Trees “butchered” along roadsides are in fact being cleared by professionals at the behest of Belco, the organisation responsible has said.A letter writer to The Royal Gazette has asked why wide swathes of vegetation, including stands of palm trees, were being chopped away, and called for environmentalists to look into the matter.“I understand fully the issue,” said landscape head Martin Brown, whose firm Brown and Company, has been hired by Belco to conduct the clearing.“Belco, in an effort to get on top of reliability issues and similar concerns, have hired us as arborists to do pruning and felling.”The company is legally required to clear ten feet on either side of conductors, he said.The latest round of cutting is intended to stay effective for three to five years, to cut down on repeat visits.Palms directly under and adjacent to lines are being cut back in consultation with landowners.After tree cutting in the Harrington Sound area drew concern, Mr Brown said his company — which is a separate business from the Hamilton department store — has been tasked with clearing the “problem areas” around the Island first.“We’re trying out best not to just go around brutalising vegetation,” he said. “Unfortunately there are times with palms, especially the invasive Chinese fan palm, where at the end of the day the trees have to come out.”Sometimes the work entails trimming trees off to one side. “But you can’t prune palm trees,” he added.Mr Brown said the job marks a first for Belco using a professional arborist service instead of its own crews.Turn to P4 to read the letter in full.