This could be a banner year for state residents' ordering the low-cost tree and shrub seedlings the Kansas Forest Service offers annually through its Conservation Tree Planting Program.
"From a soil-moisture standpoint, Kansas is in the best shape it's been in years. Plus, this winter's combination of harsh weather and rising fuel prices have been demonstrating -- once again -- that various types of windbreaks and some additional protection for outdoor animals can be a very good thing," said Joshua Pease, Kansas Forestry Service conservation forester.
Suburban Kansans with weather-exposed homes on small-acre lots are now qualified for the program. Farm producers with woodlands, wildlife habitat and/or aging windbreaks were hit hard last year by tree-damaging weather, including last May's tornadoes, early September's high winds in the west, and December's ice storms.
The program begins taking orders in December and continues into May. Seedlings have the best odds if planted by late March or early April. Qualifying for the program just requires a buyer to agree to use the seedlings for conservation.
Program trees and shrubs can become living barriers to block ugly views, to reduce wind speed or highway noise, and to prevent road-covering snow drifts. They can mark property lines plus create habitat for songbirds, game birds or other wildlife. They can protect livestock or crops, as well as provide firewood or Christmas trees. If planted on shores, they can stabilize the bank, help control soil erosion, and filter out pollutants before rain runoff reaches a pond, stream, river or lake.
"More and more people appear to be using our trees and shrubs simply for stewardship or ecological reasons," Pease said. "Of course, people also are using them to take the edge off of Kansas' weather extremes -- to improve their overall quality of living and perhaps reduce their heating and air conditioning costs. As a group, though, they're having a real impact on our overall environment."
The tree planting program offers more than 30 species, selected for hardiness in the central High Plains, he said. The plants are one to two years old. Most are bare-root and 12- to 18-inches tall.