Tagged: trees

The Kentucky Division of Forestry is preparing for a busy wildfire season in the wake of summer droughts.  There’s also a danger that debris from spring tornadoes has created more “ground fuel,” posing a greater threat to firefighters.

Despite recent rainfall, moderate drought conditions still exist in 50 counties in north central Kentucky.  In the far western part of the state, 25 counties remain under severe to extreme drought conditions.

A regional waste management company has partnered with Louisville Metro Government to help increase the city’s tree canopy over the next decade.

Ecotech will work with Louisville’s Tree Advisory Commission, which was formed by Mayor Greg Fischer last year to help maintain and add to the city’s tree canopy.

Fischer helped plant the first three trees Friday and over the next 10 years, Ecotech has committed to donating 1,000 trees through its 10,000 Trees Partnership.

Louisville’s Air Pollution Control District is taking a look at Louisville’s rising temperature. In a meeting today, board members discussed the city’s declining tree cover and how a lack of protective legislation is contributing to the problem.

Louisville recently placed first on a list of fifty cities suffering from rising temperatures. Georgia Tech University Professor Brian Stone described the city as the “climate change center of the United States.” 

A new smart phone app currently in development would allow Louisville residents to participate in cataloging the city’s trees—as well as create a wish lists of sorts for more trees in their neighborhoods.

The “Louisville Tree” app will eventually allow users to peruse interactive maps of the city, along with pinpoints marking the locations of different varieties of trees. There’s also a way to report dying or unsafe trees to the city.

Residents living near Bowman Field have launched a new website to relay information about a proposal to trim or remove some of the area’s largest trees.

Last year, the Regional Airport Authority announced a plan to trim or remove some of the largest trees near Bowman Field to comply with new federal aviation regulations. Neighborhoods like Seneca Gardens and Kingsley have lots of old trees, and residents were concerned about what the trimming would do to the value of their property —as well as on air and noise pollution.

Louisville has been growing warmer. In a list of the nation’s fifty largest cities monitored by professors at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Louisville’s core is warming at faster rates than the surrounding areas—and it’s doing so faster than any other large city in the country.