Our top science brains released their annual Iowa Climate Statement on Wednesday, and it’s kind of a no-brainer. Trees are important, and even more so as Iowa’s summers heat up over the next 60 years.
The statement, signed by science faculty and researchers from 33 colleges and universities, says projections show Iowa will experience 35 days where the temperature tops 95 degrees by 2050 unless steps are taken to slash carbon emissions fueling climate change. That number jumps to 95 days by 2080, while the state also will see more days with triple digit temperatures.
Trees can bring relief by shading properties, particularly in urban heat islands, and cutting cooling bills. But other climate threats, including heavy precipitation, droughts and powerful storms, including derechos, will continue to threaten the state’s urban and rural tree canopy.
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Trees also bring water and soil quality benefits, soak up runoff and help clean the air.
“With their wealth of ecological and social benefits, the trees we have are valuable. We need to plant diverse species of trees to promote resilience and support and strengthen Iowa’s ongoing tree planting programs,” said Heather Sander, associate professor of geographical and sustainability sciences at the University of Iowa.
So trees are important, vital even. But you wouldn’t know it by watching our Republican-led Statehouse. Lawmakers have pulled some shady maneuvers, but care little about actual shade.
If 7 million trees fall during a derecho, do they make a sound under the Golden Dome of Wisdom? Barely.
After the derecho, the Legislature appropriated $250,000 to replace trees lost to the 2020 storm and another $250,000 in federal funds to replace trees decimated by the emerald ash borer. Meantime, the Legislature socked away billions in surplus dollars.
The city of Cedar Rapids, by contrast, has pledged $10 million over the next decade in a partnership with Trees Forever, which will raise $27 million more for tree planting and care. The city lost 669,000 trees, or 70 percent of its urban canopy and hopes to replace 42,000 trees on public land.
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The derecho did take the wind out of the sails of a legislative effort to raise property taxes on private forested land in Iowa. The Forest Reserve Program, started in 1906, provides a property tax exemption for people who own two acres of land with at least 200 trees. The bill floated in 2021 would have cut the exemption to 75 percent and raised the acreage requirement to 10 acres.
The move was backed by the Iowa Farm Bureau, which called it a matter of “fairness.” Never mind all the tax breaks enjoyed by agriculture. The timing of the bill, just after the derecho dampened enthusiasm for raising taxes on trees. But watch for a comeback at a Statehouse near you.
In 2017, amid budget cuts, the Department of Natural Resources eliminated its forestry unit.
In 2018, lawmakers passed legislation drastically curtailing the scope of energy efficiency programs administered by utility corporations, including tree planting.
Add all that to the indifference to environmental degradation shown by Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Legislature and the conservative state Supreme Court, and we’ve got three branches hostile to protecting Iowa’s natural resources. Only voters can uproot this invasive species.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
The statement, signed by science faculty and researchers from 33 colleges and universities, says projections show Iowa will experience 35 days where the temperature tops 95 degrees by 2050 unless steps are taken to slash carbon emissions fueling climate change. That number jumps to 95 days by 2080, while the state also will see more days with triple digit temperatures.
Trees can bring relief by shading properties, particularly in urban heat islands, and cutting cooling bills. But other climate threats, including heavy precipitation, droughts and powerful storms, including derechos, will continue to threaten the state’s urban and rural tree canopy.
Advertisement
Trees also bring water and soil quality benefits, soak up runoff and help clean the air.
“With their wealth of ecological and social benefits, the trees we have are valuable. We need to plant diverse species of trees to promote resilience and support and strengthen Iowa’s ongoing tree planting programs,” said Heather Sander, associate professor of geographical and sustainability sciences at the University of Iowa.
So trees are important, vital even. But you wouldn’t know it by watching our Republican-led Statehouse. Lawmakers have pulled some shady maneuvers, but care little about actual shade.
If 7 million trees fall during a derecho, do they make a sound under the Golden Dome of Wisdom? Barely.
After the derecho, the Legislature appropriated $250,000 to replace trees lost to the 2020 storm and another $250,000 in federal funds to replace trees decimated by the emerald ash borer. Meantime, the Legislature socked away billions in surplus dollars.
The city of Cedar Rapids, by contrast, has pledged $10 million over the next decade in a partnership with Trees Forever, which will raise $27 million more for tree planting and care. The city lost 669,000 trees, or 70 percent of its urban canopy and hopes to replace 42,000 trees on public land.
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The derecho did take the wind out of the sails of a legislative effort to raise property taxes on private forested land in Iowa. The Forest Reserve Program, started in 1906, provides a property tax exemption for people who own two acres of land with at least 200 trees. The bill floated in 2021 would have cut the exemption to 75 percent and raised the acreage requirement to 10 acres.
The move was backed by the Iowa Farm Bureau, which called it a matter of “fairness.” Never mind all the tax breaks enjoyed by agriculture. The timing of the bill, just after the derecho dampened enthusiasm for raising taxes on trees. But watch for a comeback at a Statehouse near you.
In 2017, amid budget cuts, the Department of Natural Resources eliminated its forestry unit.
In 2018, lawmakers passed legislation drastically curtailing the scope of energy efficiency programs administered by utility corporations, including tree planting.
Add all that to the indifference to environmental degradation shown by Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Legislature and the conservative state Supreme Court, and we’ve got three branches hostile to protecting Iowa’s natural resources. Only voters can uproot this invasive species.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Trees needed as Iowa heats up, but our lawmakers aren’t helping
Bill Blackburn of Coralville hauls tree limbs damaged in the derecho Aug. 17 at Oakhill Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Trees …
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