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Maine's trees are tiny compared to the PNW. Most of them would hardly graze the line if they fell over. It's really difficult to prune, say, 50 miles of Dougla
by burritas 4y ago
Maine's trees are tiny compared to the PNW. Most of them would hardly graze the line if they fell over.
It's really difficult to prune, say, 50 miles of Douglas-fir that stands easily over 150-200ft and grows right next to the lines -- many of their limbs are fatter than any tree I saw in the northeast. You'd have to get a crane and block the road off, and one tree could take a good part of a day. Can't fell them either, generally speaking, as you get into all sorts of disputes and the environmentalists will send you to hell 50 different ways with lawsuits.
- nine_k 4y agoIf the fir stands 150ft high right next to your power line, you have failed to proactively prune it.
- burritas 4y agoWell the tree was there a few centuries before the line was. And like I said, it's impractical to fall them.
- nine_k 4y agoThat is, it was impractical to fell them while building the line initially? The risk was considered too low for the cost of cutting and towing away large trees in a wide enough corridor?
- burritas 4y agoThe lines and paved road got put in during the old days of logging, I'd assume it was considered financially impractical for a number of reasons, likely from a legal perspective, due to many private property owners, along with a mixed bag of county, state and federally-owned land sprinkled in there, for a town of around 100 people or so. Things just kind of went along from there. Nowadays it's all that plus environmental lawsuits.