BRSR MANAGEMENT GUIDE 7
HAZARD TREE ANAYLSIS
A GUIDE TO DECTION AND ANALYSIS OF HAZARD TREES
ON THE BLUE RIDGE SCOUT RESERVATION
Derived from:
How to Detect, Assess, and Correct Hazard Trees in Recreation
Areas, MN Department of Natural Resources
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HAZARD TREE ANALYSIS
I.
HAZARD TREE—A DEFECTIVE TREE OR PART THEREOF THAT
ENDANGERS PERSONS OR PROPERTY.
II.
POLICY
a. It is the policy of the Blue Ridge Mountains Council, BSA to remove or correct
Hazard Trees in order to prevent injury to persons or damage to property.
b. Removal of trees is a last resort action and should only occur if corrective action is
possible.
c. Tree removal or corrective action should be taken prior to April 1st in trees that are
candidates for denning mammals or cavity nesting birds (to comply with the
Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act).
d. Hazard Tree removal or corrective action should be accomplished during the winter
(trees are especially prone to damage in the spring due to bark characteristics and
increased activity by insects and disease organisms.
III.
INSPECTIONS
a. Inspections for potential hazard trees should be accomplished in the fall before the
leaves have fallen.
b. Inspections should target trails, campsites, program areas, and other developed
sites.
c. Inspections should identify hazard trees, assess the hazard potential, and
recommend corrective action.
d. Inspectors should use the Hazard Tree Inspection Form to record the inspection
results based on the Assessment Tatum Guide of Hazard Potential.
e. The completed Hazard Tree Inspection Form should be provided to the BRSR
Superintendent or relevant Camp Ranger.
f. If you are uncertain about how to deal with a particular tree, please contact the
Conservation Committee or one of our foresters.
IV.
MARKING TREES IN NEED OF ACTION
a. Only properly identified trees will be cut on the Reservation!
b. Dead trees to be removed will be marked with a pink X painted on the stem and a
pink painted dot on the stump. Trees needing other action will be marked with
pink plastic flagging tied around the stem or on the part requiring action.
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DEFECTS THAT CREATE A HAZARD TREE
1. CRACKS
a. The number 1 hazardous defect. Cracks may exist in the stem, as a result of weak
branch union, at the base of a two or more stem tree, or fracturing of stems or branches.
b. HIGH FAILURE POTENTIAL:
i. The crack goes completely through the stem or branch.
ii. Stem has 2 cracks on the same segment with a cavity or decay on the inside.
iii. Stem has a crack in contact with another defect (canker, decay, weak branch,
weak union, leaning, etc.)
iv. 4” or larger branch has any crack (prune only the cracked branch)
v. Conifer stem has 1 crack that has in rolled bark and the internal cylinder of
wood is gone or extensively decayed.
2. WEAK BRANCH UNION
a. Bark layers are ingrown and weakening the union.
b. HIGH FAILURE POTENTIAL:
i. A weak union that is also cracked cankered or decayed.
ii. A weak union in the tree’s “hot spot”.
3. STEM OR BRANCH DECAY
a. Rotted or missing wood usually a result of fungal infection. Cankers and fungi fruiting
bodies on the tree or adjacent ground surface are primary indicators.
b. HIGH FAILURE POTENTIAL:
i. Canker/fruiting body present in tree’s hot spot.
ii. Cavity, decay or fruiting body associated with a weak branch union or an open
crack.
iii. Any branch with decay.
4. CANKERS
a. An area of dead bark and cambium anywhere on the tree, often affecting the wood
beneath. Long-term (perennial) cankers that represent tree/fungal associations that
alter tree form and structure and take on a target or diffused appearance create
hazardous conditions.
b. HIGH FAILURE POTENTIAL
i. Canker is in tree’s “hot spot” and affects more than ½ of the tree’s
circumference.
ii. Canker and decay in tree’s “hot spot”.
iii. Canker physically attached to crack or other defect.
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5. DEAD TREES, TOPS OR BRANCHES
a. Dead trees that are structurally unsound, dead tops that remain attached to an otherwise
sound tree, or dead branches attached to the stem or other branches create a hazard.
b. HIGH FAILURE POTENTIAL
i. Any dead tree.
ii. Any dead branch or dead top.
iii. Any lodged branch
6. ROOT PROBLEMS
a. Trees with roots exposed or soil mounding due to leaning, severed roots, missing roots
or extensive root rot are hazards.
b. HIGH FAILURE POTENTIAL
i. Freshly leaning tree with evidence of recent root lifting, soil movement or
mounding near base of the tree.
ii. Inadequate root support—tree has more than ½ of the root system severed
inside the drip line.
iii. Evidence of extensive root rot or root problem connected to stem decay,
crack, or canker.
7. POOR TREE ARCHITECTURE
a. A growth pattern that indicates weakness or structural imbalance in the affected stem
or branch such as a malformed stem or branch, stem or branch with sharp twist or
bend, multiple branches arising from one area of the stem, or branch that is out of
proportion with the rest of the tree.
b. HIGH FAILURE POTENTIAL
i. Tree leaning at an angle greater than 45 degrees.
ii. Leaning tree with another defect in “hot spot”.
iii. Any poor architecture feature in association with other defects.
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