Dale,

As someone who oversaw the power line reclearing division of a contractor
here for a number of years, I have heard these very complaints many times.
One thing people need to remember is that the power companies don't care
what the trees that are in or near their right of way look like. They have
one main priority here -- keep the lines safe from damage by nearby trees to
avoid interruption of service to you and your neighbors. They want to do
this as inexpensively as possible of course, any expense they have will
ultimately be passed on to you and the rest of the ratepayers.

Many years ago the round-over trimming method was the standard approved
pruning practice when reclearing lines in urban areas. However when a tree
is rounded over as you describe, it subsequently puts out a mass of wild
growth (think trunk chop or drastic pruning in your bonsai), which soon is
back into the power lines, and is weakly attached to the tree and prone to
breaking off.

The latest accepted standard pruning practices for line clearing are to V
out the center of the tree leaving the outside untouched, or trim half of
the tree away, leaving the other half untouched, depending on the location
of the lines in relation to the tree. While this makes the tree look
terrible, it is actually much healthier for the tree, and it avoids
stimulating the tree to shoot out wild uncontrolled growth all over. The
remaining apically dominant growing branches that are left do their thing
and keep growing, regrowth back towards the lines is minimized and the power
company can go longer between trimming jobs, thereby saving money.

They are really doing what we do with our bonsai, controlling and directing
growth with pruning -- without the artistic considerations of course. :-)

I agree that the trees look bad when the contractor is done trimming, but
think about how you would feel this January, its 10 below zero -- one of
your neighbors whined enough that the tree trimmers left some branches that
they shouldn't have, and one of those branches comes down on the power line
and takes it out in the middle of the night. You and your neighbors are all
freezing in the dark without power until the utility gets a crew out to
repair the damage. I'll bet that the esthetics of the trimming job aren't
so important to everyone right about then.

Regards,
Roger Snipes
Spokane Wa. Zone 5, or maybe 6, depending on who you believe.

Standard disclaimer: I have no monetary interest in any power companies,
and I am in full agreement that the reclearing jobs look like crap.

----- Original Message -----
From: "dalecochoy"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 11:00 AM
Subject: [IBC] It's Power Line tree trimming time again.


I wonder how many other readers have problems with tree trimmers butchering
trees near power lines as I seem to every 3-4 years.
....snip...
I'm wondering if a "no" when they come and forcing them to bring police the
third trip would actually get them to "trim nice" to avoid any further
hassle or return trip.
Regards,
Dale "Play By The Rules" Cochoy
Wild Things Bonsai Studio, Hartville, Ohio
http://www.WildThingsBonsai.Com
Specializing in power wood carving tools.
Yakimono no Kokoro bonsai pottery of hand-built stoneware

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