When the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) Director, Sara Hensley, addressed a concerned crowd on April 20th, she said: “We are not going to cut down any tree until we have fully vetted this out.” Since then, the community, Save Our Springs, the city arborist, and PARD have collected additional data. Don Gardener, an independent arborist, performed a tree assessment and published his report. PARD conducted tree tours for the public. And, on June 2nd, the Parks Department, issued an update, writing that: “Root analysis is being conducted utilizing different methodology on selected trees in order to have a thorough data set on which to base recommendations for tree care.” Now, according to the Austin American Statesman, Hensley “thinks only six to eight trees need to be cut down.” more ›