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With help from UT, tree inventory under way in Oak Ridge

September 16, 2012 By 1 Comment

The city of Oak Ridge and forestry students from the University of Tennessee are conducting a tree inventory to help develop a tree planting plan.

The inventory started Saturday at the west end of Oak Ridge near Rarity Ridge. The first two-week inventory will move east along State Route 95/58 to State Route 62, also known as Illinois Avenue.

Subsequent phases will study trees along other busy roadways, including Illinois, Lafayette, Rutgers, and Tulane avenues.

The inventory includes trees in roadway right-of-ways, public spaces, and municipal parks. A city press release said the entire inventory could take two or three semesters to complete.

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will use the information to start a tree planting plan in 2013.

The UT forestry students are led by Sharon Jean-Philippe, an assistant professor of urban forestry. During the inventory, Jean-Philippe and her students will wear bright orange vests marked with the UTK logo so they are identifiable from a distance, the press release said.

For more information, contact Athanasia Senecal Lewis in the Oak Ridge Community Development Department at (865) 425- 3574 or Jon Hetrick in the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department at (865) 425-1867. Alternatively, visit the city’s website at www.oakridgetn.gov.

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  • Abbey

    UT and students inventoried my acreage many years ago and helped me develop an appropriate plan to manage the trees that I have adhered to. Yes, over the years many trees have been harvested, but for the better. I have an abundance of wildlife, wildflowers and healthy trees and undergrowth. Cutting trees is not always a bad idea as some tree-huggers believe. Management does not always mean planting but harvesting and thinning as well. I can attest that trees are very much like weeds, they can get way out of control!