I have a concern I would like others to know about regarding some tall, beautiful, healthy trees. Vienna Township is in the process of doing some future roadwork near my parents’ farm. In doing this they need to remove several trees in the ditches — common procedure from what I'm told. This road is an east-west road that intersects with a north-south road. There is a trio of large trees that has been growing on the south road near the fence line for as long as I have been alive. These trees are healthy and cause no problem or threat to anything or anyone, barring an act of God. They also grow adjacent to a pasture that is leased by my father for cattle grazing throughout the summer. Incidentally, these trees provide the only shade for this pasture. Most days you will find the cattle loafing around under these trees doing their best to stay cool.After speaking with Vienna Township Board Supervisor, Larry Tweet, I was told it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. I then asked why and what were the benefits to the township? Mr. Tweet informed me in the future they would be re-working that road so the trees needed to be removed. Coming from first-hand knowledge, that road has been mentioned in "road re-working" conversations for several years now. Why then can this tree removal not wait until the time is more appropriate? After several minutes of silence, evasiveness and unanswered questions Mr. Tweet apparently had no legitimate answers and hung up. Aside from the fact that a pasture and cattle are involved, in a time when we all need to be more conservation-minded, why would you purposely cut down trees that took decades to grow, are not ill, and are doing no harm to anything? I encourage all the readers to think about this for awhile. If you have some time, come see these trees for yourself. Drive one mile south of Kenneth, two miles west, and one more mile south. Or contact the Vienna Township Board and see if you can get some answers and possibly help me save a few trees. Jason Bird,Mitchell, S.D.
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