On a summer morning earlier this year, a metallic shriek echoed through a forested area of Benton County, and small branches tumbled to the forest floor.
Contract crews were “making salad,” using massive tree-trimming equipment to shred branches that inched too closely toward electrical wires.
“The equipment’s not cheap,” said Kevin McMillan, who oversees vegetation management for the local electric utility, Consumers Power Inc. “But in the grand scope of things, it can get more work done than your tree crew at the same cost.”…