Water the Trees? Oops, We Thought You Did

About half of the 1,100 trees planted near the North Central Expressway and Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Dallas, mostly bald cypresses (Taxodium disticum), are dead from lack of water. Arborist Steve Houser, chairman of the Dallas Urban Forest Advisory Committee, told LASN, “Only when people start to understand the importance of trees and natural areas, will things begin to change.”

The Texas Trees Foundation (TTF) was founded to keep North Central Texas green. According to the foundation’s website (www.texastreesfoundation.org), the organization’s first major project was an effort with the Texas DOT in Dallas to plant 570 trees along the access roads of Woodall Rodgers Freeway from North Central Expressway to Stemmons Freeway. TTF obtained the funding and managed the installation of the trees. The cost exceeded $200,000 in plant and irrigation materials.

Over the years, TTF reports its work with TxDOT has resulted in planting 3,780 trees along the freeways, expressways and interchanges.

In Sept. 2008, the Dallas News reported that among the 1,100 trees planted near the North Central Expressway and Woodall Rodgers Freeway, mostly bald cypress (Taxodium disticum), about half were dead. Arborist Steve Houser told the local media the summer heat, heavy winds and lack of water have made the grove a “graveyard.” Mr. Houser is chairman of the Dallas Urban Forest Advisory Committee and reports to the city council and the park and recreation department.

The irony is the organizations that made the tree groves possible, TTF and TxDOT, have responsibility in their demise. Basic confusion and lack of communication are the culprits. TxDOT thought TTF was watering the trees; TTF thought TxDOT was!

The Dallas News reports a contract between TTF and TxDOT made the foundation responsible for the maintenance and watering of the trees for five years. Patrick Haigh, the landscape architect for the TxDOT’s Dallas office, concurred. He told the Dallas News, “We agreed to pay for the water. They were responsible for watering. That was our understanding.”

Janette Monear, TTF’s executive director, believed the foundation was responsible for maintaining the irrigation system, but that TxDOT was supposed to do the watering as necessary.

The recent heavy rains from Hurricane Ike came a bit late for the dead trees, but many of the living trees are in a “self-induced dormancy” and their needles are drying out and falling off. “The problem doesn’t go away just because they got some rain,” Houser told the Dallas media.