Councillors adopted a resolution on abolishing its status as a natural monument. The Jagna poplar will lose this status, opening the way for it to be felled. The only councillor to vote against the resolution was Piotr Klasa, an independent councillor. Two Impuls Miasta councillors abstained.
The resolution will enter into force 14 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
Let us recall that at the end of February we reported that one of the items on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of Bolesławiec councillors would be a vote on a draft resolution concerning the abolition of natural monument status. The document states:
(…) The natural monument status is being abolished to ensure the general safety of residents, due to the tree’s significant dieback.
The tree in question is the Jagna poplar, a natural monument growing on Zgorzelecka Street, directly beside the fence of the School Complex of Commerce and Services and near a fuel station.
The appendix contained a ruling by the Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Wrocław, which stated:
An analysis of the submitted documentation, including photographic documentation, showed that the tree is in very poor phytosanitary condition. According to the dendrological assessment attached to the application and the results of an acoustic tomography examination, the poplar is at an advanced stage of internal decay—it has rot encompassing almost the entire cross-section of the trunk, including the peripheral tissues. In addition, the tree has extensive surface damage near the site of a removed limb (shade from assimilates), necrotic damage to root flares and deep cavities at the trunk base. In view of the above, as well as the tree’s location in an urban area, in the immediate vicinity of a public road and heavily used areas and buildings, the tree poses a threat to public safety.
The justification for the draft resolution stated:
The natural monument—the Canadian poplar—has extensive damage to its root flares, which, in the case of trees with such a substantial trunk, are crucial to maintaining an acceptable level of safety in the tree’s surroundings. Damage to the root flares occurs on the south-western side, combined with extensive decay and cavities in the root zone. Dead branches were found in the crown; one of the limbs has died completely, which is a sign of physiological disturbances. Due to the tree’s size, it is not possible to carry out maintenance work or measures to improve its stability.
Given its condition and the threat to public safety—the highly sensitive surroundings include a school, a petrol station, an automotive-parts wholesaler and parking spaces—the tree should lose its natural monument status, after which permission should be obtained for its removal.