In Johnson County, biologists are poisoning trees to save birds and butterflies

Nearly 1,000 people who chop down a Bradford or other Callery pear in their yards this spring will get to pick a free native tree.

https://www.kcur.org/news/2022...

That's a good article but I disagree with the last part, saying that spraying entire trees is a good idea. Spraying that much 'cide would be the equivalent of trying to get a "right" by adding 2 "wrongs."

The blooms of these trees smell so bad, I've never understood why anyone would want one in their yard at all.

wow I can't imagine the negative affects of all that poison being sprayed, especially right in the spring when there are so many nests/babies ect. They are asking people around here too to cut their trees, I find it a tad humorous they want homeowners to cut them, when they are in the city, in ditches and public rights of way here, and I even seen a patch on conservation land a while back while driving. I'm not cutting mine down, I like them and while I would not plant them again on purpose, they are here to stay now. They've been here for 10 years now. I don't mind the smell as they bloom so early in the year I am not out in the yard much anyway, and the blooms only last a couple of weeks-the smell is only strong for a few days after they open. The view from my kitchen window is beautiful. If they die off someday I will replace them with something else though.