Cleaning up the forest in Kingwood

Cleaning up the forest in Kingwood Residents of the "Livable Forest" are working to remove thousands of dead trees in the community from last year's drought. In the meantime, the Kingwood Service Association is working with other forestry groups to address the situation. "It's just a massive maintenance program, wanting to figure out which trees can be saved and which might be lost," she said. "Everyone's doing their part. We're all working hard toward the same goal. In the Kingwood area, 1,938 trees have been removed so far. In the Greater Houston area, more than 11,250 trees have been removed. "Pine trees suffered the most loss due to the drought," Espinosa said. "The majority of trees growing in the Kingwood area are pine, thus the devastation and loss. " She said that the city of Houston is presently working with the community to develop a plan to replant trees along the Kingwood espalanades. McCormick said the devastating effects of the drought on the forest are highly visible in the neighborhood, which takes pride in its green space. Hundreds of dead trees are increasingly being removed at a time. " Estella Espinosa, communications manager for the Houston Parks and Recreation Department , said two crews started removing trees in the Kingwood area in early November, and a third crew was added in December. They do not plan to replant until drought conditions improve. "But this isn't the end of our city's urban forest. We're Houstonians - we know how to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again. "There aren't enough words to tell you how deeply we have felt the loss of each tree, let alone the thousands we've had to remove," Turner said. McCormick is also concerned with the preservation of property. "That's all forest. We're taking care of thousands of trees, and we're spending all of our funds on getting them out for the safety of the people," she said. She said residents should remove trees or limbs that may fall on their houses. She said all of the homeowner associations are examining the costs of tree removal. "We're in the mode of removing trees, and we'll be for quite some time," she said. "It's very depressing. We're losing a really big asset for Kingwood," she said. McCormick explained the city of Houston has been busily working on tree removal in medians and that Centerpoint is clearing out trees in the areas near power lines. The Kingwood community is still responsible for everything else and is currently focusing on tree removal on trails. "Watering is especially important in the trees first two years of life," she said. Joe Turner, director of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, said that every year, the city plants trees to increase the urban forest. " The city began its replanting efforts in January during an Arbor Day celebration that took place in the four city parks most affected by the drought. Cleaning up the forest in Kingwood Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 07/03/2012