Avondale, SRP partner to remove trees that threaten power lines, plant new ones

PHOENIX – Avondale is the latest Valley city to take part in Salt River Project’s Right Tree Right Place program, which addresses issues of safety and sustainability.

“The way that it works is we identify city-owned trees that are infringing on power lines and we work with SRP to identify those trees that can cause trouble by growing too tall,” Danae Presler, Avondale sustainability officer, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday.

Then the “wrong trees” are replaced with the “right” ones.

The utility company benefits by improving power line safety and reliability, while the city gets to increase its overall tree canopy.

“When we remove them we replace them with either three 24-inch box trees or six 15-gallon trees and we use the utility line-friendly species to plant in the place of the trees we remove,” said Lori Jones, SRP manager of maintenance services.

Avondale will lose 26 trees but gain 135, with removals starting this week. The planting is expected to be completed by early December.

The additional trees will be planted in public parks and rights of way throughout the city.

Presler said Avondale selected replacement trees that are drought tolerant.

“We want to make sure we are using water efficiently,” she said.

Jones said SRP “spends thousands of dollars removing thousands of trees every year.”

“And the opportunity to plant more, to increase the urban canopy rather than reducing it, is a thrill for us and the municipalities that we partner with,” she added.

Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and Glendale took part in the Right Tree Right Place program in previous years, with Avondale and Peoria joining in this year.

Jones said more than 2,800 trees have been planted during the five-year-old campaign.

“In terms of the pounds of carbon sequestered as a result of those plantings, we will have removed more than 10,300,000 pounds of carbon,” she said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ali Vetnar contributed to this story.

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