But will Worcester’s beetle threat present a rare opportunity?

By Scott Zoback

The Asian Longhorned Beetles are here, and will be front-page news for years to come. That’s a given.

The trees, on the other hand, are another story. They might not be here for long. Trees infested with the recently discovered beetles, officials say, must be cut down and mulched. In addition, trees within a quarter-mile of an infected tree may also be removed and the city has already designated 16 square miles where infected trees may exist.

But one of the reasons why Worcester is in such uncharted insect territory these days, even for those who have dealt with similar beetle infestations before, is the sheer number of so-called host trees in the city.

“The density of hosts in this area is greater than we’ve normally dealt with,” Tom Denholm, acting director of the Massachusetts Asian Longhorned Beetle Program, told the Telegram earlier this week. City Manager Michael O’Brien has repeated similar comments since the beetles were found; the number could be as high as double what New Jersey had, prompting fears about utter arbor destruction within and outside the city lines.

The types of trees affected are the full range — maples, birches and other hardwood trees are most at risk. But the most prevalent of those trees in the city — and thus the one being talked about the most in conservation circles -- is the Norway maple, accounting for anywhere from 67% to 90% of the city’s shade trees, depending on who you ask.

The overabundance of the maples, both on the city streets and in some of the more forested areas of town, has two main factors. On one hand, the Norway maple was a huge shade-tree favorite for municipalities in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, when it was planted along sidewalks and in new subdivisions. In Worcester, the tree was a popular replacement after the 1953 tornado.

On the other hand, for many of the same reasons it was popular 50 years ago, the tree today is considered little better than a weed or pest to arborists and forestry experts.

“[They were] planted because they are a resistant and hardy tree,” says Worcester-based forester Roger Plourde. “As much as I hated the Norway maple, it’s always been the trade-off.”

That trade-off is everywhere: It’s hardy but spreads its seeds rapidly. It has a thick canopy, but that shade can essentially choke out all other life. It’s quick and easy to grow for nurseries, but conservationists complain about its shallow root system that pushes up sidewalks.

The tree is considered so invasive, it was banned from importation into Massachusetts in 2006; a statewide ban on propagation goes into effect Jan. 1, 2009. Other states in the region are attempting to pass similar regulations.

One of the experts whose research was essential to the effort to have the Norway maple declared invasive is Holy Cross Prof. Robert Bertin. He says the trees are “problematic, even if it wasn’t the main planting.”

To Bertin, one of the biggest concerns is the more forested areas of town.

“Norway maples are problematic because, more than any other [similar species], they are the ones most capable of invading intact forest ecosystems.”

“The distinctive thing about the Norway maple is that its seedlings can get established very well on the understory of a forest,” Bertin says. The problem intensifies, he adds, when seedlings from plantings near forests sprout and eventually replace the entire canopy of a wooded area.

But, say some, the fact that we’re about to lose so many trees presents a sort of opportunity, even if it’s going to be a drastic change.

“I don’t think it’s a good thing, but the silver lining is that we’ll be given a chance to replant the urban forest with some diversity in mind — we should have a mix. Diversity provides resiliency,” says Plourde.

Bertin agrees: “Heaven forbid we would get to the point [of New Jersey], the best tack is not to use one species, but to use a variety.”

The lesson is clear: The infestation might not be a good thing, but in the end, it could provide an opportunity.

“[We need] resistance to the next bug that may or may not come down the line,” says Plourde. o

Water drains, leaving neighbors bewildered

By Chet Williamson

Call it “The Case of the Disappearing Pond.” Last Friday folks living in the Olean Street neighborhood of Tatnuck Square noticed something screwy about Cooks Pond. It was shrinking. Drastically. In this rainy month of August, it just didn’t make sense.

Cooks Pond, which covers an area of more than 20 acres on a 45-acre parcel of land, is fed from three different brooks in the hills above Tatnuck Square.

The water then goes through Tatnuck Square and into Patches Pond and its reservoir, then Coes Pond and its reservoir, eventually pouring down into the Middle and Blackstone rivers.

After receiving a call, Department of Public Works Assistant Director of Sewers Joseph Buckley says a crew went up to the site and verified that the water level in the pond was indeed dropping. However, he also pointed out that the water level is not in the DPW’s control. The pond is owned by the Smith Pond Corp., which is operated by the Tatnuck Island Club.

Buckley says that anytime a pond is raised or lowered or anything “in the vicinity of a wetland,” the Worcester Conservation Commission needs to be informed. “I put a call through to Kate Donovan at the Conservation Commission when I found out that it was lowered,” he says. “She said the folks responsible for the pond lower it seasonally for weed control.”

