City receives $10,000 grant to replace storm damaged trees

Following the massive windstorm in September, many public areas within the City of Ritzville lost many trees which once covered the area. The monumental loss led in the city submitting a 2013 Tree City USA Tree Planting Grant Proposal through the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and the application resulted in the city receiving 57 trees to plant within the city, specifically in the areas that lost the most trees.

The Sept. 15 windstorm produced winds over 65 miles an hour and destroyed a total of 34 trees within Ritzville. The majority of damage occurred on the south side of the city, and the major loss of trees occurred at the Ritzville City Park and the Ritzville Municipal Golf Course.

“The City has great pride in the way our City Park and Golf Course have been maintained for tourists and citizens to use,” the application, written by Ritzville Clerk/Treasurer Kris Robbins, stated. “The City plans to plant new trees and also replace those destroyed by the storm.”

The 57 trees have all been planted in the city park, golf course and on city owned property in the residential areas, as well as along the city owned walking path.

In the grant proposal, the city requested $10,000 from the DNR, while the applicant share provided was $32,443.46, with an in-kind share of $20,063 for a total project cost of $62,506.46.

The city received five White Ash, five Ponderosa Pine, five Austrian Pine, four Red Oak, four Zelkova Green Vase, five Yellow Wood, four Green Ash, five Sugar Maple, five Sweet Gum, four Douglas Fir, five Linden, three Japanese Tree Lilac and three Cockspun Hawthorne. Garth Davis from the Spokane Conservation District, who has worked with the Ritzville Tree Board for the past four years, helped the City select the species of trees.

As stated in the application, Davis oversaw the planting of the trees, which was completed by City of Ritzville employees. Davis planned to train the city crew and volunteers how to plant, prune and maintain the new trees.

The City of Ritzville completed a Public Tree Management Report in December 2007, which was submitted by Jim Flott, an arborist Community Forestry Consultants of Spokane. According to this plan, the city is responsible for removing diseased trees, maintaining good trees and planning for future planting areas as a Tree City USA.

The trees are being maintained by the City of Ritzville, which is responsible for watering the trees during the dry season when the trees require added moisture.

The trees in the park and on the golf course are irrigated seasonally with the watering of the grass, while the trees on the walking path are watered with a drip irrigation system.

The City of Ritzville plants about 20 trees annually, many that are planted on Arbor Day.