The Tree Trimming Scammers

Photo: Tree victim, Pixabay

Cindy Speas

The doorbell rings, and at your door is a young man who says, “Hello, I was driving by and noticed your trees need some pruning. I’ve been working at your neighbor’s house, and thought I’d stop and offer you the same deal!”

It must be spring. We often hear about telephone or online financial scams, but what about the “woodchucks” or tree scammers that arrive at your door? These are seasonal workers, usually untrained, uncertified, and unlicensed. Beware! They come bearing disaster for your trees, as well as your wallets.

Last spring Fairfax County posted a great article about the tree trimming scam. One police officer is quoted as saying this is “one of the most pervasive criminal problems this county is facing right now.” It happens in all seasons, of course, when trucks drive by looking for accessibility ramps or seniors working in their yards, or in spring seeking “unkempt” yards. So, if you have a yard full of native plants and little lawn, and you wait for just the right time after winter to clean up your beds, you could be a target.

Tree victim, Pixabay

These folks are not arborists and may remove living wood or, at worst, “top” your healthy tree. When the growing end of every tree limb or branch is lopped off, the tree can lose as much as 75% of its leaves, which provide a majority of the tree’s food. When a tree is weakened by less food and water, it becomes vulnerable to insect, sun and wind damage. These stresses mean that the tree may not survive the butchering. When you see a lot of fast-growing shoots where major limbs were cut, that is a major sign of stress and poor health. Many municipalities and counties have great resources for resisting this fraudulent behavior. Here’s one from Fairfax County. It's one thing to spend, or even overspend, on taking out a dead limb, but quite another to fall for the “just let us prune your trees and everything will be fine” pitch. And don’t forget, untrained workers may use spikes on their boots because they are not taught the best practices of a reputable tree care specialist. This is highly damaging to the health of your trees.

Our trees are critical to our quality of life, and to the economic value of our homes, but they are threatened by “woodchucks.” Become informed about tree care—a good arborist can be as valuable to the life of your tree as a good electrician or plumber is to the life of your home. It is worth taking the time to find out if these solicitors are licensed and insured, certified in their area of expertise, and have good recommendations. Compare and weigh the costs and benefits of particular work that you know you need—don’t take the cheapest and easiest course of action. Be a good consumer and do the research. Just say NO to the door-to-door solicitor and yes only to the company YOU call that has good reviews, an arborist on staff, and free initial consultations.

Beware! Your beautiful trees are counting on you to speak for them and protect them. 

Don't Pave this Paradise

Photo: Pileated Woodpeckers, Sylvia Hunt/Audubon Photography Awards

From The Washington Post, July 27, 2021, Letters to the Editor:

Opinion: Before Fairfax paves Justice Park, it ought to know what it would lose

The July 23 Metro article “Fairfax high school’s parking expansion idea draws anger from neighbors” included several perspectives but scrimped on the value of Justice Park’s natural resources, especially the park’s woodland.  

In most land-use decisions in Fairfax County, the question of “What is there?” rarely gets asked. A brief, informal survey by volunteers from the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia in early June identified 30 species of birds at Justice Park, even though spring migration was over. A thorough bird survey would require observations in all seasons. A comprehensive biological assessment, including plants, insects, reptiles and amphibians, could inform decision-making even more. It could help preserve what’s there and enhance the park’s biodiversity, for example, by guiding removal of invasive plants and addition of plants that support wildlife. Maintaining and restoring natural resources would create a more ecologically healthy environment and an outstanding outdoor classroom. 

Reducing park acreage contradicts the goal of remedying park deficits in underserved areas such as Bailey’s Crossroads. Green space and natural resources bolster our physical and emotional well-being. Northern Virginia localities have a long history of shaving off chunks of natural areas, a few acres here and another few acres there, death by a thousand cuts. Those decisions rarely consider the cumulative losses that occur over time — not just losses in actual parkland, but losses in the ecological services that nature provides.  

By all means, Fairfax County should provide quality educational facilities, but the county also must protect and restore its natural resources, goals generalized in many county pronouncements, including its environmental vision and comprehensive plan. 

Connie M. Ericson, Reston 

The writer is advocacy chair for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia.

You can also view this article online here.

Lorton Ski Resort Could Threaten Habitat, Birds and More

Photo: Eastern Meadowlark, Melissa James/Audubon Photography Awards

ASNV and others have raised concerns about a possible $200 million ski resort on the Lorton landfill called “Fairfax Peak.” The developer, Alpine X, a Netherlands-based company, reports that among the resort’s potential components are an indoor, 450,000-square-foot snow sports facility with multiple ski slopes, “one of the world’s longest indoor ski slopes”; a luxury hotel,” wave/surf pool, ropes course, zip lines, mountain coaster and gondola.  Alpine X would make real snow year-round. You can learn more here.

On November 17, 2020, the Board of Supervisors on a voice vote approved a one-year agreement with Alpine X, to allow the company to conduct engineering analyses and tests to determine the feasibility of building the proposed complex on the landfill.

 ASNV submitted comments arguing that this ski resort complex will have serious, adverse environmental and social impacts to an already degraded and disturbed environment in that region.  These potential adverse impacts include the following:

• significant energy us

• increased greenhouse gas emissions

• increased air and water pollution

• significant water consumption

• significant solid waste generation

• increased traffic congestion

• loss of scarce natural habitat

• increased socio-economic inequity

Valuable Habitat

While some may view a landfill as a wasteland or opportunity for development, ASNV sees the property as valuable grassland and meadows, rare habitats in a county reaching “buildout.”  Observers have seen Eastern Meadowlarks, Grasshopper Sparrows and Bobolinks there, birds in serious decline with little suitable habitat left in Fairfax County. The property also offers an opportunity to enhance a wildlife corridor in the area.

ASNV questions the project’s water source, energy use and conservation practices, carbon emissions, traffic impacts, stormwater runoff and other pollution and socio-economic inequities the resort could exacerbate.

ASNV recommended that the Board of Supervisors reject the proposed interim agreement and that the county restore the Lorton landfill land to a more natural condition that would provide habitat, address biodiversity loss, serve as a carbon sink, reduce ambient air temperatures, filter pollutants, reduce stormwater runoff and save public tax dollars.

We encourage ASNVers in Fairfax County to express their concerns to their Supervisors.  Find yours here.  And please let us know you have called or written by sending an email with your contact information here. We anticipate a long political process for this project and will want to keep in touch. 

ASNV Board Member Cathy Ledec Receives Environmental Award

Photo: Huntley Meadows Park in Autumn, Larry Meade

Cathy Ledec

Cathy Ledec, who joined the ASNV Board of Directors a year ago, has received Fairfax County’s 2020 Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award. Cathy received the award in recognition of her 17 years of volunteer service at Huntley Meadows Park and for the Fairfax County Park Authority. Cathy is President of the Friends of Huntley Meadows Park, a Site Leader for FCPS’s Invasive Management Area Program, Chair of the Fairfax County Tree Commission and a member of County Supervisor Dan Storck’s Environment Advisory Committee.