Red maple -- can it be saved?

[Winton]

Hi. I live in Western Massachusetts, and am trying to determine whether a red maple in the middle of my yard can be saved.

I'd guess that it's 40-60 years old, has three trunks (maybe from stump sprouts originally?) that separate out at about 15 feet up. There's a noticable crack below that separation, though.

The big issue, however, is that when the previous owners of my house had a new septic system installed (1) many dump trucks drove over a good portion of the root crown of this tree, and (2) the raised-bed leach field was built so that it now covers about 1/3 of the root crown of this tree. This was two summer ago.

Last summer the tree did have leaves, but looked pretty anemic -- the branches and trunk were still visible all season. This year I thought that it was looking better, but on closer inspection it's pretty much all seeds that are coming out, along with some small leaves. It just doesn't look as good as comprable trees nearby.

So the question is, can it be saved and at what cost? Would I have to cable it to keep the split from getting worse? Should I try Milorganite or something similar to try to feed it?

Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-- Win

[pruninggal]

I would stay away from any fertilization and in the meantime find an ISA certified arborist to give you a professional opinion. Construction damage unfortunately can be really damaging to large trees, as most of the root zone of a tree lives in the top 1" to 12" of the soil.

Good luck!