Tree Service in Hidden Springs, ID

Tree Service in Hidden Springs runs on community rules that most of the valley does not have. Hidden Springs is a master-planned community in the Dry Creek Valley, started in 1987, with about 1,070 homes and more than 800 acres of permanently preserved open space. Its Town Association, HSTA, has written policies on parking strip trees and on Firewise landscaping. A good tree job here starts by reading them.

Policy 600: parking strip trees

Under HSTA Policy 600, owners are responsible for every aspect of maintaining the trees in the parking strip beside their lot, including watering, fertilizing, insect control and pruning. HSTA itself maintains the public trees along Hidden Springs Drive from the Seaman's Gulch entrance to Park Lane Drive and next to its own property. A few points matter for tree work:

• A failing tree, meaning diseased with little chance of recovery, dying or dead, must be removed and replaced within 30 days with a species from the approved list.
• Replacing a healthy tree because its species is a poor fit for the site needs approval from Town Management first.
• New deciduous trees must be at least 2 inches in caliper, measured six inches above the ground.
• Standard lots generally need at least two parking strip trees, corner lots at least four.

The approved list includes Greenspire linden, Shademaster honeylocust, red oak, Autumn Blaze maple, Pacific Sunset maple, sweetgum, American elm and others. If you disagree with a decision, the policy allows review by the Hidden Springs Town Council.

Policy 700: Firewise guidelines

Hidden Springs backs onto open foothill land, and the community's 2010 Firewise guidelines recommend 30 feet of defensible space around each home, using fire-resistant plants within that zone. Outside the building envelope, in transition areas, shrubs are to be spaced at least three times their height apart, dead plant material removed, and annual grasses cut each spring. Dead limbs and branches come out as part of seasonal upkeep, and ladder fuels, the small branches between ground and canopy, should be removed. Juniper, arborvitae and sagebrush are on the "use with caution" list and should not be planted against the house.

How we work here

For a Hidden Springs job, we confirm whether a tree is a parking strip tree, a lot tree or on HSTA land, and whether the work needs Town Management approval. For failing parking strip trees, we schedule the removal so you can meet the 30-day replacement window. For Firewise work, we remove deadwood and ladder fuels, raise canopies near structures, and thin shrubs to the spacing in the guidelines, then chip and haul the material so it does not become fuel. Call (208) 369-9847 to set up a visit. Get a free estimate