On Arbor Day, Consider Cutting Down a Tree

Trees rightfully get a lot of attention, especially in April during Arbor Day. This year, Arbor Day falls on April 24th following on the heels of Earth Day on April 22nd. It is almost as if the two days are linked- plant a tree, and all will be well on planet Earth. The majesty of a large, old tree like a centuries-old oak stirs a passion in many. Like this beautiful bur oak in Onalaska:

Aldo Leopold wrote a captivating elegy in A Sand County Almanac for a massive oak that came down on his land in 1943 after being struck by lightning- "We mourned the loss of the old tree, but knew that a dozen of its progeny standing straight and stalwart on the sands had already taken over its job of wood-making." Trees are a valuable part of the ecosystem and support a lot of wildlife. Doug Tallamy extolls the value of oaks in his book, The Nature of Oaks, stating that they support an inordinate number of insects, birds, and mammals and can serve as the foundation of entire ecosystems. Trees sequester carbon and lock it away for many years leading some to promote a campaign to "plant a trillion trees" as a possible solution to climate change (even though prairies, with their deep roots, sequester carbon more reliably for the long term, especially in dry, fire prone areas locking it away in the soil for longer periods than forests). Fire is sometimes looked upon as a bad thing because it can hurt trees and forests. Smoky the Bear tells us that only we can prevent forest fires.

Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in1872 to encourage tree planting on the windswept plains around Lincoln, Nebraska. In one day, April 10, 1872, an estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska. The idea swept across the country and today it is a civic holiday celebrated in all 50 states. But today, some mourn that day and are fighting those very trees and their progeny to save the prairies.

Today prairies and other fire-dependent communities are losing the battle against brush and trees. Those prairies that escaped the plow are now facing an onslaught of trees and brush which some refer to as the "green glacier". The main cause of this onslaught is the lack of fire. In 1877, Charles Wright of the US Geologic Survey said, "When prairies are no longer swept over by fire, timbers spring up, reconverting prairie into woodland. Grass, with fire as its ally, can beat timber. Timber can beat grass when it no longer has fire to fight". But the legacy of intentional tree-planting, both inspired by Arbor Day and in response to the Dust Bowl, has also played a role. Satellite images show the Great Plains across the Midwest succumbing to a multitude of woody plants, especially red cedars which were planted extensively as windbreaks- commonly called shelterbelts- during the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Red cedars are very sensitive to fire which kept them in check in the past and they grew mainly in areas where fire could not reach such as near-vertical cliff faces. Now they grow rampantly on prairies.

In the La Crosse area, the small fragments of prairies that remain are often referred to as "goat prairies". These prairies are on steep, south and west facing slopes on the bluffs that were left alone because they were too steep for the plow or for cattle. But even these remnants of what used to be a feature across the landscape are disappearing due to the invasion of trees and brush with lack of fire being a major factor. Driving on highway 35 along the Mississippi River is an easy way to witness these disappearing sites. Some have been completely overtaken by trees, especially red cedars, such as this site just south of Lynxville:

Some still have a little prairie poking through the cedars as in this photo taken near Victory. Soon, it will be gone unless restoration occurs:

Some remnant prairies are being actively restored and maintained, like those in and near Hixon Forest by Friends of the Blufflands and the Coulee Region Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts. Restoration is a lot of work, but worth the effort. And as they say, in today's world, "a hands off prairie is a forest". Here is Lookout Prairie in Hixon Forest about two years ago after restoration , including prescribed burns:

Note that Lookout Prairie and its adjoining Savanna are going to see the cleansing effects of fire today, April 10th, starting sometime in the early afternoon. A good place to see the fire is on Grandad Bluff Road on the first turn off on the right heading west.

These remnant prairies, sometimes called "old growth sod", are treasures that would be a shame to lose. They are ecosystems that took thousands of years to form and are repositories of a complex system from the plants and insects all the way to the microscopic life in the soil and the genetics underpinning it all. A system that supports about 100 unique plants, up to 2000 unique insects, as well as a host of other animals such birds, mammals, and reptiles.

So, this Arbor Day, plant a tree but not on a prairie. And maybe think about removing a tree where it doesn't belong.