The combination of old age and disease will claim an increasing number of the village's almost 5,000 trees in the coming years.

The result could be a starkly different look to what are now shady, tree-lined, village streets.

In her tree committee report during Monday night's village board meeting, trustee Grace Kull said the village is experiencing problems with a canker that has attacked a number of the younger trees planted in recent years. At the same time, she said, many of the village's older trees are reaching maturity and must be removed.

The removal of the trees will result in a lot of bare spots and a village that "will look much different," she said.

Tree committee chairman Giles Russell explained Tuesday morning that 3,000 of the village's trees - those located on village property and between the sidewalk and street - were planted in a three-year period almost 75 years ago. The planting initiative was a recommendation from Stephen Clark's arborist at the time and was a collaborative effort with the village.

"It must have been a pretty sparse village 75 years ago," Russell said.

Those trees are now reaching maturity and although some may live on for many years, a number have succumbed to the ravages of time and must be removed.

There are now 100 of those trees on a priority list to be cut in the next two years. Sixty are slated for next year and the remaining 40 the following year.

"It's only the beginning," Russell said. "A lot of the trees are old, diseased and unsafe."

The village typically removes about 25 trees a year and plants a similar number which helps maintain the streetscape, he said. The budget includes $20,000 a year for the removal, maintenance and planting of trees.

Because nearly three-quarters of the village's trees were planted at the same time, they are also maturing at the same time. The loss of those trees will have an impact on the streetscape, but Russell is worried about the younger trees meant to replace the aging population.

He has found that some of the trees planted in the last five or 10 years have been attacked by a fungus, or Nectria canker. Most of the trees have a six to eight-inch caliper, or diameter.

"I don't know how serious it is, but it is affecting a number of trees," he said. "We've got kind of an epidemic. It's got its hold in a lot of trees."

The canker is influenced by weather and rain this summer has been conducive to its growth. The canker may result in the death of a tree if the infestation is severe enough.

He has researched the canker and has gone to experts at universities and anywhere else he can think of to find a control, but with no luck. "You name it, I've been there trying to find a solution," he said.

There is no treatment and fungicides are not recommended today for a number of environmental reasons, he said.

The trees which exhibit signs of the fungus are primarily those planted in the last five to ten years. There seems to be a period before the tree forms its hard bark when the fungus attacks.

The fungus creates splits in the bark and can girdle the entire trunk.

Once the hard bark forms on the trunk, you don't see the splits, he said, but it will sometimes attack smaller limbs higher up the tree.

Russell said he is about to launch an inspection of trees in that age group to find out exactly how prevalent the problem is. He expects to complete the inventory soon. At that time, he and the tree committee will have a better idea of how big a problem the village faces.

The canker is not selective - it attacks almost all trees. It is seen most often on maples, but more maples have been planted than any other species, he said. The committee has been planting disease resistant elms, but it is too early to tell if their resistance extends to the Nectria canker.

Another problem with the canker is the uncertainty about how it spreads. If it is soil borne, replanting in the same spots may only perpetuate the problem. Because of that, Russell does not envision replanting where trees with the canker have been removed.

The trees that are removed should be burned - not chipped up for mulch which could spread the fungus even further, he said.