A good neighbor posted their concern about a healthy tree at risk for removal due to neighbors who don't even own it. According to their post in the r/legaladvice subreddit, the tree in question belongs to a third party, a 90-year-old man who wants to keep it.
A large white pine tree sits on the property that is located between the OP's house and the neighbors who want to cut it down. The neighbors have gone as far as hiring two different tree companies to look at the tree. However, the first arborist refused to cut it down because it's not only healthy — it's also over 200 years old.
The OP wrote, "The tree does not pose any risk of falling on the home of the neighbors who want to cut it down," but lack of risk doesn't automatically save a tree. One homeowner's 100-year-old tree was removed after a complaint to the highway department. In Australia, some 100-year-old red gum trees have been illegally cut down to help rising heating costs.
A man in Iowa got a five-figure fine for removing a historic oak tree that was almost 200 years old.
Therefore, the tree in the Reddit post may also have similar historical protection. A commenter remarked that "it may predate the formation of the state, or admittance of the state to the US. It may be possible for it to be designated a historical landmark, which would provide a whole additional level of protection."
Unfortunately, this is not the only occurrence of a neighbor or landlord being difficult and forming a barrier to climate-friendly solutions like a perfectly healthy tree. Trees are responsible for a high percentage of the planet's oxygen and natural air filtering as they harbor carbon — 10 to 1,000 tons of it, according to MIT's Climate Portal. Homeowners can improve their energy efficiency and reduce their heating and cooling costs with the help of a strategically located tree.
Understanding that such neighbors may try to cut the tree down anyway, one person suggested, "Get an estimate from someone on the value and replacement costs of that tree and post them all around it."
Someone else said the tree owner should, "At a minimum, put up a couple of no trespassing signs & if possible a camera."
At the end of the day, "they legally can't do anything to that tree without the homeowners' permission … even calling a tree service is illegal," reminded one commenter.
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