Right before the snow hit this year, we spent a cold day on Smith Rock Way, right next to Smith Rock State Park, outside of Terrebonne. Alongside the road, were 35 Lombardy poplars that were posing a hazard to the roadway, nearby electrical lines and the adjacent property. Because the trees were located in the county road right-of-way, we partnered with Deschutes County Vegetation Management to remove the trees.

These trees were over 100 years old, which is rare – these type of trees usually live to about 50-70 years old. The trees were planted by the original homesteaders — the grandmother to the current owners of the property — in 1908. The trees were between 85 and 100 feet tall, but every year, large leaders would break off, often times into the roadway or across the road, hitting the power lines.

Deschutes County closed the road so we could work safely and efficiently. The county also provided a machinery to move the wood and debris. Some of the chips went down the road to DD Ranch, but most of the material was hauled off to be burned. It was a cold day, about 26 degrees and we didn’t see the sun until about 2 in the afternoon when it peeked past the hill we worked behind.

It’s always a bummer to see large trees come down, but we feel pretty good knowing that these giants had a long life in a beautiful spot. And, yeah, we love working in pretty places!

Big, old trees on a cold blue sky day.

The trees are in the road right-of-way.

Dave cutting with a nice view of Smith in the background!

Clean up time.

One down, only 26 more to go.