Longtime residents in the Wyntercreek neighborhood are upset about how a pine beetle infestation at Dunwoody Nature Center was handled, saying it destroyed otherwise healthy trees and damaged their adjacent property.
Residents say that they were given no advance notice that the area behind their homes was set to be virtually clear-cut and claim the job was unprofessional and sloppy.
According to Dunwoody city officials, Javis Tree Service was chosen from among three vendors to remove 65 trees in several areas within the 21-acre park that were identified as infected by pine beetles.
Pine beetle infestation, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission, are mostly found in the south, and “can kill large numbers of healthy trees over many acres in a short period of time.”
“Promptly salvaging or destroying potential breeding material, such as pines that are severely damaged by wind, lightning, fire, disease, or insects, is important,” the GFC’s website said. “Chemical control of […] infestations under forest conditions is not recommended.”
Todd and Mary Cozart said they alerted the nature center staff of the infestation. Their son, who is majoring in forestry at the University of Tennessee, first identified the problem last Thanksgiving, Todd said.
“Some correspondence went back and forth, but we never heard back about a timeline for removing the trees,” Mary said. “Todd followed up, and the DNC told us they would let us know about the plan.”
Some trees were removed around Christmas, but the Cozarts said they were surprised on Feb. 2 when a large crew came to the area behind their home and started cutting down trees in a haphazard manner.
“They just chopped the trees down at the stump and the tree branches fell on top of the healthy trees and ripped off the canopy,” Todd said. “The machines that they were using left large gashes in the healthy trees, and in some cases, uprooted them…
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