Endangered Bats Forcing 4th Street Trees Down Sooner

Chainsaws Could Rev Up As Early As December

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People living on East 4th Street in Duluth could now hear chainsaws roaring and trees falling as early as December because of long-eared bats.

The bat was recently federally listed as an endangered species.

So now, St. Louis County is in a race to chop the trees down before the bats are back and major reconstruction begins on 4th Street.

“It’s a very sad thing for us,” said Myrna Matheson, a 51-year resident of East 4th Street who has been a big supporter of saving the trees.

“A lot of us look at these trees as our friends. Really nice to walk under — and a lot of people walk here. So, we’re going to miss them,” Matheson said.

But there was recent hope for Matheson after finding out the long-eared bat was put on the federal endangered species list.

“I was very excited because I thought maybe it was one way to save the trees,” Matheson said.
St. Louis County engineer Steve Krasaway told FOX 21’s Dan Hanger the bat concern actually means 100-plus trees are coming down before April – which is the time bats start to hang around the trees.

“It’s tough being an engineer sometimes and trying to figure out these problems because you’re trying to get the road done, but it’s one of those things you have to do to make sure you protect all the resources in the state,” Krasaway explained.

According to Krasaway, the extra work to remove the trees before construction starts next summer will mean 20 to 30 days of extra road closures and added costs.

“I’d say a very dramatic change to the project and schedule. We had to actually do a separate contract to take down the trees. Just to remove trees,” Krasaway said.

While there’s a lot of emotion around the old trees going away for good, St. Louis County believes cutting them down is the right thing to do for the community’s future.

“The bats would be very welcome here. The trees — we got lots of holes in them; lots of places for them to stay. They’d be very welcome,” Matheson said.

“To be able to replace the road and replace the utilities and upgrade it to meet today’s standards, the trees had to go,” Krasaway said.

A public meeting about the tree clearing and bat issue is happening Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Greysolon Plaza in downtown Duluth.