http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090105/NEWS01/901050313&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
January 5, 2009
Downtown tree plan on the grow
By Jill Nolin
[email protected]
Russell Stringer knows his legacy has taken root in the Capital City, and that long after he retires it will continue to grow.
Stringer is Montgomery's urban forester. His mission is to make Montgomery green, and he believes that by the end of his career, almost every street in downtown Montgomery will be sheltered by a canopy of trees.
Some streets already are.
Daniel Snyder's large Willow Oak spills over onto the sidewalk and towers above his two-story historic Cottage Hill home.
With a 56-inch diameter, it's a tree that has been a longtime in the making. Now at its peak, the tree's charm is strong enough for Snyder to forgive it for shoving aside the brick walkway that leads from Whitman Street to his front steps.
"It goes with the character of the neighborhood," said Snyder, whose home was built in 1870.
To Stringer, the tree at 15 Whitman St. represents the foresight that someone had long ago. It is planning like this and trees like this that inspire Stringer, whose job is to manage the city's "urban forest."
Like the person who planted that tree, Stringer is planning a future he probably won't be around to witness.
"I won't see the end result, but because of what I know about trees, I know what that the end result is. I'm satisfied with doing my part to get that end result," Stringer said.
"And sometimes I can Photoshop what it will look like -- but it's not the same," he added.
To help Stringer keep up with this valuable resource, the city is contracting with another forester, Richard Crenshaw, to build an inventory of all the "street trees" in Montgomery. Street trees are all the trees that are located between a sidewalk and curb. Trees located in parks, for example, would be excluded.
"You've got to know what you're managing before you can manage it," Stringer said of the inventory.
The inventory is being funded through a $149,000 Urban and Community Forestry Grant that has been administered over four years. The city is in the final phase of the project.
As of Dec. 12, the tree count was at 36,465, and the work is ongoing. Not only does Crenshaw count each tree, but he also assesses each tree's diameter, height and general health.
And as he builds the inventory, Stringer's department adds the new trees that are being added to the city's streetscapes. That number will continue to grow each year, especially as the city strives to realize its goal of a green downtown.
The Downtown Montgomery Plan, created in 2007, calls for a downtown where each street is lined with trees. As of November, there were 2,586 street trees downtown, and Stringer estimated that about 4,000 trees are still needed to fulfill the goal.
But it's an image that the city is constantly inching closer to achieving. The new Willow Oaks and Overcup Oaks along Bibb Street and the new canopy trees along High Street are proof of the progress.
The street trees in downtown will provide shade, and hopefully encourage pedestrian traffic. The aligned trees also have a calming effect on traffic, which will slow down motorists and further the pedestrian-friendly environment. Large canopy trees also protect the streets, prolonging the life of the asphalt.
The "Plant Street Trees in an Organized Campaign" part of the master plan is one of 20 major projects carefully laid out in what is known as the Dover-Kohl plan, which outlines what is needed to create a flourishing downtown area.
"I intend to see this to completion by the end of my career," Stringer said. "I bet in 15 years, we'll see the downtown area with every street tree in its place."
The unwritten goal is to plant about 1,000 trees each year, not just downtown but throughout the entire city. New trees were recently planted along Coliseum Boulevard.
Stringer's department came close to its 1,000-tree goal during the 2006-2007 planting season -- they planted 915.
The following year the number dropped to 645. Both years, the city lost about 10 percent of the new trees because of the drought.
And of the trees planted last year, you didn't see many new crape myrtles. For diversity's sake, Stringer only planted 11 new crape myrtles. Of the 645 trees planted, 17 percent of them were overcup oak, 16 percent were trident maple, 8 percent were nuttle oak and 6 percent were bald cypress.
Stringer estimates that there are as many as 200 different species of trees in Montgomery, and the city's policy is to not plant more than 20 percent of any one kind of tree in any given year.
Photos:
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps...OMMUNITIES010305&Lopenr=812290802&Ref=PH
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