Texas: Some 5.6 million urban shade trees were killed by the record drought that baked the State last year

[-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-]

Perilous Times and Climate Change

Texas: Some 5.6 million urban shade trees were killed by the record drought that baked the State last year

6:25 p.m. CST, February 15, 2012

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Some 5.6 million urban
shade trees were killed by the record drought that baked Texas
last year, the Texas Forest Service reported on Wednesday.

Last year was the driest year on record in the state and the
second-hottest, according to the National Weather Service.

The shade tree die-off represents some 10 percent of the
state's urban forest, and is in addition to as many as a
half-billion rural, park and forest trees that the forest
service reported in December were killed in the drought.

The impact of the drought will be visible for decades
because of the loss of the trees in yards and parks and along
streets of the state's cities, according to the service.

The urban tree canopy loss may be far from over, said forest
service lead researcher Pete Smith. Even though the drought
appears to be easing in some parts of the state, many trees have
been stressed beyond repair, he said.

"This means we may be significantly undercounting the number
of tees that ultimately will succumb to the drought," he said.
"That number may not be known until the end of 2012, or ever."

Removing the trees could cost homeowners, utilities and
local governments some $560 million, according to the forest
service. Dead trees in urban areas present a safety hazard, and
have to be removed so that they do not fall onto power lines,
pedestrians, and streets, the service said.

The loss of shade trees will cost Texans an additional $280
million in higher utility bills, according to Smith. And
property values will be depressed by the loss of monumental oak
and mesquite trees that pepper many Texas lawns.

The report comes amid a glimmer of hope that the worst of
the drought may be receding.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Drought Monitor report
this week lists more than a third of the state, mainly the
Dallas Ft. Worth area in North Texas and eastward, as being
completely out of drought for the first time in 10 months.

Fourteen percent of the state is listed as being in
"exceptional" drought, the most severe category, compared with
more than 41 percent three months ago.

Much of the urban water rationing that came with the drought
is also being lifted.

The Edwards Aquifer Authority, which manages the massive
underground aquifer that is the prime source of water for about
four million people between south Austin and the Big Bend area
of west Texas, on Monday lifted restrictions for the first time
since April 2011.

"Unless we continue to have some good rainfall, the lifting
of water restrictions might be short lived," Authority Vice
President Roland Ruiz warned.

The restrictions limited homeowners to watering their lawn
no more than once every week or two weeks, and restricted other
uses of water ranging from decorative fountains to the serving
of water to patrons at restaurants.

(Reporting By Jim Forsyth; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Tim
Gaynor)