Eversource is cutting trees during nesting season

Based upon a press release back in May, Eversource is cutting down over 100 trees they refer to as “hazardous” in Darien alone. The utility company suggests they have experts--biologists and arborists—who have reviewed all tree trimming and tree destruction strategies.

So, here is my question. Did their experts recommend cutting down trees in May and June -- right smack in the middle of nesting season? Because, it’s one thing to cut down 100 trees during a time when we’re recognizing just how critical they are for environmental health; it’s quite another to cut down 100 trees during nesting season!

According to an ornithology study published in the journal of Science in 2019, since 1970, one in four birds have vanished from our Western Hemisphere. You may be thinking, oh that’s endangered species. Nope, many of the birds were quite common. Juncos. Swallows. Orioles. Warblers. Blackbirds. Finches. Dropping fast. This should shock you. We are losing our birds.

Even the utility industry—which exists at the center of this environmental controversy—doesn’t seem to get why we should not be cutting down trees during nesting season. I called Eversource and asked them why they were cutting down trees during May and June. I had to stop her standard speech because she didn’t even mention nesting season. It was as if no one even thought about why May and June would be different from, say, March or September.

I admit this is an area of interest for me. I’ve researched it, written a novel about it, blogged about it. But honestly, we all need to think about how we’re impacting our planet.

Be worried. Call Eversource. Ask your legislator to write a bill limiting tree cutting and tree trimming during nesting season!

We’re leaving this world to our children. We want them to watch birds one day, stare at a baby raccoon peeking out of its cavernous home, toss a nut to a squirrel. Lean against a sturdy tree, rooted and thick with generous age.