No blue gum eucalyptus trees are left in Indian Rock Park after the city of Berkeley removed the last three trees, saying they posed safety hazards and that their health was declining. Four of the park’s original seven eucalyptuses were removed in January 2023.
The more than 50-year-old trees were showing symptoms of root problems, Christina Erickson, a deputy director of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Waterfront department wrote in an email. They had sparse canopies and in some sections were experiencing dieback, the gradual death of a tree starting at the top.
One of the trees, which had been located near Shattuck Avenue and had been leaning over, lost several large branches, leaving evidence of decay. A second tree, on the west side of Indian Rock Avenue, showed evidence of a wood-decaying organism known as sulfur fungus, the city said.
If one of the trees were to completely fall, there would likely be “severe consequences” to nearby homes, the city said. Even just a falling branch could block emergency service access, evacuation routes, and take down nearby power lines, according to the city. Plus, the non-native Australian trees are classified as moderately invasive and are known to increase fire threat.
So, after decades of preserving, pruning and monitoring the trees during storms, the city decided it was time for the eucalyptuses to go.
“We reached a point where the risks associated with these trees exceeded our tolerance for that risk,” Erickson wrote.
The latest removals, which took place between March 25 and April 4, cost the city $28,400 and were carried out by Professional Tree Care Company, a local contractor. It’s notoriously hard to thoroughly kill off eucalyptus trees without using herbicides, but the city said it did not use any, instead opting to grind the stumps down to roughly 10 inches underground. That work will be completed over the next couple weeks.
When the city removed four of the eucalyptuses last year, it planted 10 new native trees — California Buckeye, Western Redbud, California flannelbush trees. New trees will be planted in the park to “restore the natural ecosystem and support local birds and pollinators,” Erickson wrote. No dates or specific tree species have been announced yet.
Christopher Klein, who has lived a two-minute-walk from Indian Rock Park for nearly four decades, said the city should have consulted the neighborhood before chopping down the remaining trees. The trees, which were home to many crows, looked healthy, he said.
Klein said he isn’t a big fan of eucalyptus trees, and supports the removal of eucalyptus groves in places more dense with fire-prone vegetation like Tilden Park. But there were so few eucalyptuses left in Indian Rock Park that he questioned the danger that they posed.
“You wouldn’t knock down City Hall without asking people,” Klein said. “To go in there and cut the trees down with no warning whatsoever… it just felt abrupt and arbitrary.”
