The large American elm standing sentinel in front of Philomath Community Library — designated as the city’s first Heritage Tree in 2023 — has been diagnosed with Dutch elm disease and will be cut down.
The Philomath Tree Board voted 4-0 Friday morning during a Public Works Committee meeting to approve removal of the tree after samples submitted for testing at Oregon State University confirmed the diagnosis.
Graham Seaders, who has a background in tree care and sits on the Tree Board, explained the urgency behind the decision.
“The typical management for Dutch elm disease is to either preventatively treat trees through trunk injections or soil injections so that they don’t get sick,” Seaders said. “But once they do, it attracts bark beetles and so then you create a breeding site for those beetles to then take that disease to other neighboring elm trees.”
Lige Weedman, public works employee and city arborist, said Dutch elm disease mitigation can often save an infected tree when only 5% or less shows symptoms. He estimated the Philomath tree at 35% to 45% — well beyond the 5% threshold for effective treatment.
“It’s kind of beyond being able to manage it effectively,” Seaders added. “You can keep it for a couple of years but it’s not a good long-term management option.”
Seaders said the disease poses a risk to other elm trees in the area.
“There are a lot of big beautiful elm trees on the OSU campus as well,” Seaders said. “We don’t have a lot really around here but in my opinion, there’s enough that I would hate to neglect this issue and then let that spread to other neighboring trees.”
The committee discussed options for removing the tree, with a local tree services company estimating costs of $8,000 to $12,000 for a start-to-finish job, including associated fees. Public works employees may handle branch removal themselves with a contractor brought in to remove the large trunk using a stump grinder at an estimated cost of $500 to $700.
Garry Black, public works operations supervisor, said the tree debris would likely be burned on site in a gravel area behind the library, requiring a special permit since it would occur after the end of burn season. If not burned, the debris would need to be hauled to Coffin Butte landfill using special equipment at significantly higher cost.
Seaders suggested salvaging debarked portions of the tree to create items such as benches. Philomath City Manager Chris Workman expressed interest in incorporating a bench and tree cookies into City Hall’s planned lobby redesign. Library benches were also discussed as a possibility.
The timing and public communication around the removal generated considerable discussion. Seaders said the best time to take down the tree would be during the dormant season — now until trees start leafing out.
Mayor Christopher McMorran and other committee members expressed concern about public reaction to losing such a prominent tree. The group brainstormed strategies including displays or posters explaining why removal was necessary.
Giana Bernardini, who sits on the Tree Board and was the inspiration behind launching the Heritage Tree program in 2023, advocated strongly for public outreach.
“Personally, if I was in the community and I knew it was going to go down, I would want to go down there and just admire it before it left — and I would be bummed out,” Bernardini said.
The city appears to be intent on planting another tree in the space, possibly this spring as part of Arbor Day activities.
“I started putting together a list of recommended replacement trees,” Seaders said. “It is a large enough space that you could get a nice shade tree there.”
Among the recommended replacements would not be an elm tree.
“Dutch elm disease doesn’t spread to other genuses of trees, so we have a lot of options of other things that we could plant there without risking infecting other trees,” he said.
The committee showed mixed interest in organizing a formal goodbye event for the dying tree, with more enthusiasm for a ceremony when a replacement is planted. McMorran suggested staying in touch with the library about the removal timeline.
The situation with the grand American elm prompted discussion about preventing similar outcomes in the future.
“This could’ve been avoided through preventative management of the tree,” Seaders said. “To me, I think this tree would have been a great candidate for preventative injection to keep it from getting infected by Dutch elm disease. But in order to do that, we need to have a better inventory of what trees are city trees.”
Kevin Fear, public works director, said past efforts to inventory city trees had stalled due to time constraints and unsuccessful volunteer initiatives.
“This is a huge bummer and it’s an incredibly sad thing,” Bernardini said.
McMorran echoed the sentiment about the loss.
“Trees come down all the time but that one in particular with its prominence on a public plaza area on Applegate like that will literally and figuratively leave kind of a hole on one of our main areas of town,” the mayor said.
A definitive date for when the tree will be cut down has not yet been announced.