Colorado Springs Losing Hundreds of Trees

Drought and disease are taking their respective tolls on Colorado Springs' urban forest.

City officials say that tree beetles, spurned on by our hot weather and fungal diseases such as Dutch Elm, will claim several hundred street trees this year.

Officials aren't calling it a crisis, but they do say current conditions pose a "huge challenge."

What worries Jim McGannon of the Colorado Springs forestry unit is the types of trees they are seeing fall ill, "The real difference [this year] is we're seeing larger trees now that are dying."

The cutting of trees will probably more noticeable this year as well because of where they are located.

Many of the affected trees are located in high visibility downtown areas, and the trees fallin ill are of the older variety.

New trees planted in their place will not offer comparable shade and coverage for decades.