August 2021 (Response to Galusha Op Ed earlier in August)
John Winkler
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District would like to thank Rick Galusha for his recent column “We can come together to make a difference even after the storm has passed.” We agree. Not only would the city of Omaha benefit from a dedicated community tree planting program or campaign — so would the entire state of Nebraska.
Galusha noted, and we all witnessed, how the community came together following the devastation of many of Omaha’s trees due to recent hurricane-force winds.
Nebraska has always dealt with extreme weather, and the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are expected to increase even more. We will continue to need to replace trees lost to storms, as well as the emerald ash borer, and we thank the City of Omaha for adding funding to its budget amendments for these purposes. However, we need the creation of a more proactive multi-organizational solution — a grand coalition to create a strategic community-wide plan for planting trees throughout the area and beyond.
Proactivity is key for not only developing a possible strategy for increasing the many benefits of trees throughout our community, but also for not missing opportunities that could help us do just that.
Case in point: Recently, the Papio NRD was contacted by one of its tree planting partners with an amazing opportunity to plant a significant number of trees in our city; the project was to be 100% funded by a private donor. However, the Papio NRD had to somewhat scramble to locate a partner with a suitable project location in time to take advantage of the opportunity.
This was nearly an unfortunate and disheartening outcome. Free trees designated for an urban area — but with nowhere to go? Understandably, you don’t just plant any kind of tree anywhere you want at a moment’s notice. Effective tree planting initiatives require a systematic approach and collaborative community partners to develop a successful and sustainable one. This effort would be a significant undertaking, but we should start planting the seeds by initiating a conversation about a community-wide coalition.
As a local governmental agency, the Papio NRD is a big contributor to tree planting and would be a willing and capable coalition partner; however, most people just don’t know this. The Papio NRD is not a household name but does contribute greatly to many households across our six-county service area by conserving, protecting and enhancing natural resources in a variety of ways. Trees play a critical role in that mission.
We are proud of our decades-long dedication to planting trees, funding tree grants for municipalities, and offering cost share tree programs to landowners:
The NRD over the past decade has planted/provided cost share funding for 201,583 trees and shrubs with landowners for homestead windbreaks, field windbreaks, and wildlife habitat improvement.
The NRD has provided approximately $14,000 per year in cost-share to landowners for seedlings.
It has distributed nearly 9,000 seedlings to 400-plus schools and organizations over the last decade.
Statewide, Nebraska’s natural resources districts have planted over 100 billion trees and shrubs since the NRD system was founded in 1972.
A larger, community-wide strategic initiative could incorporate these concepts, with our NRD as a partner for tree and shrub planting:
Budget $75,000 annually for grants for local municipalities to plant trees on public right-of-way.
Plant 12,000-15,000 trees per year.
The Papio NRD has formed numerous local and state partnerships to advocate and fund tree planting, including the Arbor Day Foundation, American Reforestation Initiative, Nebraska Forest Service, Keep Omaha Beautiful and others. We know the power of public-private partnerships.
Think of the impact on our community if a coalition of local municipalities, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private sector, and other community partners came together to develop a blueprint and action plan for a sustainable forestry program for the greater Omaha metro.
For many reasons, a reactive approach to our ecological infrastructure is not enough. Let’s come together to develop proactive measures and help them take root — and hopefully never have to frantically scramble to find free trees a home again.
John Winkler is general manager of the Papio-Missouri River NRD.
No comments:
Post a Comment