Last week, members of the Gays Mills Tree Board, led by Village Forester Cindy Kohles, were out in force. According to Kohles, so far this year, 178 trees have been pruned and this does not include all the early pruning done on trees (about 300) in the reforestation lots that was accomplished about one month ago.

“Most terrace trees have been pruned, and almost all oak trees needing pruning received it while the danger of spreading oak wilt remained low--a challenge in a year when we had numerous spells of unusually warm weather in January, February and March,” Kohles shared. “Many park trees (including trees in vacated lots in the floodplain) have been pruned. I still hope that more pruning will be done. Those hopes include more trees in Log Cabin Village Park, the elms between the Mercantile and the Watermelon Way, and trees in Robb Park.”

Kohles explained that this year the village does not have any grant assistance for tree work, so the money for renting the lift came from local tax dollars.

“Far more costly would be hiring the labor that contributes to this massive effort. The labor is all donated by area volunteers on their own time (and often at their own expense),” Kohles said. “These volunteers have attended numerous training sessions to learn how to properly plant and prune trees, so the village is very fortunate to have them. Their continued service has been placed at risk due to frustration with damage to trees from mowers, improper pruning done by unknown individuals, and reckless damage to village trees. The Gays Mills Village Public Works crew is picking up pruned branches as they have time.”

Goals for work

Kohles explained the goals driving the group’s work:

1. Making trees structurally sound so they are less susceptible to wind, heavy snow and ice damage. This includes working toward a single dominant leader in most trees (crabapples excluded); trying to keep side branches less than half the diameter of the tree's stem where they intersect; removing dead, damaged or diseased wood; slowing the growth of branches that have unstable unions with the main stem of the tree, when that branch cannot be completely removed--a situation with many of the elm trees inherited by the current Tree Board
2. Ensuring that traffic signs are clearly visible
3. Where current tree size allows, providing the village ordinance's clearance above roads and sidewalks
4. Creating trees with an aesthetically pleasing or balanced appearance.
5. Removing small trees that are dead.
6. Identifying non-pruning actions that we may be able to take to better protect village trees (i.e. putting protection trees mostly likely to be rubbed by deer such as the Celebration maples by the baseball diamond, replacing the chicken wire beaver-barriers around tamaracks by Lions Park with a sturdier, more visually appealing protection, cutting, and killing the root system of undesirable trees competing with desirable ones).

Gays Mills Village Mayor Harry Heisz has declared Saturday April 18, 2026 Arbor Day for the Village of Gays Mills.

In his declaration, he says “I thank the trees in our village for the fresh air, clean water, wildlife habitat, physical and mental health benefits, and beauty they provide. I thank all who care for our trees—the Public Works crew, local volunteers, private landowners, professional arborists, financial donors, and taxpayers. When we all join in caring for our trees, we can be assured that they will give back to us in their own ways. This year I encourage village residents to share thoughts about their favorite local tree with Village Forester Cindy Kohles.“

You can join Cindy and others for the Arbor Day celebration at 1 p.m. on Saturday April 18 in the Lions Park pavilion. Attendees will gather briefly to share thoughts about the wonders of trees, answer tree-related questions, and maybe eat a snack partially offered by trees. For this part of the celebration, people are encouraged to bring a song, reading, or graphic depiction of a tree they appreciate.

Then the celebrants will walk to the northeast corner of Park and S. Railroad streets where an alder tree (the only one in the Village) will be planted. The tree replaces an alder that had been badly rubbed by deer. Rot developed in the damaged area leading to the tree breaking in a windstorm. Steps will be taken to reduce the chances of deer damage to this young tree.

If you cannot join the Arbor Day celebration, we hope you can find a way to thank a special tree in your life.