Electric Forest music festival located in Rothbury, Michigan, is known for its beautiful scenery, dense forest, and large attendance. One way that many concertgoers enjoy the scenery is to set up a plethora of hammocks hanging from trees. This allows people to rest and also stay off of the ground where people are walking. Although these hammocks are convenient for the attendees, they are causing problems for the health of the trees in the forest. On electricforestfestival.com, they write:
…our arborists have informed us that the weight of hammocks on the same trees year after year could become a concern.
The festival administration is complaining about the hammocks making walking through the forest difficult. In order to combat these issues, Electric Forest is making designated “hammock zones” for people to set their hammocks up. These hammock zones are on a first-come first-serve basis, so people need to make sure that they arrive relatively early in order to gain a space. Also, hammock stacking is no longer allowed and each hammock will need its own set of trees. More information about the new program can be found on Electric Forest Festival’s website here.
Will this destroy the reputation of hammocks at Electric Forest? Will there no longer be enough room for everyone to hang up their hammocks? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
I don’t have a hammock but I feel horrible for those who do and there a goes any hope of bringing one too! Geez EF staff! Someone call Pasquale!
Hello I’m an arborist from Boston Massachusetts and I was shocked when I read this article. I’ve been working in, on, and diagnosing trees for the past ten years. I understand that there is always concerns about trees failing, but as far as causing future damage, this seems quite far fetched. The damage that hammocks would cause is nothing compared to the damage of just having people walk around compacting the soil, or polluting the root system with whatever is spilt or dropped. Please if your worried about the health of the trees, worry more about the root system and the hundreds of thousands of feet compacting the roots than the having a hammock hang for a couple days. Again I am certified by the international society of arborists, as well as mass certified arborist, I’ve been working with trees for over ten years and just know I’m not happy about this and it seems like your using the trees health as an excuse to set a few rules about the hammocks. Please I hope you reconsider, the hammocksare a big part of the forest and a lot of people will be upset. I’m not sure who your arborists are but I hope they will come to their senses too. of I’m being totally honest and letting the truth and emotion out, I would say this is dumb and makes almost no sense, what clowns said the hammocks will cause future damage to the trees. They can’t do this to the forest, it will change everything. Can’t have rules like this, first come first serve, causes problems and ruins the vibe. Don’t make this mistake.