Tree Committee

Arborist Advice: Why Should You Prune Your Trees During the Dormant Season?

Tree pruning during the dormant season The snow may still be falling, but your trees need care during every season. Pruning during the dormant season when buds have yet to open and trees are in hibernation, provides numerous benefits. Read more about why you should prune your trees during the dormant season.

Dawn Redwood: The long return

The Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is a living testimony to the surprises still found in nature. The tree was believed to be extinct and only known as a fossil, until it was discovered in China in the 1940s.

In 1928, Japanese scientists who specialized in plant fossils began studying cone and leaf fossils that looked a lot like the sequoia trees in California. But by 1941, they were convinced these trees were different than the ones in California, even though they shared strong similarities. Learn more about this living fossil, courtesy of the Arbor Day Foundation.

Poison hemlock, a growing problem

Poison hemlock Poison hemlock is an extremely toxic, fast-growing, and highly-invasive biennial plant which resembles Queen Anne's Lace. It has become naturalized across North America and has been positively identified in Harpers Ferry. All parts of the plant are toxic, with the potential to produce fatal neuromuscular dysfunction due to failure of the respiratory muscles.

For photos and more information on identification, specific toxicity, and control methods of poison hemlock, please refer to the following online resources:

Poison hemlock identification and control (King County [Washington] Noxious Weed Program)
Poison Hemlock (University of Maryland Extension)
Poison Hemlock (photographs) (Maryland Biodiversity Project)
Exotic Species: Poison Hemlock (National Park Service)
Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania: Poison Hemlock (Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)
Poison Hemlock Identification and Management Resources (PennState Extension)

About those cages...

Caged tree If you've wondered why there are cages on all the new street trees, it's so the deer won't rub off the bark.

Please don't remove the cages. The Tree Committee will remove them when the trunks are too wide for deer to rub against.

Thanks!

Trees and Shrubs - Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Maryland Heights Trail Since 70% of the park is forested, it is no surprise that a wide variety of tree and shrub species occur here. Read more here.

(At left: Common vegetation found along the Maryland Heights hiking trail. NPS photo.)

Hybrid Hazel Nut Project

Hazelnuts hold great promise for increasing the world’s sustainable food, feed, and energy supply. That’s why both researchers and members around the United States are working together to expand the potential of this hybrid crop. Learn more.

TREE COMMITTEE

The objectives and authority of the Tree Committee are detailed in Codified Ordinance 1104, officially titled the Harpers Ferry Tree Conservation Ordinance. The Committee is responsible for the enforcement of the Ordinance, the provisions of which are enacted to:

Establish a responsible authority for the management of the Corporation’s urban forest;
Establish and maintain the optimal amount of tree cover on public property in the Corporation;
Maintain the Corporation’s trees in a healthy and non-hazardous condition through good arboricultural practices; and
Establish and maintain diversity in appropriate tree species and age classes to provide a stable and sustainable urban forest.

The Harpers Ferry Tree Committee officially consists of eight members: five voting members, appointed by the Town Council; the Town's Maintenance Supervisor; one representative from the West Virginia Division of Forestry; and one representative from Potomac Edison (successor to the former Allegheny Power). Of the five voting members, one must also be a member of the Planning Commission. The four regular members are each appointed for two-year terms. In addition, the Mayor of the Corporation of Harpers Ferry is considered an agent of the Committee.

Through efforts of the Tree Committee, Harpers Ferry was first designated a Tree City USA community by the National Arbor Day Foundation in 2008. As part of the requirements to be recognized as such, a resolution approved by the Town Council the same year designated the fourth Friday of every April as Arbor Day in the Corporation of Harpers Ferry, although since 2009 each Arbor Day ceremony has been held on the fourth Saturday instead of Friday.

Meetings of the Tree Committee are held the fourth Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Room at Harpers Ferry Town Hall.

Tree Committee Members

SEAT 1: Christy Huddle, Vice-Chair (term ending 31 Dec 2022)
SEAT 2: Kevin Kosa (term ending 31 Dec 2022)
SEAT 3: Tyler Mayhew (term ending 31 Dec 2023)
SEAT 4: Guy Hammer (term ending 31 Dec 2023)
SEAT 5: Jim Jenkins, Planning Commission representative

Larry Waters, Town Maintenance Specialist (non-voting)
Matthew Cook, WV Division of Foresty representative (non-voting)
(vacant), Potomac Edison representative (non-voting)