One of Traverse City’s natural landmarks will soon be gone.

A very large cottonwood tree that sits at the mouth of the Boardman River is now mostly dead and will be cut down sometime in the near future, city officials say. Crews already removed a large section of the tree last year, and despite hopes that the rest of the tree would survive for a while longer, this summer brought bad news.

“We hired a company to come in and take out the big dead section last year because it was pretty unsightly, and we could have decided then it was time to take the whole thing down, but we were trying to keep it as long as we could,” city parks supervisor and arborist Matt Bright tells The Ticker. “It did start to bud out this year, but they just stopped. They’re brown and dead now.”

Last year’s removal, while necessary for safety and aesthetic reasons, likely stressed the big old tree even further.

“The only branches we had taken off last year were dead, but that still affects things,” Bright says. “An older tree is kind of like an older person – the more you touch it, the harder it is on them.”

Cottonwoods are relatively fast-growing trees, and Bright suspects this specimen was probably no older than 80 years. While that’s already approaching the natural end of life for this species, near-record high Lake Michigan water levels in 2020 and 2021 did it no favors.

“The high water we had a few years ago is what started the decline,” he says. “I think some root rot got in there.”

Along with the large and stately black willow tree at the intersection of Division and Grandview Parkway, this cottonwood was a very notable part of the city’s shoreline. While it will be jarring for a while to have it gone, Bright hopes that the tree’s current state will have people prepared for the inevitable.

“I think with it looking the way it looks now, locals aren’t going to be surprised,” he says.

The now-dead tree overhangs an extremely busy highway, the TART trail and the river mouth, making its removal a priority. Any of its large limbs could cause serious harm in virtually any direction.

“There’s three different areas to consider with safety. You’ve got the road, you’ve got the trail, and you’ve got the water,” city parks Superintendent Michelle Hunt tells The Ticker. “We can’t take any chances.”

Bright agrees.

“The wood is not falling apart yet, but…I’d rather get it sooner than later,” he says. “I’ll be looking for bids here in the next week or do, and then after the (National Cherry Festival), it’s time.”

A massive stump remains from the champion cottonwood tree that towered over Leland for more than a century before being cut down in 2011. It’s possible that something similar could happen with this tree, Bright says, though this one has twin trunks. He and his team are still figuring out what exactly will remain.

“We’re going to leave something,” he says. “Obviously we have to leave the roots in the ground; we’re not griding the stump all the way out because those roots hold up the bank.”

An offspring of the big cottonwood is growing a short distance away closer to the highway, and Bright says there are no plans for now to take it out. In time, it could grow into a replacement of sorts for the much larger specimen.

While not everyone notices things like trees, this huge cottonwood was such a big part of the shoreline for so many years that it will leave a hole of sorts, especially for those who spend time on the waterfront. Mayor Amy Shamroe says she will “miss it terribly.”

“I know that as someone who has lived here my whole life, it will be very jarring to see that space without that tree,” she tells The Ticker. “It’s had a huge impact, and I think we will really miss it.”

Photo inset: Bright at the base of the tree.