The thirty-year-old row of trees – consisting of 151 diseased elms – on the Lekerweide has to make way. However, the municipality of Drechterland is putting a stop to this: an external consultancy has examined the trees in question. Because do they really have to leave?
The Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier (HHNK) wants to cut down the 151 elms on the Lekerweide – between the Hogeweg and Middenweg – because they are sick. For this, the water board applied for a felling permit on 20 April from the municipality of Drechterland.
At first glance, the elms appear healthy. Yet they pose a danger, because one of the trees was blown down during a storm in January. “This tree turned out to be poorly rooted. This alarmed us, so we started an investigation. It seemed to be going well for a long time,” said spokesperson Aukje Rypma earlier already know.
Thirty years ago, methods were devised to combat elm disease, a common disease in West Friesland. It works in many places, but not in Wijdenes. “The trees actually consist of two parts: a rootstock up to a few centimeters above the ground and an upperstem of a different species that was attached to the rootstock in the past. So at a later stage, after initial success, this can go wrong, whereby the rootstock – the root system – dies.”
second opinion
However, there is still a chance that the trees may remain. The municipality has engaged an external consultancy for a second opinion. “As a result of the felling request, we engaged an external consultancy to have a further and independent study carried out into these trees. This has already been done, and the findings are now being discussed with the water board. We are also looking at other options,” says a spokesperson to NH News.