KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. — Kalamazoo County neighbors in the southern portion of the county, near Schoolcraft and Vicksburg, organized against a proposal by the Kalamazoo County Road Commission to remove up to 8,000 trees along country roads. Their efforts helped cut that number in half.
The road commission's plan, part of an initiative called "Safe Streets for All," called for removing trees the commission says pose a safety risk when vehicles leave the road. Residents first learned of the plan when orange X marks began appearing on trees along their streets.
"They were marking all of our trees down our street with a big orange X," Georgia Evans, a Kalamazoo County neighbor, said.
"There was just Xs one day on the trees," Tiffany Sadowski said.
Neighbors began comparing notes and mobilizing.
Watch: Kalamazoo County neighbors fight plan to cut down 8,000 trees along country roads
"One by one, we started hearing whose trees were going to be removed. And one by one we started making phone calls," Evans said.
More than 2,200 residents signed a petition opposing the plan, neighbor Brad Sadowski said.
"As it turned out, there was an awful lot. We have over 2,200 petitioners that Kalamazoo County residents have signed that says we do not want the road commission clear cutting 8,000 trees," Brad Sadowski said.
Neighbors attended public meetings for months. After the public outcry, the road commission re-evaluated its original plan and reduced the number of trees slated for removal from 8,000 to an estimated 4,000. The commission says it accomplished the reduction by changing the distance a tree must be from the road to be considered for removal.
Trees that were once marked for removal and later spared are now marked with black paint.
"We made a difference. Our voice, made a difference," Evans said.
"We weren't ready to have 8,000 trees clear-cut, in 15 townships, 130 miles. That was not acceptable," Evans said.
But neighbors say the fight is not over. Residents are still contacting organizers about properties that remain affected.
"We're still fighting the fight. We still have residents that are calling us, emailing us, saying we're still impacted. Is this over? And we're telling them, no, it's not over," Tiffany Sadowski said.
A map of impacted roads is available, and any road marked "with clear zone improvements" indicates trees may still be removed.
Neighbors can find that map here.
"You can do something, you can make change," Tiffany Sadowski said.
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