The City of Boulder’s Parks and Recreation Department will have a contractor remove a large cottonwood tree on Pearl Street between 6th and 7th Streets on Thursday, May 12 to eliminate safety concerns associated with the tree.

The City of Boulder’s Parks and Recreation Department will have a contractor remove a large cottonwood tree on Pearl Street between 6th and 7th Streets on Thursday, May 12 to eliminate safety concerns associated with the tree.

Pearl Street will be closed for east and westbound traffic in the area. Local traffic will need to detour around the work zone. There will be no parking allowed in the area during the tree removal with no parking signs posted 72 hours in advance.

City Forestry staff routinely monitor the health and structural integrity of the city’s public trees. This tree dates to approximately 1880 and the city has pruned the tree twice in recent years to prolong its life. Despite these efforts, the tree continues to decline in health and to remove the risk to public safety should any large limbs or the trunk fail, the tree will need to be removed.

The department’s Urban Forestry team manages approximately 51,000 public trees in city parks and public street rights-of-way. City park and public street trees are inspected for health, structural integrity and safety using industry-set standards and techniques to facilitate the maintenance of a healthy and diverse urban canopy. The city is committed to maintaining a healthy and vibrant urban canopy, recognizing that a resilient urban forest supports the resilience of the community. In addition to maintaining current trees, the city plants hundreds of trees each year to achieve its goal of maintaining 16% canopy cover across the community.

For more information about the city’s Urban Forestry team, tree plantings and the city’s Cool Boulder campaign, visit bouldercolorado.gov/government/departments/forestry.

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