The Rock Creek tree crew from left to right: Josue Guevara (in the bucket), Supervisor Kevin Freeman, Sherwood Hall, and Bobby Rutkowski. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Freeman/NPS)
I wrote in January about a driver’s close call with a falling tree in Rock Creek Park. By the next day, the tree was no longer blocking Ridge Road.
The tree removal was the work of a National Park Service crew that keeps Rock Creek Park’s roads and trails clear and safe for the park staff and the public. Kevin Freeman is the supervisor of what will be a five-person team once two additional hires are cleared to start work. Freeman and Josue Guevara are the certified arborists on the crew, with a third to join them.
Freeman and the three crew members who were on the team when I spoke and corresponded with him have worked in Rock Creek Park anywhere from three to 40 years. This is his second tour with the Rock Creek tree crew, and his first as its leader. Freeman joined the team in 2016, then left a few years later to work at Yosemite National Park as a supervisor. But he wanted to return to the East Coast, so when he heard that the tree crew supervisor position had opened up, he applied.
Kevin Freeman with one of the tools of the trade.
Freeman explained that it took two crew members about three hours to clear the tree that had fallen on Ridge Road in January, with the assistance of their crane truck. And when they don’t have trees to remove, they still have plenty of work to do.
The crew also identifies and removes dead trees that are hazardous to the safety of visitors, whether they are near roads, trails, and picnic areas, or next to private residences. They are also responsible for pruning, to preserve trees and protect the public. They cut foliage back from roads. And they do snow removal.
Also: “Our area of responsibility is vast,” Freeman told me in an email. “We are responsible for all federal green space and parks from the Maryland border (North side of Rock Creek park proper), west to Chevy Chase Circle and Fort Bayard, East to Fort Bernard Hill/Fort Totten and south to Canal Road. This includes Meridian Hill Park, Montrose Park/Dumbarton Oaks, Battery Kemble, Fort Reno, Woodley Park/Playground, Georgetown Waterfront Park and Glover Archibald, just to name a few. We are also responsible for the entire length of the Rock Creek Parkway and adjacent lands, down to Thompson Boat Center. There are 32 miles of trails that the tree crew is responsible for keeping clear as well as many community gardens.”
If it’s green, Freeman’s tree crew has probably worked there.
Most treefalls occur between July and September, Freeman said. This period is when thunderstorms are most powerful, and he said he has noticed an increase in the severity, frequency and impact of these storms over the years. But as we know, trees can come down anytime it rains.
And if those fallen trees pose a hazard or a barrier to hikers and drivers, the Rock Creek Park tree crew will soon be there to take them away.
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Kathy Sykes says
We are so very lucky to have Kevin and his team watch over our forest and trees. I know Politics and Prose staff were thrilled when a large branch that was hanging over wires that were connecting them to the internet was removed. I believe it is Kevin’s team again that will be removing some large invasive trees from Reservation 630W, including the host tree for the spotted lantern invasive fly. We are lucky to have a great team from the National Park Service and the Rock Creek Conservancy for the Rock Creek Park caring for our urban forest.
Alex S. says
I hope that the tree of heaven in Reservation 630 West has been treated with herbicide first. If not, cutting it will cause the roots to send out many suckers and you’ve have even more with which to contend.