A sad fact of life is that sometimes a tree must be cut down. Some trees are beset by invasive insects or disease, others may be mangled by storms and some die from environmental stress or old age.

A sad fact of life is that sometimes a tree must be cut down. Some trees are beset by invasive insects or disease, others may be mangled by storms, and some die from environmental stress or old age.

Every other Friday, the Outside/In team here at NHPR answers listener’s questions about the natural world. This week's question came from Mo in Epsom, New Hampshire. “It's the middle of December and I ...