General News
29 October, 2021
End of the line for Rosewoods
AN INDEPENDENT arborist report commissioned by Douglas Shire Council has recommended the removal of a number of rosewood trees in Warner Street Port Douglas.
Since April, Council has been closely monitoring and undertaking remedial works to the street, however their removal is recommended due to the risk posed to the public.
Based on the arborist reports, Council has decided to urgently remove eight trees and undertake further pruning to give the remaining trees the best chance of survival.
If pruning work is not successful in improving tree health during the wet season, further removals may be required.
Staff currently have 12 six-metre-high rosewood trees at its Port Douglas Depot which will be used as part of a tree replacement program.
The removal, which represents about 10% of the street trees, will occur in mid-November.
Arborist reports commissioned earlier this year confirmed a number of the trees had been poisoned. The laboratory tests found concentrated traces of chemicals called dicamba and metolachlor OXA in samples taken from the leaves of impacted trees.
These chemicals are found in a variety of common herbicides that can be easily purchased from hardware and agricultural suppliers.
