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Kiehn Arborist Report.pdfTLE ZEE 111 TIM(NIF FACILITATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TREES AND HUMANS Arborist Report June 12, 2019 Prepared for: Shane Kiehn 23615 99th PI W Edmonds, Wa 98020 Prepared by: Seattle Tree Consulting Douglas Smith (Certified Arborist PN 6116-A/TRAQ) 117 E. Louisa St. #731 Seattle, Wa. 98102 (206)457-5706 doug�ic ,seattletreeconsulting com Kiehn Report 7/11/2019 Discussion I was contacted by the owners of the property described by the address on the cover page. They were looking for assistance resolving a violation notice that they received from The City of Edmonds for cutting trees without a permit. I visited the site on July 1, 2019, and saw what was left of the removed trees. All of the specimens in question are Red Alder trees (Alnus rubra). The stand was approximately thirty - years -old, and the canopy of the trees extended to 60-80' above grade. This is evident because there are some Alders toward the borders of the lot and on the adjacent properties that are still standing and were of similar size. The DBH's of the removed trees were between V-13". The unauthorized removal incident involved seven significant trees. Three of these trees have been reduced to waist -high stumps and the other four trees have been left at approximately 20-25'. Presumably the removal company was planning to fall the low, woody, portion of the stems from the ground. None of the stumps have been removed or ground. The violation was with respect to unauthorized cutting on an Environmentally Critical Area (Steep Slope at and Average of 40% grade or more). The slope is a west facing aspect and it is replete with native species. The hillside contains Serviceberry, Pacific Madrone, Douglas fir, Pacific Yew, and Salal. I am sure there are many native woody plants on the slope that I did not manage to identify, as I did not ascend the slope. I am not trained as a Geotechnical Consultant and can not comment on how the (partial) removal of the copse of Alders will affect the stability of the slope. As an arborist who looks at a lot of situations that are similar to this one, I can say that the slope has a dense canopy that is thriving and there is a lot of biodiversity on the slope which means that it is well -suited to remaining in a healthy and stable condition. The Alders that were partially removed were at the base of the slope and not mature trees. The clients had some concern that the alders were developing a potentially hazardous phototropic lean to the west. There are three homes within one times the height of the trees and the species failure profile for Red Alder clearly states that it is a short-lived, pioneer specimen that is prone to failures from the upper canopy, in the pedestal, and at the root level. It was the clients' intention to accelerate forest succession at the site by removing the short-lived Alders and replacing them with longer - lived Pacific Northwest forest trees like Western Red Cedar, Douglas fir, Western Hemlock, Vine Maple, and Alaska Yellow Cedar. The clients are still willing to mitigate the canopy loss associated with the cutting of the Alders by installing new trees. At this point it might not be accurate to say that the Alders were removed since their root systems and the bottoms of the trees are still intact. Considering the time of year that the cutting occurred, I expect the these trees will begin immediately producing epicormic growth and coming back. If nothing else is done, the trees that were reduced to waist height will develop new stems that originate at that point and the four trees that were reduced to 20' stems will not only grow new stems originating at that height, but adventitious buds on the low stem will be released to form new branches. 2 Kiehn Report 7/11/2019 Judging by the condition of the remaining Alders at the site, and my conversations with the homeowners, I believe that theses trees were likely intimidating to be living and raising a family under. I also believe that the species failure profile of the trees would not have been enough to push them into a "High" or " Severe" risk category on an ISA Tree Risk Assessment form. There is no evidence that there were defects within the stand or any recent disturbances to the root zone. Before the cutting occurred, I expect I would have assigned this group of trees a "Moderate" risk based on the species failure profile, proximity to high-value/high-occupancy targets, and consequences of failure. That being said, I also support the idea of accelerating forest succession at the base of this slope. I have already described the way that I believe the Alder systems will react at this point. They are natives and therefore well -suited to continue to thrive even after having been mostly removed. If nothing else is done, there is a good chance that the trees will generate enough new foliage to support their root systems and that the stability of the slope will be unaffected. However, the negative repercussions of not doing anything further with the Alders from this point would be related to hazard. It would take quite a few years (10-15) for the trees to develop significant upper canopies again, and this time around the trees will be behaving like topped systems and I anticipate that the structure that returns will not be as desirable as the one that was removed. An option is to leave the Alders as they are and install new native trees. My concern with this approach is that the Alders are going to grow back with compromised structure that will require a lot of pruning to sort out and that this pruning will be difficult to execute around the new young trees. It is also possible that the trees will recover with a structure that has a lot of internal decay and is not safe to retain in the long run. An option is to permit the completion of the removal of the Alders, including stump grinding, and to replant with native confers and deciduous trees. The option that I think makes the most sense is to take the Alder removals all the way down to the ground level. They are going to produce epicormic buds and regrow from somewhere. I think that the regrowth will be easiest to manage, and have the best chance of achieving good long- term structure, if it is aloud to generate from the ground level. They will turn into multi -stemmed systems and poorly attached stems or stems that get shaded -out and die can be easily removed without harming the balance of the systems. The roots should endure and the stability of the slope should be unaffected. The canopy loss should also be mitigated with the installation of large maturing native trees. 3 Kiehn Report 7/11/2019 This photo is looking north and shows two remaining Alder systems that are congruent with the cut specimens. The trees are already beginning to regrow with a lot of vigor. They were young and will likely grow very quickly in the coming years. 5 Kiehn Report 7/11/2019 Nt s . , : x • y vi , �., \ AC: ,may. -' '�t _,� �, •'`.� 1.�; ��I s.i .',�. is a.T,�. r —Y.C-.. � 1��L�-yw.. 1e1�:f'Lal:.�i�JF'. »► Assumptions and Limiting Conditions Any legal description provided to the consultant/appraiser is assumed to be correct. Any titles and ownership to any property are assumed to be good and marketable. No responsibility is assumed for matters of legal character. Any and all property is appraised or evaluated as though free and clear, under responsible ownership and competent management. It is assumed that any property is not in violation of any applicable codes, ordinances, statutes, or other government regulations. Care has been taken to obtain all information from reliable sources. All data has been verified so far as possible, however, the consultant/appraiser can neither guarantee nor be responsible for accuracy of information provided by others. The consultant/appraiser shall not be required to give testimony or attend court by reason of this report unless subsequent contractual arrangements are made, including payments of additional fees for such services as described in the fee schedule and contract engagement. Loss or alteration of any of this report invalidates the entire report. Possession of this report or a copy thereof does not imply right of publication or use for any purpose by any person other than to whom it is addressed, without prior written consent of the consultant/appraiser. Neither all nor any part of the content in this report, nor copy thereof, shall be conveyed by anyone, including the client, to the public through advertising, public relations, news, sales or other media, without the prior expressed written consent of the consultant/appraiser--particularly as to value conclusions, identity of the consultant/appraiser, or any reference to any professional society or institute or to any initialed designation conferred upon the consultant/appraiser as stated in his qualification. 7 Kiehn Report 7/11/2019