By Rebecca Feldhaus
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-880391.mp3
Bardwell, KY – Let's go back almost one year to Carlisle County, where Emergency Management Director Melissa Rowland explained to us the landscape of her county.
"looks like a war zone, that's the only way to describe it. I don't think we've got a solid tree left standing in this county."
What does Melissa Rowland have to say about her county's tree line now?
"What tree line, Rebecca, it's gone."
Those words are like nails on a chalk board to Mayor Phillip King. If it's not civic engagement that keeps King busy then it's his 200--acre tree farm. So, with help from FEMA and city workers King and Utility Manager Robin Phelps have spearheaded an initiative to restore Bardwell's tree line, and hopefully make the community safer the next time a devastating storm comes through. King explains.
"go to each property owner, ask them if we can first cut the tree, second, advise them that we will replace the tree that we cut with another tree whether it be a pin oak, a red bud tree, they get to pick the tree. And go back and replant the tree on the property somewhere away from our electric lines."
So far the city has replaced 40-50 trees and still has more to do. Cold weather is hampering their ability to replant now, but workers continue to chop down trees throughout the winter.
Certified Arborist for the Kentucky Division of Forestry Sarah Gracey supports what King is doing in Bardwell, because many times residents don't plan their landscaping as well as they could.
"Unfortunately, some trees might have been in existence before the power lines. People just don't think about that small tree growing up into the power lines. So it's really important when people are looking at selecting a tree that they research the species and they research its size characteristics."
When planting trees, Gracey says land owners must also diversify their tree species to protect from insects and other specific infections that could wipe out entire tree populations.
Using the resources that Bardwell has to offer, King will continue planting trees for every tree he must harvest. King not only touts the tree planting initiative, but the conservative ways in which the city disposed of the tree waste.
"Our debris was recycled. We hauled it to a separate location. We only burned a minor amount of what we took out. We took it out and it either became mulch, or it went to plants that burned wood for energy, some of it even went to New Page, to the paper mill to make paper."
Melissa Rowland says the tree line is too heavily damaged to repair itself any time soon. Foresters like Sarah Gracey continue to educate people about proper pruning practices to help their trees help themselves. Though the ice storm hurt every county it touched, at least one city and its officials are proactively thinking about protecting its forests and power lines the next time a major storm comes through.