UPDATE: National Park Service Set to Continue With Tree-Cutting at Potomac Campground
Neighboring residents who noticed a tree-cutting crew working Friday morning at a C&O Canal campground in Potomac have stopped the work, at least temporarily.
Sylvia Diss, a Potomac resident who lives about 10 minutes away from the Swain's Lock Recreation Site, said she saw “a lot of tree branches” on the ground at the site Friday morning and was told by workers there that the plan was to cut down 25 trees and trim about 30 more.
Diss and others concerned about the tree removal contacted County Council member Roger Berliner. Berliner said he got in touch with Kevin Brandt, superintendent of the C&O National Historical Park for the National Park Service, who agreed to temporarily halt the tree-cutting until maintenance staff could review the operation.
Chris Stubbs, chief of resources management for the C&O Canal National Historical Park, told Bethesda Beat that maintenance staff will be at the site Friday afternoon to review the plans.
He said the operation was “to remove potentially hazardous trees from visitor use.”
Diss and Potomac resident Ginny Barnes said they were told the trees had to be removed because they were dangerous to people who use the campground at Swains Lock. Stubbs said he didn’t know if that was the specific reason for the tree-cutting operation.
Stubbs also didn’t know if any trees have already been removed.
Diss, who visits Swain's Lock about twice a week and who volunteers to paint the site’s picnic tables, said most of the trees that are subject to be cut down are silver maples, trees that can reach heights of 50 to 80 feet and that are known to have branches that break off easily.
“Several might be diseased and might need to be trimmed. A little judicious trimming is OK,” Diss said. “But removing 25 trees is not right.”
Berliner praised Brandt for his quick response and almost immediate decision to temporarily halt the tree-cutting.
Barnes, who has been an active civic leader when it comes to trees and other environmental issues in Potomac, said the idea that the trees are dangerous to campers “doesn’t hold water.”
“This is troubling,” Barnes said. “There isn’t a campground I know of, or a camper I know of who doesn’t want trees.”
