Mayors from Chapel Hill, Carrboro Look to Future Amid Clear Cutting

More than 30 acres of trees are being be cut down on the Craig Tract just south of Carolina North Forest near Bolin creek in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

The decision to move forward with timbering by the property’s owner, P. H. Craig Jr., spurred community-driven efforts to save the trees.

In a June 27 column in the Herald-Sun, Craig said the thick tree growth on his property was a liability because of possible Pine Beetle infestation and forest fires.

An online petition linked from the advocacy group Friends of Bolin Creek website garnered 975 signatures, and asked Chapel Hill and Carrboro town officials to oppose the timbering.

On the Aaron Keck Show, Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle recently spoke about her efforts to avoid the loss of these trees, the majority of which fall within Carrboro. Lavelle said she communicated on an almost daily basis with conservation experts and community members about their options.

“When all was said and done, at least with this particular tract at this particular time, this is how he wanted to move forward,” she said, “by exercising his rights to timber the property.”

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger recently said during her weekly segment on The Aaron Keck Show that tree loss across the area is a current topic of concern for town officials. The boom in Chapel Hill’s growth is partly to blame, she said, but moving forward the town is looking to regain tree count.

“We will be replanting in all kinds of places, we have a real emphasis on looking at that,” she said. “We have a petition to strengthen our tree ordinance, and we’re taking the opportunity to look at what other communities are doing as well.”

Chapel Hill, Carrboro Mayors Looking at Next Steps Amid Craig Tract Clear Cutting

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