The village of La Grange will use a federal grant to do a comprehensive tree inventory.
The Village Board approved Monday a $37,200 contract with Graf Tree Care of Batavia to perform the survey of trees on the public right of way or village property. A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service will cover $15,000 of the cost. The village will pay the rest.
Ryan Gillingham, public works director, said the village estimates it has between 10,000 and 12,000 trees, but it cannot be sure until they are counted.
“Village records indicate the last tree inventory was performed almost 25 years ago and therefore does not provide an accurate assessment of the current status of the number and variety of trees in the village,” Village mananger Andrianna Peterson wrote in a memo to the Village Board.
The information that will be collected includes the GPS location, street address, species, size, condition, maintenance recommendations and conflicts with overhead wires.
“That information will help us with decisions about tree-trimming, planting, health and diversity of trees,” Gillingham said.
Unlike the last time the data was collected when workers used pen and paper, the data will be collected via a handheld device and will be delivered instantaneously to the village’s geographic information system.
“That creates an efficiency for us,” Gillingham said.
He said the information will be posted on the village’s website so that homeowners can find out what types of trees are growing near their houses.
The grant is being administered by the Morton Arboretum.
Gillingham said the inventory will begin in the fall and be completed by April.
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