By Bill Campbell
For Penn State Live
"The grand old patriarchs, those mighty elms, before which I often, when alone, and without affection, bowed my head and could without shame have knelt and kissed the turf at their feet -- where are they now?"
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Typical Elms and Other Trees of Massachusetts
Tom Flynn keeps that passage handy in his office. It affirms his commitment -- and that of Penn State's Office of Physical Plant (OPP) -- to protect and preserve the remaining stand of majestic elms on the University Park campus.
"I see the grand old elms that grace the campus as an icon," said Flynn, senior landscape architect in OPP. "Our elms are very special. They have taken on a size and shape that is unique, particularly on the Henderson mall, with its cathedral-style view.
"When you mention the University Park campus, many people, especially our alumni, think of our elms, which are one of the most mature remaining elm stands in the country. We are committed to preserving our elms. No campus has as many elm trees as University Park. It simply would not be Penn State without them."
The University's commitment to preserving its elm trees is carried out through a nationally recognized elm management and preservation program directed by Jeff Dice, supervisor of grounds. A crew of four arborists, headed by Kris Edson, lead arborist, regularly conduct a sampling of campus trees, make inspections and track the elm trees for signs of Dutch elm disease and the elm bark beetle. It's a year-round program, with arborists checking the trees even during the winter months.
"Every effort is made to preserve the elms and other mature trees on campus," Gordon Turow, director of campus planning and design, said. "The beauty of our wonderful elms is extraordinary, and their age is a great source of pride. While many campuses have lost their elms to Dutch elm disease, our tree experts have successfully maintained some 300 of our elms to date."
While diseased trees have to be removed to prevent spreading of the disease, any elm removed is replaced with an elm. For example, 30 new elm trees have been planted on the Pattee mall in the past several years.
"Since American elms are not resistant to Dutch elm disease," Flynn said, "new resistant species have been developed through cross-breeding. The hybrids we planted on the Pattee mall will be a different shape than our American elms, and we have determined that they may not be the best substitute.
"As a result, we have gone back to planting the original American elm species. We hope that what we do through our preservation program will keep them healthy."
Penn State alumni have taken an interest in preserving the campus elm trees and have backed that interest with funding. As its class gift, the Senior Class of 1996 established an endowment for the preservation of elms on campus.
An important tool in the management and preservation program is Penn State's Heritage Tree program, which was initiated by the University Tree Commission. The program seeks to preserve the "irreplaceable" trees on campus. Currently, there are 26 individual trees and six groves of trees with Heritage status. Under the program, Penn State has pledged to preserve those trees. The Penn State Alumni Association is working with OPP to develop a marker for each of the Heritage trees. The association is providing the funding and the design process has begun.
Turow said that before any construction on campus, the health and stability of every tree within or adjacent to the project is evaluated by arborists. Every effort is made to preserve existing trees. The new chemistry building, for example, was designed around a large elm tree and every effort was made to protect it through all phases of construction.
"One can't imagine the chemistry building without that stately elm tree," Flynn said. "The reflection of its branches on the glass of the building is very striking."
Turow said the number of trees planted compared to those removed is much greater than two to one. "The number of trees on campus has increased from 11,075 in 1994 to 14,066 in the past year," he noted. "In other words, there are about 2,991 more trees on campus today than there were 10 years ago."
An effort to inventory all of the trees on the University Park began in the summer of 2002. Thus far, 2,273 have been identified and inventoried. Of those, 13 have a canopy spread of at least 100 feet; 58 are at least 100 feet high and 187 are American elms. Detailed information on University Park campus trees is available on the Trees of Penn State Web site at http://lorax.opp.psu.edu online.
"We love our trees," Flynn added. "We continue to work closely on preserving trees during construction projects and try to get designers to work around them to keep tree losses at a minimum. There is no reason to take down a tree for construction when we can work around it. We have made progress in the last few years in getting designers to think about how trees affect construction projects. Our trees are a treasure."