City to raze 11 more pines at Stoney Creek’s Battlefield park

The city will cut down the remaining 11 of 23 dead pine trees near the King Street East entrance to Stoney Creek's Battlefield House Museum and Park when weather conditions are favourable.

Robyn Pollard, manager of forestry and horticulture, said the Scots pines by the National Historic Site's northeast corner will be removed once the ground freezes to limit compaction by vehicles and equipment that could cause turf and root damage.

She said it's unclear when the trees died, but staff discovered they were dead in the fall and believe a native borer that attacks Scots pines was the culprit, although that's not been confirmed.

The trees have been in decline for a number of years," Pollard said in an email response to an inquiry by the Stoney Creek News.

As these pines are not a native species, staff are not suggesting the use of pesticide," she said. Control is limited to removal of affected trees to ensure nearby trees aren't impacted."

City planning director Steve Robichaud issued the necessary heritage permit on Dec. 22, apparently after the initial dozen pines had already been razed.

The permit, included in the agenda for the Jan. 26 Hamilton municipal heritage committee meeting, gives the public works department until the end of 2024 to remove the remaining trees and repair affected areas.

It requires soil compression in areas of archaeological potential" to be minimized by having vehicles access the trees via the existing driveway and a stone path, with track mats to be used where that's not possible.

Once removed, the trees' stumps are to be ground down and the affected areas are to be remediated with soil and grass seed.

Any departure from the approved plans and specifications is prohibited, and could result in penalties, as provided for by the Ontario Heritage Act," the permit states.

Pollard said tree removal permits are often issued retroactively" when work must be done to ensure public safety, as when high winds damage branches or tree health rapidly declines.

She said the stumps will be ground down this year, but a specific timeline for doing so hasn't yet been established.

Area Coun. Matt Francis, who received a copy of the Dec. 22 permit, said the loss of trees is unfortunate because they make the park inviting but shouldn't be terribly noticeable" to passersby.

Let's just hope the other ones can survive whatever disease (these) ones had," he said.