CAPE TO PLANT 227 NEW TREES

Volunteers and parks staff members will plant 227 trees Saturday in scattered spots along the LaCroix Recreational Trail near the Osage Community Centre.

The trees were free because they were being planted on public land. Show Me Trees and a national forest relief program donated the trees to Cape Girardeau.

The species vary but all are hardy plants, said Parks Department Director Dan Muser.

The trees, which are 4 to 6 feet tall and came in a two-gallon plastic bucket, are a mixture of green ash, river birch, black gum, red and sugar maples, bur, sawtooth and chestnut oaks, and bald cypress.

"They are all native trees and will grow well in the area," Muser said.

The trees will be planted in several spots along the trail either where shade is needed or in open spaces where trees aren't growing.

The planting project is part of Cape Girardeau's Arbor Day project. Because the city has been designated as a Tree City USA, it typically plants new trees each year on city property.

The Tree City USA designation is given by the Arbor Day Foundation and shows the city places an importance on having trees and keeping them healthy, Muser said. A tree board, which acts as an advisory arm for new plantings, also helps govern the city's policies about planting new trees and replacing older ones.

The parks department will also plant trees in city parks this spring to replace trees damaged or removed during last May's brutal storm.

Immediately after the storm, staff members cut down toppled trees or those damaged badly, Muser said.

"We did a lot of deadwood pruning with broken limbs," he said. "We did trimming and removal where trees posed a hazard."

About 30 to 35 new trees were planted last year, Muser said.

"Drought was our enemy, not vandalism," he said.

Over the years, the city has probably planted more trees than were removed or damaged, Muser said. He counts the number of new trees in the thousands.

Some of the trees planted in city parks last year didn't make it through the seasons because of the lack of rain necessary for them to root and grow.

But Muser is optimistic about this growing season, saying: "We want to get the trees planted before they leaf out."

So volunteers and staff members will carry their shovels, walk the trail's path and plant the trees. The trees will have been placed earlier by parks department staff.