Dealing With Dead Trees - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Dealing With Dead Trees

As the Mouse River Valley continues its recovery from the 2011 flood, more than just homes were battered by the water.

The vast majority of the pine trees in the valley, where the flood water flowed for weeks, died as a result.

As Shaun Sipma reports, it's a looming problem for property owners that doesn't have any easy or inexpensive answer to solve.

From the smaller shrubs to the looming pines, the coniferous tree population in the flood valley was decimated by last years flood.

(Brian Johnson, Minot Forestry Department) "From what we've seen just this past year I would guesstimate that 90 percent of the Evergreen variety trees are dead or dying."

Most leafy trees that stood above the flood waters made it through the highly stressful environmental conditions.

The conifers, those with needles, for the most part, the water was just too much.

(Brian Johnson, Minot Forestry Department) "Your evergreen trees, your pine trees are more a high altitude plant, they don't like having their roots, or their feet wet for long periods of time and once that flood was here and it stuck around for a long time, it basically suffocated itself to death."

Those trees are now mere skeletons of what they once were.

Some survived, somehow, but most now have to be cut down.

That's where there's a problem for homeowners.

The shorter trees can be toppled without a problem but many dozens of feet high will have to come down and the city can't go onto private property to do it because of the liability issue.

(Brian Johnson, Minot Forestry Department) I'm really hoping home owners take it upon themselves as they get back into their homes, as they start working on their landscape that they start taking them down. I kind of have a hard making people right now sending them a letter stating they have a dead tree that needs to come down when they're trying to rebuild their home."

Johnson says there's clear answer as to when the dead trees will become a hazard.

Some may already be, but it could be years for others.

But in the end, they either have to be cut down or they simple will fall down.

In terms of cost for removal, that can very depending on the tree removal service and the location of the tree.

It can range from as little as 200 to 13-hundred dollars.

(Brian Johnson, Minot Forestry Department) "Going up in them you can easily fall and it can kill you. I always say seek professional help."

The question for many though for the homes and property that have been abandon.

Who's responsible and when is action taken?

Johnson says he can only answer for the trees and that's a solution that is still evolving as the recovery continues.

In Minot Shaun Sipma KX News.

Johnson says the City Forestry department is offering free tree mulch to anyone in Minot to help with landscaping.

We'll tell you more on that tomorrow.