We have just read the article about the possible removal of the magnificent elm tree on highway 4 near Kippen and cannot tell you how upset this makes us. 

My husband and I have admired this majestic beauty for years and love to drive under it and look up through the sunroof to view its branches and it seems as if it is waving down at us.  The canopy of this tree stretches nearly across the entire highway for goodness sakes…what a sight to see.

Dutch Elm disease nearly wiped this species out in SW Ontario and now the MTO wants to cut down 5 scarce and healthy examples just because they shade the highway and might cause ice buildup…oh my gosh, the canopy of the tree prevents this from happening! 

And the comment about it being a hazard for errant cars that might leave the road….shall we also remove all the houses along highway 4 that are built too close to the road just in case a vehicle drives into them?!  We have never seen drainage problems in the area and road work can always be done in such a way so as to protect the natural environment around it.

We have lived our entire lives (50+ years) in this area and have passed under this tree many, many times and it never fails to make us smile when we see it.  My husband remembers his Dad cleaning up the remains of the dead elm trees on the farm in the 60’s and realizes what a loss their demise was to the landscape. 

If something is important enough to save there are always ways to work out a solution…it seems to us that someone at the MTO thinks that repaving the road is more important than these trees.  What a sad thought.

We happily join Bonnie Sitter in her fight to protect these special trees and respectfully request the MTO figure out a way to save them – ALL of them.

Jeanette and Rob Elliott

Lucan, Ontario.