Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995                   TAG: 9502180030
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: G2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

(LOTS, IN FACT)

This is noteworthy because not only are the shade trees beautiful and healthful and valuable, many are old. And old means more vulnerable to savage weather.

Yet the city lost few of its most treasured trees - the Norway maples, the pin oaks, the ash and native elms and such, whose broad-leafed canopies lend gentle comfort to day-to-day life.

You are remembering correctly the hundreds of downed limbs that blocked streets and prostrate pines that knocked out power lines last January. And February. And March. Many of the damaged trees were on private property, however. And of the city's trees that were lost, most either were growing in undesirable locations, such as alleys, or were less valuable species, such as Siberian elm.

(The Siberian elm, the city's forester explains, looks like a native elm but is an introduced species that, like a weed, has seeded in everywhere. Unlike its native cousins, it has a dense branch structure and is weakly wooded, making it vulnerable to storm damage. Oh the ignominy of springing from the weakling branch of the family.)

So, after the cleanup and repair and a year of recovery time, the picture for the lovely tree-lined streets of Roanoke is remarkably green - or will be by spring. Let it come soon.

Even so, the city continues to face the prospect of losing, over time, its largest, stateliest trees simply because these are its oldest. They were not killed off in great numbers in the ice storms, but many are nearing the end of their natural lives. After decades without systematic tree-planting, there are few middle-aged trees, grown to maturity, to fill the gaps when the old ones come down.

City workers are optimistic, though, that current residents will leave a different legacy 20 or 30 years hence. The city has recognized its impending loss, and is trying both to preserve its big trees with systematic maintenance and to replace those that are lost.

Last year it was planting one street tree for every two removed. This year, city workers are hoping to get enough money, through grants and in the city budget, to replace every tree taken down, one-for-one. This is not certain, but they are optimistic. How else can one feel when, after last year's devastation, nature has again proved its resilience?