Largest Tree In Western Springs: Official

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs has completed an inventory of village-owned trees, with the information in an online database.

This study includes all the trees in the village's parkways.

At last week's Village Board meeting, Matthew Supert, the village's municipal services director, pinpointed the largest tree in the inventory – an elm in the 4500 block of Wolf Road.

It is between two driveways in the village right-of-way. It is listed as 150 years old, 50 feet high and having a trunk diameter of 69 inches.

Under village code, older and larger trees such as the Elm are protected as "legacy trees." Under village code, such a tree cannot be removed, as long as it is in good health.

The village owns nearly 8,000 trees. A total of 72 are designated as 100 years or older.

"Large and old trees are important features within forested ecosystems serving a variety of structural and functional roles," village records state. "The loss of such a tree would represent a significant detrimental impact to the character or nature of the surrounding neighborhood and area."