City crews felled 51 hazardous trees in Kalispell parks and along boulevards in the autumn months.

The trees were removed because they were either dead or dying, said city Parks Superintendent Fred Bicha. Some had dried up because of a lack of water after a series of dry Julys.  

Bicha is unsure if the bulk of the damage occurred in summer 2023 or 2024. The symptoms can take time to manifest in trees. 

“I think 2023 was pretty dry, and actually 2024 wasn’t as bad as I initially thought, but the damage this year might have correlated more to what was done in 2023,” Bicha said.  

Thirty trees were cut down on boulevards and 21 in parks, though removing 51 trees out of 12,000 that exist across Kalispell is not a cause for alarm, Bicha said.  

He repeated calls for homeowners with trees on their boulevards to water them come late June and early July. 

“I think that’s a good general practice. In times of prolonged heat, trees benefit definitely from supplemental water,” Bicha said.  

A lack of water is affecting trees both young and old across the city and regardless of species, according to the Parks and Recreation Department. But older trees are less resilient in the face of dry weather.  

Forty percent of Kalispell’s foliage consists of maple trees, which are now around 125 years old.  

“They can’t respond as well as a younger tree can to stress and lack of water is a stress. The more we can do the better of they’ll be,” Bicha said.  

The city uses 10 to 15 gallons of water a week to water trees planted within three years, but urban foresters urge homeowners to water their trees on top of what the city provides.  

Through the city’s Boulevard Tree Cost Share Program, a homeowner can fill out an application to have a tree planted in their boulevard, which is the buffer between private property and street. The homeowner must incur half the cost of planting the tree and commit to watering it.  

Bicha said that now is a great time for homeowners to think about signing up for the program if they want to add a boulevard tree to their right of way frontage.  

The Urban Forestry Department is also currently posting seasonal positions in parks and forestry for the summer.  

“We’d love to have anybody looking for employment go ahead and apply and help maintain these trees, water these trees,” he said. More information can be found on the city's website.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].