Marion’s going greener: New plan to add thousands of trees

MARION — The city of Marion is developing a 10-year reforestation plan to revitalize its canopy with thousands of new trees.

The invasive emerald ash borer infiltrated Marion’s canopy starting in 2018, eventually wiping out around 600 local ash trees. The city’s urban forestry division replanted trees as needed.

But after the 2020 derecho decimated an additional 2,600 trees — 42 percent of the local canopy — the division knew it had to get more intentional about reforestation.

“That was probably the point where we were absolutely sure that a plan was necessary,” city arborist Mike Cimprich said. “We wanted to look at all the available data, try to prioritize different approaches and do it mindfully … so that it would benefit everyone.”

With the help of an outside vendor, Marion is now planning the best route to recover its tree canopy efficiently and equitably.

The strategy will take a year to plan and then 10 years to implement. But it will result in thousands more trees around the city — which helps increase property values, lower energy costs and improve mental health.

“Here in Marion, our slogan is ‘Reach Higher,’ ” Cimprich said. “That’s ultimately what we're trying to do by creating a better community living space for our residents.”

What will the plan consist of?

The reforestation plan will map where trees will be planted, when they’ll be planted and how they will be nurtured into adulthood. It can take up to three years for new trees to be fully established and requires continual monitoring and watering.

The number of trees that will be planted in total?

Cimprich said it’s still unclear at this point — but it will reach into the thousands.

Losing more than 40 percent of the public canopy in less than 10 years is a huge ecological loss. But, he said, it also provides the rare opportunity to right the wrongs of past by diversifying tree species, spacing trees better and having more equitable planting plans.

“One of the silver linings from the storm and the damage is that we have a blank slate to start fresh from,” Cimprich said. “We can learn from lessons that we've come across over the past five or 10 years with urban forestry.”

Additionally, the reforestation plan calls for a public-facing component: a digital dashboard. The public can use it to survey local trees, request new ones or notify the city’s urban forestry division about trees they plant themselves.

“A big part of the reforestation plan process is verifying some of that data and then creating a platform for the public to interact with and help us with future workflow,” Cimprich said.

How will the plan be developed?

Several factors are in play in the plan, including the chunk of change needed to make it happen.

The city’s budget for the project came in just above $60,000, though costs may vary, depending on the finalized plan. The money will come from grants and the city’s urban forest utility fund, which residents contribute to on their city utility bills, Cimprich said.

And while Marion’s urban forestry division is leading the charge, the team sought extra expert support. Last week, the city council hired JBC of Des Moines, a landscape architecture firm, as the project vendor.

In mapping where trees go, planners will consider such factors as income rates, underserved populations, areas near schools or churches, and areas with substantial gaps in canopy.

“We want to make sure that we're looking at all those different factors and not just emphasizing a few of them,” Cimprich said. “We want to make sure that we're giving the benefits of trees and canopy out to everybody in the community.”

Cedar Rapids has been developing its own tree replanting project — ReLeaf — since the derecho wiped out 65 percent of the city’s canopy.

While Cimprich works closely with the Cedar Rapids replanting team, he said Marion’s reforestation plan will be unique to the city. He’s also looking to other communities nationwide for inspiration and will draw from Marion’s comprehensive strategic plan that guides local improvements and developments.

“We want to make sure that we put something forward that's going to suit Marion and not just following the same steps as another community,” he said.

What will the timeline be?

A steering committee — which will include city staffers and local residents — will review the forthcoming reforestation plan. Its roster should be finalized in the next two weeks, Cimprich said. Committee meetings will be open to the public.

Public input sessions, not yet scheduled, will be set to gather community thoughts, opinions and concerns.

“The next generation 50 years down the road,” Cimprich said, “is going to have a lot healthier, a lot more beneficial urban canopy to work with in the community than maybe what we adopted when we started in 2016.”

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com