In the 1960s, as a cost-cutting measure, the Glen Ridge borough council decided to disband the Shade Tree Division within the Department of Public Works. It seemed sensible at the time. The town’s street trees were, by and large, healthy young adults. And when one did die, the protocol was simple: replace it with a maple tree. This replacement procedure was followed for decades, meaning that, even though the oak might have seemed to be the borough’s iconic tree, it was really the maple.

In fact, in 2010, fully 67% of our street trees were maples. In the 1990’s, the percentage would have been even higher. But in that decade, the maples began to die, and the number of deaths has accelerated each year since. A stunning turnaround: the fall of the maple.

Maples: Prized for Centuries

One allure was that maples were known to be good understory trees, meaning they could flourish in the shade of a mature canopy. They also came in a range of sizes and promised lush, rounded crowns of deep green leaves. And they had few fatal susceptibilities to native insects or pathogens.

However, these trees did have a major downside – one that should have given borough administrators pause. Their root systems, as many of us know firsthand, are relatively flat, broad, and highly invasive, able to bulldoze through sidewalks, retaining walls, sewer pipes, and even foundations.

In the end, what won the day for maple trees was their spectacular fall color. It’s safe to say that no trees in eastern North America are more closely associated with fall foliage than maples. The colors yellow and orange are in the foliage of all deciduous trees throughout the growing season. Therefore, when the green-hued chlorophyll production ceases, those are the colors typically displayed. But maples often show brilliant shades of red due to residual carbohydrates or “sugars” in their leaves.

So, back in the day when almost three-quarters of the borough’s trees were mature, healthy maples, just imagine how breathtaking was this town in autumn. No need to go to New England for leaf-peeping. Sadly, what was once a glory has become a nightmare of “maple decline” on climate-change steroids.

For decades, the borough’s maple trees have shown symptoms of “maple decline,” characterized by a thinning crown; paler, smaller leaves that change color in late summer; and cracked and peeling bark – all evidence of the tree succumbing to stress.

Of course, maple street trees have long faced stress factors such as de-icing salts, compacted soils, and construction projects. However, with climate change, the stresses these northern hardwood trees face have increased tangentially. 

In our region, maple trees can’t tolerate persistent high temperatures and extremes of weather. Warmer temperatures in winter have allowed microorganisms and other pests to survive longer and in greater numbers. At the same time, these temperatures allow the trees to bud early, making them vulnerable to late winter freezes.

In summer, maples can’t tolerate the now typical periods of scorching heat and drought. During such periods, they transpire more than they photosynthesize. In addition, their roots sprout filaments in order to scarf up any moisture in the soil. But during periods of excessive rain, such as we’ve experienced recently, these same filaments become conduits of fungal infections. 

Despite all the maples that have been removed in the borough, we still have 943 maple street trees, 28% of the total.

The fall of the maple, however, is not just occurring in our region. Although we tend to associate maple syrup with Canada, in fact 80% of it is produced in New England. Already, environmental stresses are reducing syrup production in Massachusetts and Vermont. Indeed, it has been projected that by 2070, the southern range of maple trees will run through Maine and southern Ontario. 

While it is troubling to lose maple trees from our streetscapes, it’s far more devastating to lose them from the forests of the Eastern US. The ecological consequences loom large. Glen Ridge, on the other hand, has been able to replace its maples with a wide range of lovely species, many indigenous to more southern climes. And some, like the black gum, even give maples a run for their fall-foliage money.