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Restoration Stories
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Establishing Riparian Buffer Zones
CREP
The Treessentials Company is an integral part of Riparian Buffer
plantings for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP.) This
program, a partnership of private landowners with state and federal
agencies seeks to protect environmentally sensitive land, decrease
erosion, restore wildlife habitat and protect ground and surface water.
Wherever trees and shrubs are planted toward these goals you’ll find
Treessentials Company leading the way.
In addition to CREP, the Treessentials Company is also proud to be a
part of Maryland’s Stream Re-leaf Program. This program establishes
riparian buffers along streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Among
the first users of treeshelters, the Maryland Department of Natural
Resources, counts on treeshelters to cut tree losses due to deer browse
and animal damage where unprotected seedlings do not stand a chance.
Tubex Treeshelters used today are not only designed to degrade in 5 to 7
years but have an added feature called the Laser Line. The Laser Line of
perforations allows trees to split the tubes. This is especially
important for fast growing species on good sites where rapidly growing
trees need to escape before the tubes have degraded. Tubex tree shelters
are the only tubes that have this necessary feature. Our experience
tells us that anything less is unacceptable, that is why we have the
best and most trusted products for riparian plantings.
Video:
Partners with land by the USDA
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Bald Cypress Restoration
In the 1800s the baldcypress tree (Taxodium distichum) covered much of
the shoreline around Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana. In fact
it was one of the dominant timber trees found throughout the Gulf
Coastal Plain, the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Lower Mississippi River
Watershed. The baldcypress produced very valuable and merchantable
timber. It was a preferred building material because of it’s rot
resistance and was logged extensively. Today, researchers at
Southeastern Louisiana University (SELU) are working to restore the
baldcypress as a means for protecting Louisiana wetlands.
On Jones Island, in Lake Maurepas, 50 miles north of New Orleans LA,
36,000 baldcypress seedlings are being planted on 180 acre site as a
part of a gas pipeline mitigation settlement. This restoration effort
will provide habitat for a greater variety of wildlife and vegetation
and will help stabilize the island’s threatened shoreline.
Establishing tree seedlings under good conditions is a challenge.
However when you take into account the wind, flood waters and marsh
plant competition it is easy to understand why the baldcypress did not
regenerate. But the #1 threat to cypress seedlings is the nutria (Myocastor
coypus), a large aquatic plant eating rodent. In the past tree seedlings
were just added nutrition for the nutria.
Researchers at SELU found that the Tubex Treeshelters not only helped
protect these vulnerable seedlings from adverse weather conditions, but
they also shielded them from hungry nutria. The Treessentials Company is
looking at this project as the first step towards improving the
coastline habitat by increasing the numbers of this great tree.
Mine Land Reclamation
The Pennsylvania Mine Reclamation Project 20 was one of the most
ambitious tree planting programs in the country. This program was a
cooperative effort involving the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP,) Bureau of Mining & Reclamation, the
Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, and the Pennsylvania Department of
Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) Bureau of Forestry. For the past
20 years these agencies assisted private landowners in reforesting
abandoned strip mines.
Part of the Project 20 effort includes restoring abandoned mines to
hardwoods that existed before the coal mining process. Steep slopes,
aggressive grass competition, large areas exposed to drying winds and a
large deer population challenge restoration efforts on these sites.
On a site, located outside of Dubois, PA a mix of hardwoods (oak, green
ash, white ash, black cherry, and crabapple) and conifers (Virginia
pine, red pine, Norway spruce) will be planted. A total of 380,000
seedlings were planted on site. Planters installed Tubex treeshelters
from Treessentials Company to protect against deer browse and promote
growth. Foresters reported survival rates over ninety percent even in
the face of one of the areas worst droughts in 100 years.
Project 20 is an excellent example of how the Treessentials Company
helps states in rehabilitating damaged wild areas. Future generations
will benefit greatly from the foresight of the Pennsylvania DCNR and DEP,
and the dedication of its foresters.
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