Downtown Trees Being Vandalized

Though weather conditions have gone from winter to spring back to winter again with icy roads and sidewalks, the Glasgow Beautification Committee is utilizing time and resources to ensure the trees in the Glasgow downtown space thrive which results in the area to be beautiful and distinctive when residents and tourists enjoy the outdoors. However recent bouts of vandalism have damaged the trees, which have resulted in continued loss of resources, including time and money.

“It’s so discouraging. The one at the corner of the Nels Kent building, this will be the third time I’ve had to replant it, which means I have over five hundred dollars invested in that one tree,” stated Pat Knierim, the head of the Glasgow Beautification Committee. “There aren’t many towns along the Hi-Line that have trees and flowers. I see it as an investment in the future. When they get damaged, deliberately damaged like that, it robs from all of us.”

When new trees are planted, a protective barrier fence surrounds the tree and the fence is stayed up for quite some time to ensure the investment. “I deliberately leave up a protective barrier. In the real world, you wouldn’t leave up fence posts around them or keep them tied. But I thought it was a way to protect them,” said Knierim. “To me, it looks like malicious damage.”

She stresses if anyone sees something, to say something. If there is active damage being done to the trees, call the Glasgow Police Department so the damage can be documented and those who are doing the damage can be held accountable.

Knierim believes trees were initially started to be planted in the downtown space in the late 1970s to early 1980s, however the committee has spent the past 10 years or so actively replanting the trees that have aged out. Every year, the goal is to plant six to 10 trees, dependent on how much money has been gathered through grants and fundraising efforts. Unfortunately the new trees don’t always survive into the next year, which require additional funds to re-purchase to replace the ones that don’t survive.

“When I start planting the trees in early May, I can’t always tell if last year’s trees have come through the winter because they haven’t necessarily budded out yet,” explained Knierim. “Shelly Mills, the County Extension agent, has helped us pick out these variety of trees. They are particularly well suited for an urban environment, which is hard to say that Glasgow is urban. But where we plant them is all concrete.”

The committee receives funds from the city on a yearly basis, which cover the purchase of two trees, while Knierim also seeks out other opportunities to obtain funds in order to continue to keep the project going. Trees are ordered through Neubauer Tree Fram in Wolf Point, and each tree costs about $150, which doesn’t include the labor of planting and upkeep, so the costs add up fast for each new tree planted as well as keeping the current trees thriving over the future years.

For those who are interested in investing in the future of downtown Glasgow and being a part of the Glasgow Beautification Committee, Kneriem states they are always looking for new volunteers to participate and help. She can be contacted at 406-263-7926.