Murrysville council is expected to decide Wednesday night on a proposal to timber 52 acres in the community.
A forestry company has been hired to remove selected trees from four parcels of property.
At a public hearing June 3 on the matter, council members discussed their reservations about use of local roads to haul out timber.
Council also requested a letter stating a property line dispute between Crowfoot Gun Club and Westmoreland Conservancy will be settled before timbering is permitted.
The four parcels are: seven acres at 3893 Windover Road, seven acres at 3898 Windover Road, 30 acres at 4991 Crowfoot Road and eight acres at 117 Hay Lane. Timbering is permitted on all of the properties, but council must approve a conditional use for the project because the total land is greater than 10 acres, said Jim Morrison, chief administrator.
The project would selectively harvest dead and dying trees and restore the health of the forest, said Dave O’Barto, a consulting forester who spoke at the hearing.
“We are looking mostly to take out dead ash trees and thin some maple, oak and poplar,” Mr. OBarto said. “The logging plan has been approved by Westmoreland County, the trees are marked and we are trying to get all the permits in line to be ready.”
The biggest obstacle is a dispute between the Westmoreland Conservancy and the Crowfoot Gun Club. The gun club is one of the four owners of the property. The conservancy owns property adjacent to the gun club, and the boundary between the properties is in dispute.
The conservancy also is trying to buy some of the land in question. Alan Halperin, conservancy president, asked council to table the proposal and requested that a survey be done.
Mr. O’Barto told council that Crowfoot has done a registered survey, and topography and soil maps have been submitted. In addition, the municipal engineer has approved a haul route for the lumber trucks.
The proposed haul route runs from Windover Road to North Hills Extension to North Hills Road to Tarr Hollow Road. Some council members were unhappy with the route.
“What size trucks will be used?” asked council President Joan Kearns.
“These will be 72,000-pound log trucks,” Mr. O’Barto replied. “This same route was used eight to 10 years ago.”
Ash tree populations in the United States have been devastated by the emerald ash borer, a beetle native to Asia. The beetle is an invasive species that was first discovered in America in June 2002 in Michigan. It apparently was brought to North America accidentally in wood used in shipping materials.
Standing outside the municipal building after the hearing, Mr. O’Barto looked across to a distant hillside and quickly pointed out three dead ashes. “[Dead ash trees] are everywhere,” he said. “Ash will go the way of the American chestnut. The ash tree propagates quickly, but the ash borer kills young trees before they are capable of producing seeds.”
Tim Means, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: June 16, 2015, 9:23 p.m.
