Dead trees removed by 100s in The Woodlands

THE WOODLANDS, TX (KTRK) -- The historic drought this past summer may be behind us, but in many areas the damage is done.

In The Woodlands, the abundance of trees is what draws so many to the community. Now dead trees are being cut down by the thousands.

Woodlands residents Annalea Dinkins and her mom Jessica love the park.

"It's nice to come out here and sit at the park and look at the park and sit under the shade," Jessica Dinkins said.

They especially love that one thing The Woodlands is known for -- its trees.

Dinkins said, "I don't think it would be The Woodlands without the trees."

That's what makes this situation all the more difficult to bear.

"The trees are decaying quicker than we can remove them," said Berkley Outside Services Arborist Susan Landers. "It's like a slow moving hurricane that's coming through here. It's actually a huge disaster."

Last year's drought has devastated the immense canopy that covers The Woodlands' 28,000 acres and its 124 parks. The Woodlands has hired seven companies to pull down as many as 100 trees a day, up to 2,000 a month.

The Woodlands Parks and Recreation Director Dr. Chris Nunes said, "We envision that workload is going to be consistent for probably the next several months if not longer."

Dr. Nunes says the drought has weakened trees such that now they're susceptible to either beetles or fungus, both of which kill. As much as the removal effort is all consuming, there is also a concerted effort to figure out the best way to replace what's gone.

"Traditionally we have replaced every tree we removed with two additional trees," Dr. Nunes explained. "Is that the best approach right now?"

That way, there'll still be plenty of shade for Annalea's trips to the park with her mom.

"It's very sad because they're just beautiful," Dinkins said.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Thousands of trees re-planted in Houston

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Thousands of new trees are taking root in Houston in celebration of Arbor Day.

More than 1,000 volunteers put on their gardening gloves and picked up shovels to plant 25,000 oak, cypress and pine trees in four city parks as part of a massive effort to replace trees lost in the devastating drought.

"You couldn't see the highway and [the trees] muffled the sound a lot. Now, you can obviously see the highway," Vivian Chambers said.

Memorial Park was once densely forested, but it has drastically changed since last year's devastating drought forced crews to chop down about 11,000 trees.

"They've lost a lot of trees. This really, dramatically different than it used to [be]," Clayton Chambers said.

All across the city, thousands more dead trees had to go.

It was a sad sight for Clayton and Vivian Chambers, so they knew they had to help.

They joined hundreds of their fellow Houstonians on Saturday, digging holes and planting new trees. This Arbor Day event marks the biggest re-planting effort in the city's history.

The Chambers -- who also planted two trees in honor of loved ones -- realize it may take years, but they are holding out hope things will grow back to normal.

"Someday, we'll be able to ... tell our grandkids, 'We planted that tree you are sitting under, you know,'" Vivian Chambers said.

Volunteers hope the new trees will preserve the parks for future generations. Pipes are also being put in the ground for irrigation.

Eyewitness News anchor Gina Gaston emceed the event at Memorial Park. Trees were also planted at Hermann, MacGregor and Mason Parks. Those parks were hardest hit by the drought.

It's estimated that one in 10 trees in the Houston area will die within two years as a result of the recent drought, which could worsen the city's air quality and make Houston warmer, according to Trees for Houston.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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City to plant 25,000 new trees for Arbor Day

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston landscape has changed dramatically in the past few months because of the drought, but now there's an effort to plant 25,000 trees in one day.

Four parks are being targeted -- Memorial, Hermann, MacGregor and Mason. They've lost thousands of trees and could lose more if we don't get more rain.

Dead trees have cut down from one Houston park to another.

"I don't like it. I like more trees," said resident Willie Bailey.

He and generations of his family have played at MacGregor Park, but tree stumps have replaced where lush urban forests used to be.

"I remember when I was young there was trees; that really attracted me to the park," Bailey said.

Because of the drought, city foresters estimate 11,000 dead trees have already been removed. Even as that process continues, the city of Houston is making big plans to replace the lost canopy.

"It's a long-term process. We're going to have to replant Houston over the years for future generations, there's no doubt. We can't replace what we've lost currently," said Joe Turner, Director of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.

Just in time for Arbor Day, the city wants to plant 25,000 trees over one weekend. Many of the larger trees will come from Tree Source, which says January is the ideal time to get young trees in the ground.

"Even though we are not getting the rainfall that we need, they will get the roots out and establish themselves better than when you are planting in the summer," said Wayne Gross with Tree Source.

The idea is to plant a variety of trees that are at different ages and have different water needs, and hopefully, survive Houston's searing summer.

With sponsors paying for the trees, what the city now needs are volunteers so parks like MacGregor will be around for future generations.

"The importance of trees is very important for my kids," said Bailey.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Driver critically injured after slamming into trees in Atascocita

  ATASCOCITA, TX (KTRK) -- A man is in critical condition after his pickup truck slammed into two small trees overnight.

It happened in Atascocita on Lake Houston Parkway near Upper Lake after midnight. Deputies say the truck drove into the median and over several bushes before it crashed into the trees.

It's not clear what caused the man to lose control.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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