Ralph Osterling of Osterling And Associates, a consultant for Gold Rush Golf & Ranch Resort, said that similar climates produced big trees in short time frames, with the right, intensive care at the outset. Osterling showed an 11-year-old valley oak that was 25 feet tall. He said the tree was raised from an acorn at the site, with TLC, that is, a good initial care package. Osterling was talking for Gold Rush in the developer’s efforts to get its Environmental Impact Report analyzed by the planning commission through the city of Sutter Creek’s General Plan. Osterling said that intense care included wrapping the area around the trees with a mesh to keep out voles, or field mice, that otherwise will eat the bark of the seedlings, which kills the seedling oak trees. He said grasses beat the tree roots to the ground’s moisture and thus must also be kept clear of the area around the seedlings. He said he was asked to look at the mitigation oak plantings made around the Highway 49 Bypass by Caltrans, but he had not. He said planting oak trees can be problematic, if it is not done correctly, the trees can fail. They are watered for three years and cared for a total of 5 years. Osterling said “with maintenance and proper techniques, it will work. We’ll get this kind of growth because they are not allowing these problems to occur.” At the request of Commissioner Mike Kirkley, Osterling showed an 8-year-old blue ok that was 25 feet tall, which he grew in the San Fernando Valley, where there is the same elevation and weather patterns. Commissioner Cort Strandberg asked why trees would be planted and not maintained. Osterling said some plantings of oak required in mitigation then say nothing of care and maintenance, so the trees are not cared for a die off. Developers suggested a 20-acre tree habitat, along with saving about 10 percent of the trees in the project, would mitigate for the loss of about 14,000 trees in the project. That included trees that are 5 inches in diameter at a height of 54 inches. The planning Commission meets as needed on Mondays in Sutter Creek. Story by Jim Reece (
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Last Updated ( Friday, 14 August 2009 )
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