Sheldon, Iowa — Sheldon’s many trees certainly add to the beauty of our surroundings but Andrew Larson, who is an Urban Forester with the JEO Consulting group in Ankeny, told the Sheldon City Council Wednesday that trees provide many other benefits as well.
As part of a grant from the Department of Natural Resources, Larson has cataloged all 1,178 trees in Sheldon that are ‘city-owned’. He told the council that these trees provide over $372,000 in benefits annually, including reduced energy-related costs, the interception of over a million gallons of storm water, removal of a lot of air pollution, and storage of almost nineteen-thousand pounds of carbon every year.
Larson also commented that Sheldon has more trees than most communities of its size.
One important item is the fact that 672, or 39 percent, of the city-owned trees are ash trees and these will all eventually be destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer. He recommended a tree management plan that would include necessary tree removal, disease and pest control, pruning and tree replacement.
At this time Larson has identified 6 trees that should be removed and 22 of the ash trees that should be carefully examined. He also commented that with the current budget it could take 45 years to remove all the ash trees. He suggested that the council consider an increase of $12,000 annually and apply for grants to plant replacement trees.
There was no comment or discussion by the council after the presentation
