The only thing that your tree needs to be saved from is men with
chainsaws! If you leave it alone here is what will likely happen:
Next spring the remaining branches will leaf out as usual, using the
energy stored in the roots and trunk. In addition, lots of new
branches will sprout from beneath the broken areas. Pretty soon the
whole tree will be covered with green leaves again and growing
happily. Much of the new growth will be weakly attached and should be
thinned in a year or two, but even if you don't, some future storm
will thin it for you and all you will have to do is pick up small
fallen branches. Some hollows (think 'wildlife shelters') may develop
from the the broken areas.

I know this isn't the common wisdom, but I think it is correct. Tree
care 'experts' are going to say to remove the tree for a variety of
technical reasons, but it is really an ethical and esthetic decision,
a question of values, more than a tree care question. These guys are
taught to remove trees, and are paid to remove trees. The level of
analysis you will get is "It's broken, you need to cut it down". Your
tree is alive. It doesn't look like it is in danger of falling or a
real threat to anything. Leave it alone. If possible, hire someone
to thin it in a couple of years. This will save you the cost of
removing it now and reduce costs in the long run.

Your tree is still beautiful, but now it has the craggy look of a
heroic survivor. I hope that you will allow it to re-crown itself.


Below is a 'Letter to the Editor' I sent to the N&O and Chapel Hill
News today. I wish it was better but hope they will publish it anyway.

Leave That Tree Alone

As I sit here in my cold, dark apartment, listening to the periodic
rifle shot of another great bough breaking from another great tree, I
am
filled with foreboding for the future of our urban forest. Please DO
NOT cut down trees just because the were damaged in this week's ice
storm!

With this ice storm Nature has provided an enormous service to our
urban
canopy. The structure of many trees has been strengthened by the
removal of poorly attached limbs and the shortening of overburdened
branches. The landscape has now been shaped to better withstand
future
storms.

I know there will be a rush to cut down trees that lost limbs in an
attempt to ward off future damage, but in most cases this is simply
not
appropriate. Unless your tree is now terribly lopsided, with the
overweighted side threatening a structure, roadway, or power line, it
is
probably better left alone. You now have a sturdy, healthy tree. If
you
take it out and replace it you will be paying money to replace
something
of great value with something that will take years to establish and
become drought tolerant, if it adapts to the site and survives at all.

The canopy of our forested neighborhoods is evolving towards an
equilibrium. Moving things further from that equilibrium will cause
more troubles down the line, not fewer. Unleash the chainsaws only on
fallen wood.