The Snowstorm
I didn’t get to the park right after the freak snowstorm we had over the weekend…for one thing, it was closed because of all the downed trees and branches. The leaves aren’t off the trees yet, so the wet snow accumulated on them and did a huge amount of damage. Yesterday I went for my ride..the southeast section of the drive was bordered with cut-up branches waiting for collection for over a mile…solid! And all along the drive there were other areas lined with leaves. None of the elms in the poets’ walk appeared to be down, but some had lost their tops, and others had branches down. All of those wounds have to be treated so Dutch Elm Disease has less chance of getting hold…I took a few pictures, but they don’t really give the full impression!
A Victim of the Storm
Another Downed Tree
A Decapitated Elm
Statue and Limbs
It’s heartbreaking to see all the damage…there are still piles of chipped wood from the microburst that devastated the northern end of the park. And the wood can’t be taken out and used because of the Asian Longhorn Beetle infestation. Meanwhile crews are trying to get the park safe for the Marathon! After that, I guess they will start taking out the trees that are too badly damaged to remain. Here’s a link…
Seems like Central Park is getting hit more often now than previously. Is that true or is it because I am more aware of it? Heartbreaking indeed.
How do they close off the park? They can’t have guards at all the entrances!
They just announced (at 5:30 in the morning!) that the park was closed, and had barriers at the entrances. You could get past them easily if you wanted too, but if you got hit by a falling branch, they could say:”We told you so…”
That’s really sad. It reminds me of the interviews we did in the Amazon. The scientists explained that the severe down-burst (torrential rain) that climate change has caused knock down trees… which then results in changes in the micro-clime and extinction of entire species who are highly specialized to live in one narrowly-defined niche. If the world doesn’t immediately address this situation of climate change, probably in less than 4 years the whole Amazon will be compromised to such an extent that it will all go up in flames. I’m serious… and this is the prognosis from the world’s top scientists.
Can you post some links?
Distressing losses.