It’s hard to argue with the proposition that our communities can always use more trees. Beyond their sheer beauty, trees have provided much-needed shade during hot summers, improved the quality of our public spaces, and served as hosts for birds and other small creatures along the Eastern Shore.
Those are some reasons that local governments and small nonprofit organizations have promoted and organized efforts to plant trees for decades. But as our region starts a long and difficult war against climate change and sea levels rising, it turns out that trees can be one of the most successful defenses with global warming.
In the first place, they soak up carbon dioxide from the air like no one’s business. Their roots prevent soil erosion, and their branches provide shade that can cool our streets. The list goes on.
And that is the reason why the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the region’s largest and oldest conservation organization, has double-downed on increasing the tree population on the Eastern Shore.
With the help of a new bill passed in Annapolis that calls for Maryland to plant 5 million trees over the next decade, CBF has joined forces with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and Maryland Department of Agriculture to encourage towns, counties, and, most importantly, the farming community, to take advantage of this with a full range of incentives to make this bold goal a reality.
The Spy spoke with CBF’s Maryland Attorney, Robin Clark, the other day about the program and how critical this will be to save the Shore from the catastrophic impact of climate change.
This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation please go here.
Hamblin says
Tree planting is laudable but don’t forget that timbering revenue on state (our) land funds part of DNR’s budget- a serious conflict of interest that needs correcting.
Planting trees with one hand while timbering the older growth trees with the other hand produces a net loss of carbon sucking capacity.
A just-planted sapling requires forty or fifty years to pull as much carbon as the mature trees DNR timbers every year. DNR prefers we not notice this.