With hundreds of trees around the Island tagged for removal by Eversource Energy, the Chilmark selectmen have taken steps to prevent any unnecessary tree cutting in their town.

Blue ribbons began appearing around trees in Chilmark, Aquinnah, West Tisbury and Vineyard Haven this spring, although town officials at the time said they knew little about the project. In early June, an Eversource representative said the company had tagged more than 800 trees that were damaged or threatened by gall wasps, or that posed a risk to the company’s main power lines.

But several people have questioned whether all of those trees should be cut down.

Chilmark resident David Damroth raised concerns in a letter to the selectmen in June, arguing that the project may greatly alter the character of town roads. He observed that many of the tagged trees were not the oaks most commonly affected by gall wasps, and that some of the trees were on the opposite side of the road as the power lines.

The selectmen had similar concerns and agreed on June 21 to send a letter to Eversource asking for an explanation. The issue came up again a short time later, when selectman Warren Doty reported that only four of the 12 trees tagged on his property were oaks. Selectman Jim Malkin added that he felt the approach “was a bit overzealous.”

In a letter to Eversource last week, Chilmark executive secretary Tim Carroll noted that the removal of trees along public ways was regulated by state and local laws, including a town bylaw that protects the roadside districts. He also pointed out that permission sent to property owners in the spring included an out-of-service phone number and no email address for the contracted forester whose letter accompanied the forms.

“While we all would like our power to be uninterrupted by falling trees, none of us want to see a clear cut along the public ways,” Mr. Carroll said in his letter.

Paul Sellers, an arborist for Eversource, responded a day later, saying the tagged trees include oaks, but also “several other species due to decline, decay, structural defects or proximity to the primary wires.” He added that no trees may be removed without consent from the property owner or direct abutter. Once permission is granted, the company will mark the trees with blue paint. Mr. Sellers expected that work to begin this week. He also offered to perform a drive-through of the affected areas with town tree warden Keith Emin, who could approve, reject or modify the company’s final plan.

“Eversource is not going to just suddenly arrive and cut the trees,” Mr. Doty said at a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday. “We have a lot of process happening.” But he agreed with Chilmark resident Margaret Maida, who pointed out that tree trimming in recent years appears to have limited the frequency and duration of power outages.

In recent years Eversource has installed new poles and replaced one of the undersea cables connecting the Vineyard to the mainland. It also has installed a network of automated switches, allowing it to respond more quickly to power outages, possibly without even sending a crew.

In other business Tuesday, Ms. Maida, who serves on the town beach committee, reported that private shuttle drivers have been ignoring a town rule that prevents them from passing the stop sign on the road to Squibnocket Beach. Police chief Brian Cioffi, who attended the meeting, said the five companies he has contacted so far have agreed to follow the rule or face a criminal trespassing charge or a $250 fine. “We should have nipped it in the bud there,” Mr. Cioffi said.

Barbara and John Armstrong of Menemsha raised concerns about an after-midnight VTA bus that wakes them up with its engine and is usually empty. “It’s such a waste,” said Mrs. Armstrong, who suggested a smaller bus or no bus at all. The selectmen agreed to ask the VTA for 24-hour ridership data and report back on August 2.

The selectmen turned down a request from Left/Right productions to film at Lucy Vincent Beach for HGTV’s Island Life, a reality-TV show about people shopping for Island homes. The filming would have taken place on August 4 and 7 during the day.

“We are bursting at the seams with wonderful things,” selectman Jim Malkin said at the meeting. “I don’t think we need to encumber our residents, our beach attendants with more traffic, more turmoil, and more issues in the summer. And we certainly don’t need advertising for homes in Chilmark.”

The selectmen’s next meeting is August 2 at 5 p.m.