Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Urban Forestry topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bristol council approves Rhode Island Energy plan to use tree‑growth regulators on town trees
Summary
After questions about environmental impacts and oversight, the council approved a proposal from Rhode Island Energy to apply tree growth regulators on selected trees to slow regrowth into utility lines, improve tree health and reduce future pruning needs; conservation commission input and a transparency plan were cited.
The Bristol Town Council voted June 3 to approve a plan from Rhode Island Energy to apply tree growth regulators to selected municipal trees to reduce regrowth into utility wire zones and lower the frequency of heavy pruning.
Chris Rooney, forestry manager with Rhode Island Energy, said the treatment “directs growth instead of growing back into the wire zone,” reduces future work and has beneficial tree‑health characteristics. He told the council the product is not a pesticide and that usage in other Rhode Island communities has shown low environmental impact.
Council members pressed for potential negatives. One asked whether the treatment could harm wildlife or nearby plants; Rooney and other presenters said the material is low impact and not intended to affect insects or bees. Rooney acknowledged that small plants immediately adjacent to a treated trunk could uptake the material and be stunted and emphasized that the utility will provide lists of treated trees to the town’s tree warden and obtain state permits for trees on state roads.
The conservation commission reviewed the materials and provided a favorable recommendation, council members said, and the council stressed a transparency process: notification to the tree warden, inclusion in the municipal tree inventory and permits for state‑owned trees. A motion to approve the forestry manager’s plan passed on a voice vote.
Next steps: Rhode Island Energy will supply the tree list to the tree warden, seek necessary state permits for state‑owned trees, and the town will monitor outcomes and inventory treated trees.
