These photos were taken from the nineteenth floor of the highrise that I stay in for part of my time in Houston. It is a lovely place with magnificent views of sunsets and the beautiful trees of Houston and Memorial Park.
I had been warned by many that the drought had caused much damage. What the drought hadn't caused, the wildfires had rushed in and claimed more. At ground level there is intermittent brown mixed in with green as you move along and you don't really get a sense of the enormity of the tree loss. When you get above it, it is staggering.
Over 15,000 trees have to be cut down in Memorial Park alone in Houston this year. They say the damage came from the one-two punch of Hurricane Ike a couple of years ago and then followed by the drought which has weakened and killed this huge number of trees.
The annual budget in Houston for tree removal is usually around $350,000. Not this year. They have just appropriated $4.5 MILLION dollars for tree removal.
Of course it is not only pines, but cedar, oaks and many other old, old trees. A blow to the beauty of Houston as well as to the loss of habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and a whole host of other critters who depend on those trees.
Sad but true, it will be harder to find a shady spot in the future!
1 comment:
So very sad. We drove down in September for a cruise from the DFW area, and we were shocked at how bad things are in Houston and surrounds. The piney woods look terrible as well.
Up here we are in big trouble since we have had almost no rain and it is not getting better. We are under stage one rationing.
I guess I need to dance harder.;-(
Oh, Barb, I would take you up on your rental, but we have already paid for our accommodations in Morelia for the summer. But, we intend to visit SMA and I will keep in touch while we are down there. Maybe we can meet for cena or cafe.
Suerte nina,
maria luz
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