They're coming down!
X marks each of the twenty Norway maples that were removed from Cadotte Avenue, between Grand Hotel and the school.
Norway maples are a non-native, invasive species. Norway's were introduced to North America in the late 1700's. George Washington is said to have bought two from a Philadelphia importer. They became widespread around World War II when many were planted to replace elms stricken by the Dutch Elm disease.
Like so many non-native species, Norway maples cause problems in native plant populations.
Its extreme shade tolerance, especially when young, allows it to penetrate beneath an intact forest canopy. Woodlands which have been invaded by Norway maple, suffer losses in diversity of native forest wildflowers compared with forests in which the canopy is dominated by native species such as sugar maple.
When mature, Norway's are very susceptible to many diseases and pests, causing them to be both unattractive and potentially dangerous due to falling limbs.
So down they came, and it's going to take awhile to adjust to the change of view:
But as so often happens on Mackinac, it's not really a "new" view, but actually a replaying of the past - check out this vintage postcard, does it look just a little bit familiar?
Wow! How interesting. I think the view looks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI'm from Vancouver and have never heard of Mackinac Island, so did a little reading on their website. It sounds amazing! I love places that ban cars! Very jealous!