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1. V1 \i/►7 l,L.1 ' Ii. <br /> 1 • -,,.. <br /> .1 <br /> activists } <br /> '''wdiscussing . M. <br /> 11;., <br /> i <br /> ,11; <br /> ,i): <br /> ,,.. <br /> tree's fate <br /> ,3(1 . <br /> III Protest: Experts are considering , <br /> removing the aging big-leaf maple. ► <br /> ia: <br /> By ANNE WILLIAMS 3/.2a/et l `1 <br /> The Register-Guard A. <br /> l <br /> •Eugene urban forester Mark Snyder spent four ;iii <br /> hours Friday at the base of an ailing big-leaf maple v. <br /> near the Owen Rose Garden, listening to worried '; <br /> activists and explaining why the city believes the `! <br /> 80-year-old tree will probably have to come down. 'i: <br /> "I.think it was a very productive day," said Sny- `z{` <br /> der, who also met with one concerned local arborist, 1 i <br /> and hopes to,meet4.with another Monday. "We hadi;i! <br /> good discussion about ways. (the city) can improve +1 <br /> our communication system in events like this so1 • <br /> people won't feel like we're surprising them." t' <br /> Meanwhile, the four tree-sitters who took up resi- <br /> dence in the tree's mossy limbs Thursday came and ; <br /> went through the day, but by early Friday evening, : ' • <br /> two remained. The protesters climbed the tree after tit <br /> (ilw notice of its imminent removal was posted ;.t, <br /> Wednesday. ' <br /> Using a drill like instrument that gauges electrical i; <br /> resistance in different parts of the tree, public works +; <br /> employees spent much of Friday morning trying to3i; <br /> determine how much of its base is rotted. They'll ' <br /> finish that testing Monday. }fi. <br /> "Everything that we saw today just kind of con- <br /> firmed our suspicions that there is significant decay :; <br /> in there," Snyder said. "But what we need to do is ,1 <br /> complete the picture." .1 <br /> The city closed the riverside pedestrian path near i`' <br /> the tree after a consulting arborist warned that either ::41. <br /> the tree itself or any one of its three main limbs :ill[ <br /> could topple. A gaping crack in its trunk has widened <br /> in recent months,and a second has formed. '`!`. <br /> Local arborist Nathaniel Sperry, who on Thursday ;1 <br /> bolstered protesters' hopes when he said he would <br /> secure the tree with cables and braces for no charge, <br /> said Friday that was an offhand remark. •i6: <br /> "I made a kind of flip comment, that I'll go and 'i: <br /> cable the blessed thing, put a brace on it, whatever," q' <br /> he said. "It was without any scientific basis or aware- • ;i€ <br /> ness of what data had been collected." . y. <br /> Sperry said he couldn't offer a professional opin- <br /> ion on whether the tree should come down because "'. <br /> he hasn't seen enough data. But he agreed it is a ?; <br /> hazard. ti. <br /> "Something has to be done to reduce the risk," he rill <br /> said, adding that he believes propping up the tree <br /> with some kind of brace would be impractical. "Ii <br /> don't know exactly what would work." 'Il. <br /> Snyder said he and other city officials will meet 33 <br /> after Monday's tests to decide what to do with the -r . <br /> tree. Possibilities include somehow securing the tree, <br /> removing it or rerouting the riverside bicycle path '.',t <br /> through the rose garden. <br /> "No decision to remove has been made yet," he 'k <br /> said. "Nothing will hannen over the weekend ,, �' <br />