Peter McKone is not only the chair of the Worcester Conservation Commission, he is also a Tatnuck Island Club member. While admitting it is an embarrassing and unfortunate mishap, he says the water level is now “coming up nicely.”

So what happened? As McKone explains in detail, essentially a valve was left open, allowing nearly all of the water to drain from the pond.

He says the pond has to be inspected regularly by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The last time it was inspected was last fall.

“The report went to DCR and basically [we were told] we had to clean it off -- there was a lot of scrub brush growing on both faces of the dam. We were told that we needed to remove all that,” McKone says. The Tatnuck Club hired an engineering firm to do the job.

“One of the people in the club apparently took it on themselves to lower the water a bit to trim the brush on the water side of the dam. Apparently they thought they had closed the valve and hadn’t.”

McKone says from a conservation standpoint, the drainage will not have any residual effects on the pond.

“I don’t think it was down enough to have any long-term impact. If it drains down too far it can kill fish,” he says.

Although McKone had no way of measuring how much water was drained out of the pond, when asked how long the valve was open, he said “it was probably open for 10 days.” o

Chimney sweep Michael Elliott monkeys around the Oval Office

By Chet Williamson

For chimney sweeps to clean the fireplace flues at the White House, that’s like an athlete competing in the Olympics or a musician given the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall.

Local soot man Michael Elliott of Central New England Chimney Sweeps likened it to “Sir Edmund Hillary climbing Mount Everest.”

Last week, Elliott and seven other professional sweeps from around the country were selected to clean more than 30 fireplaces in the famous D.C. residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Elliott was selected for the job by the National Chimney Sweep Guild. But he nearly missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. On Memorial Day weekend, while cycling around the Quabbin Reservoir in New Salem, he got into a really bad accident.

“I went over the handlebars,” he says. “I smashed my scapula in eight places. I have a bunch of screws and metal in there. It was a real downer. I thought I blew it. I didn’t think I was going to get it together in time to go to Washington.”

Doctors told him he would not be ready to go back to work until September. But Elliott was determined to climb this mountain and worked his tail off to get back into shape.

“The Wednesday before I was to go, my doctor said they had OK’d me to work,” he says.

The crew chosen to clean the White House doesn’t get paid for the work. It is all done voluntarily.

“It was a great honor for me to be there,” Elliott says. “And to get to clean the Oval office, which I did, it’s the ultimate fireplace. Going into the Oval Office was like going into the principal’s office times 10. You could just feel the presence of many things in there.”

The cornerstone to the White House — then known as The Executive Mansion until after the Civil War — was laid by then-President George Washington in 1792. The residence was destroyed in a fire set by the invading British in the War of 1812, and the building was gutted — only the four walls remained standing — for a complete restoration during the Truman Administration in 1948. Still, the essence of the original James Hoban design was retained, reflecting a time when fireplaces provided a necessary heat source.

“We cleaned a total of 38 fireplaces,” Elliott says. “We started in the mansion and we did the second floor. I think there were half a dozen that we didn’t have access to because of meetings.”

The crew was allowed into The West Wing, The Cabinet Room, The Vice President’s Room and The Roosevelt Room, as well as The Oval Office. Elliott says members of the Administration were going about their official business while he worked on the chimneys on the second floor.

“We were in places that nobody has access to,” he says. “I was in George Bush’s bedroom and Laura’s office. To see something like that is incredible.”

The National Chimney Sweep Guild took over the job at the White House in 1988. Every other year prospective sweeps are chosen by referral from former team members.

“To get on the team you are basically referred from the guy before you,” Elliott says. “They want someone who is well known within the industry. I’ve been at this since 1989. I’ve been in more than 11,000 homes. They’re looking for someone competent to get in there. That’s how I got on the team.”

After getting his security clearance, Elliott headed to Washington. A chimney sweep from North Carolina brought his van and equipment. “I just brought things like hygiene equipment — tieback suits, gloves and respirators — stuff that I can put in a gym bag on a plane.”

Ellitott says all of the fireplaces in the White House are working ones. “They use them periodically. Some are used more than others. They are actually working on the chimneys now.”

To clean them, each flue is scanned with video equipment to check for cracks and to assess the structural integrity of the chimney.

“You don’t get in the chimney,” he says. “Brushes are slid down. Dampers are removed and then you scrub everything out.”

Elliott says, obviously, it is of the utmost importance to get the job done right.

“First of all, there can never be a chimney fire in the White House. We never want that to happen. That’s why we are there.” o