Crews removing or trimming trees deemed potential hazards at Deer Grove
About 200 trees considered potentially hazardous to trail users are being removed or pruned at Deer Grove Forest Preserve near Palatine, officials said.
Crews from Wauconda-based Trees "R" Us Inc., were working Friday morning at a trail near the Dundee Road entrance to Camp Alphonse at Deer Grove West. Forest Preserves of Cook County spokeswoman Stacina Stagner said the work at Deer Grove began Wednesday and is expected to be completed within 30 days.
Stagner said the tree removal or pruning will occur north of Dundee Road at Hicks Road and go west to Northwest Highway. The work will cover Deer Grove East and West, which have trails near Dundee Road.
"A large portion of the trees to be removed are dead ash trees impacted by the emerald ash borer or elm trees that have likely succumbed to Dutch elm disease," she said.
Work is guided from the results of a tree-risk assessment that indicated roughly 200 required removal or pruning, Stagner said. The site and condition of individual trees determined whether they would be pruned or removed.
Crews will perform the tree work in a way to minimize the need for lane closures on westbound Dundee Road closest to the forest preserve.
Deer Grove East and West span nearly 2,000 acres between Dundee Road on the south and Lake-Cook Road on the north. Deer Grove was the state's first dedicated forest preserve.