“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree…” Of course, we recognize that line from the poem Trees by Joyce Kilmer. We remember that opening line, but Mr. Kilmer goes on and on in his beautiful poem to reflect the beauty and worth of what we here in Arkansas think of as simple trees. That’s right. We mostly ignore the Arkansas forests, but where would we be without them? Think West Texas. We lived in Texas for ten years before we moved back to Arkansas, and in the Kingsville—-Corpus Christi area there are plenty of mesquite and a few scraggly palm trees along the Bayfront in Corpus Christi. That’s about the size of it. Actually, mesquite might be classified as a tree, but to an Arkansas boy it’s a bush.
A year before we moved back to Arkansas, we drove home to El Dorado for Thanksgiving, and as we drove along highway 82 approaching the town, we pulled over into a dim road where large oaks towered over the road their branches touching. It was one of those falls such as we are having this year, and the clear, crisp air and gorgeous leaves planted a seed in us that ultimately drew us back home to Arkansas.
This fall we’re having one of those knockout falls where the hickory, oaks, and maples are absolutely breathtaking. Back in the early 1980s I started working with the city of El Dorado and the Arkansas Forestry Commission to plant downtown trees. Our mayor, at the time was Mike Dumas, and he agreed to cut three foot squares in the downtown sidewalks for the planting, and I had funds from a parking lot in a defunct downtown improvement district to use for the landscaping on public property. I partnered with the Arkansas Forestry Commission, which at that time, had a 50-50 matching fund that enabled us to plant a lot of downtown trees. In the early years we planted as many as 75 trees a year and over the twenty years of planting, 1000 street trees were planted in our downtown.
This year, as the leaves turned, the Bradford Pear Trees, Sweet Gum, Cypress, Maple, American Elms, and Oaks have never looked better. I know the Bradford Pear Trees have picked up some negative comments because, if they aren’t pruned properly, they will split. However, we still have dozens planted from the 1980s that have been pruned properly and, as I write, are gorgeous. If I had to pick the most important part of downtown El Dorado’s Renovation, it would be the downtown trees, and we’re still planting them. When you have as many as a 1000 trees, you will have a natural attrition and that means each year you will replant 15 to 20 trees. El Dorado’s downtown now has MAD, (Murphy Arts District) and they have added hundreds of trees to the area a block off the square. As those trees mature, MAD will look even more spectacular.
Of course, downtown trees look good and they do attract visitors, but they also take away the city center hot spots that infrared aerial photos note. Yes, all that downtown concrete and asphalt soaks us the summer sun and shows up as hot spots, and trees not only give an overall cooling to the downtown, but they can reduce the summer electrical bills of adjacent stores by 25%.
Our moto, The Natural State, should reflect nature in everything we do. However, it rings hollow if we view blank parking lots without even a blade of grass. Yes, you can plant trees in parking lots and not lose a single parking place, and get a bonus. Several studies have shown a landscaped strip center parking lot will attract more shoppers and have more sales than a strip center without landscaping, as much as 25% increase in sales from the landscaped parking lot offering the same merchandise. Of course, that hot spot parking lot will be cooler than a bare lot and utility costs to the stores will be lower. Honestly, with those facts, developers should be planting trees by the thousands. However, old habits are hard to break, and when someone who views a bare lot that has just been cleared of every living thing to put yet another shopping center, and remarks, “Well, that’s sure an improvement.” You know we have a long way to go before we really become The Natural State.
However, we can learn as we watch other towns and cities wholeheartedly planting trees, and a most unlikely city is showing us how to do it—-Chicago. I know one of the last things you might think about Chicago is being a tree friendly city, but it is. We travel to Chicago every year or two and the result of their “Plant a 1,000,000 Tree Campaign,” is evident. Fifteen years ago downtown Chicago had a smattering of trees, but today their downtown is a lush forest of trees. The program was so successful that the city started a citywide free tree planning service. If you would like a tree planted in your yard, just call the city and they will, at no cost to you, come plant a tree. I haven’t checked lately on the program to see if it is still in effect, but while it was active there were thousands more trees planted.
It seems to me that every town in Arkansas needs a plan similar, and although a lot of downtown street trees are planted each year, we are woefully under-planted, if we view the overall need. Little Rock has a great origination called Street Trees and they have planted 1579 trees over 183 city blocks. What a great example for other towns in the state to emulate.
Of course, most of us don’t live in a downtown environment, and we don’t plant street trees in the sidewalks. However, the need for residential trees in single family housing is certainly something we should encourage. According to published reports, home ownership is usually has the highest asset value of a family, so why not enhance that value? Yes, a significant yard tree can add thousands of dollars to the appraised value of a house, and according to the IRS, a casualty loss of such a tree is a significant tax deduction. The idea that someone would pay several thousand dollars to cut a major tree from their front yard is a step from reality. Pay a trees service several thousand dollars and watch as they cut the tree and see your house value drop?
But I’ve just scratched the surface on the need for city trees. In other sections of the country where four lane streets serve the heaviest traffic areas in the city, I see street trees between the lanes of traffic. However, Arkansas cities usually opt for an endless turn lane and not only that, but they don’t line those busy streets with sidewalk plantings. How difficult would it be for the city to plant a few thousand crepe myrtle along those streets? Evidently we’re not there yet. Maybe our grandchildren will plant them.
Richard Mason is a registered professional geologist, downtown developer, former chairman of the Department of Environmental Quality Board of Commissioners, past president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, and syndicated columnist. Email richard@ gibraltarenergy.com.