RECORD NUMBER OF TREES PLANTED / WINDBREAK PROGRAM: OH

COLUMBUS, OH - A record 113 miles of trees were planted this spring
in eight Ohio counties through the Northwest Ohio Field Windbreak Program,
according to state foresters with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources
(ODNR).
"Since 1977, state foresters have coordinated the planting of more
than 900 row miles of windbreaks in northwestern Ohio," said John Dorka,
chief of ODNR's Division of Forestry, which coordinates the program.
"Planting windbreaks reduces soil erosion, protects crops from wind damage
and enhances wildlife habitat."
A total of 52 field windbreaks were planted in Allen, Defiance,
Henry, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams and Wood counties. Windbreaks
are rows of trees and other vegetation that slow wind reducing soil erosion
on farm fields.
Nearly 64,000 seedlings were planted this spring, including
arborvitae, white pine, Norway spruce, Austrian pine, baldcypress, eastern
red cedar, pin oak, silky dogwood, black chokeberry, American plum and
Sargent crabapple.
The Northwest Ohio Field Windbreak Program is a voluntary program
open to landowners in 17 Ohio counties where soil erosion from wind is a
problem.
Agencies cooperating in the program include local soil & water
conservation districts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency, Pheasants Forever, and ODNR's
divisions of forestry, soil & water conservation and wildlife.
Dorka said that most of this spring's planting was due to
participation in the Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
(CREP), a program designed to improve water quality along Lake Erie's
tributary streams in northwest Ohio.
For more information on the Northwest Ohio Field Windbreak Program,
contact Gregg Maxfield, ODNR Division of Forestry at 419-424-5004; or check
the ODNR web site at ohiodnr.com

Source: ODNR