TYRONE — Volunteers were hard at work Friday trimming and pruning a 90-foot silver maple tree that sits near the entrance of Camp Anderson in Snyder Township.

The witness tree, over 200 years old, predates the camp itself, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, according to Camp Anderson Corp. President Brian Bressler.

“It’s a focal point of the camp and we wanted to save the tree,” Bressler said. “It’s just something we want to preserve.”

Concerned about the tree’s health and visitors’ safety, Camp Anderson Corp. members reached out to Donny Coffey, owner of Nature’s Canopy, a tree and shrub care company in Tyrone, for help.

Donny Coffey (right), owner/operator of Nature’s Canopy Tree & Shrub Care, Tyrone, talks to Jack Hileman of Williamsburg on the trimming of a more than 200-year-old silver maple tree at Camp Anderson, just north of Tyrone, on Friday. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

About a month ago, Coffey and his team looked at the tree and performed a risk assessment, using qualitative and quantitative data to determine how much of a risk the tree is based on its root zone and structure.

“We found that the tree is low to actually no risk,” Coffey said.

On Friday, Coffey trimmed the tree’s overextended branches, pushing them back closer to the canopy to reduce the torsion or twist effect the branches have on the actual trunk.

He later tied a synthetic cable to the tree to reduce torque on its lower branches. The cable is designed to be “a crutch” for the tree, he said, noting it is not a fail-safe device.

“By taking a lot of the end weight off of that branch, it reduces that torsion (or twist) in toward the parent limb,” Coffey said, noting it also improves the tree’s overall health before it starts to decay and become prone to insect infestation, which would cause the tree to lose its vigor and vitality, he said.

“Once the insects are there, your woodpeckers and your other predatory birds will want to come out and feed on those as well,” Coffey said.

Barring any massive weather event, the tree could remain standing for another 100 years or more, Coffey said, adding he takes care of trees in Philipsburg that are over 400 years old.

“With good and proper maintenance, a tree can last as long as it wants to,” he said.

According to Bressler, the Camp Anderson Corp. plans to plant another silver maple tree at the camp.

“We’re looking to plant a new one, so if something were to happen to this one, we would have a new one starting,” Bressler said.

Camp Anderson Corp. Vice President Cummins McNitt said Kissell Power Equipment donated the use of their lift and thanked Coffey, who donated his services to help the camp.

“I love these old trees,” McNitt said as he gazed at the tree’s height. “That’s a pretty cool piece of history right there.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.