Letters: Columbia too aggressive in cutting trees

The Columbia Forestry and Beautification Department is aggressively cutting down our old shade trees, using minor defects as the justification. My walking route now has long stretches without shade, so I cannot walk my small dog during the day without overheating him.

Last summer a huge old oak near my house in Cottontown was cut down after one large limb fell. A city “arborist” evaluated the tree for about 15 seconds and informed the property owner that the tree was rotten. The tree had some hollow upper limbs that contained bird and bat nests, but the trunk was sound. Nesting wildlife could easily be protected by trimming trees in the winter instead of summer.

Replacements are mostly small nonnative trees that provide minimal shade and wildlife habitat. All old trees have defects. But they provide valuable shade, wildlife habitat and beauty while consuming harmful carbon dioxide. The wonderful heirloom trees will take decades to replace when they are gone.