The golf course at Wichita Country Club was originally built in 1950 at our current location. At the time, outside of hedgerows and a few cedars, the property was a barren pasture. Within the first few years, hundreds of trees were planted adding to the parkland style of design you see today.
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| Early 1950's aerial view of the course. |
The issues we are facing today deal with these trees that were planted roughly 60 years ago. The fact is, trees in Wichita, Kansas typically do not have the same lifespan as they would in other areas of the country. The Elms and Cedars, which make up a large portion of the trees planted in the early days, are becoming unsightly and, in some instances, hazardous.
A few years ago, we made the decision to begin removing the cedars from the property. The two main drivers behind this decision were the poor condition of the trees as well as the water required to support them. Most of these removals have gone unnoticed. This past week we removed the row of Cedars bordering #17 tee for the same reasons listed above. We will continue to evaluate this area to determine if we need to replant with a group of more desirable trees.
So far this winter we have removed approximately 35 trees. Outside of an Oak on #5 that died from disease, all of the removals consisted of Hedge, Elm, and Cedar. Not exactly specimen trees, but nonetheless part of our urban forest. A few years ago, it was the Pine Trees that were rapidly declining due to Pine Wilt. More recently, the removals are focused on aging trees that are near the end of their life span.
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| Oak on #5. Not one we wanted to lose. |
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| #17 Tee following removals. |
Moving forward, we will continue to support a tree plan that addresses the decline of the existing trees, while also looking to the future with more desirable trees planted in strategic locations. Like most long term projects, we have to take a step backwards before we can move forward.
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