Texas Drought Caused The Deaths Of Millions of Trees

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- A preliminary state estimate says as many as a half-billion trees died this year across Texas from the drought persisting across much of the state.

The Texas Forest Service said in a statement Monday that its foresters estimated that 100 million to 500 million trees died in the 2011 drought.

The forest service preliminary estimates found three areas to be hardest hit.

One, in Sutton, Crockett, Kimble and Pecos counties in West Texas, saw an extensive die-off of Ashe junipers.

Another, in Harris, Montgomery, Grimes, Madison and Leon counties of Southeast Texas, saw a big die-off of loblolly pines.

Meanwhile, Bastrop and Caldwell counties in Central Texas saw big losses of cedars and post oaks.

Comments

[Mark Montgomery]

03:20 PM on 12/21/2011

Well y'all should of got in that ole football stadium more often and done some more prayin.

[dumocraps]

01:24 PM on 12/21/2011

This is a perfect opportunity for the pulp and paper industry to use these resources before they decay.

[Jim Milks]

11:36 AM on 12/21/2011

For those wondering about the ecological consequences of losing so many trees, here's something that detailed those consequences:

Allison, et al. 2005: http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/bitstream/10113/26725/1/IND44168129.pdf

[artleads]

11:56 PM on 12/20/2011

Let's hope Texaa gives people work replanting them.

[aznurse]

12:27 AM on 12/21/2011

and how will they be watered?

[artleads]

11:25 AM on 12/21/2011

No question that planting and watering would be a massive task. But I don't see why drip irrigation couldn't work. Setting that up would create a lot of jobs.

[chango369]

10:08 PM on 12/20/2011

One look at this drought map and it's not hard to see just how quickly the problem could spread beyond arbitrary state lines.

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

[archarabia]

08:53 PM on 12/20/2011

I don't know a lot about Texas, but it seems like their part of the country is prone to draught as much as New England is prone to snow. They probably budget for putting out wildfires, do they budget for any prophylactic measures, like reforestation, drought prevention? Their politics seem to be dominated by border issues and oil.

[BlackJAC]

06:40 PM on 12/20/2011

And this is my problem how, exactly?  Since Texas wants to be its own country so bad, let them fix the problem on their own without begging the US for a "disaster relief" bailout.

[Boomerwoman]

05:11 PM on 12/20/2011

The drought is a tragedy. I feel so sorry for the folks in Texas and elsewhere...especially because this is only going to get worse for the foreseeable future.

[scooter51]

02:55 PM on 12/20/2011

Perry should have prayed harder. Obviously his message to God & Jesus didn't get through.

Climate change deniers are among the dumbest inhabitants of the planet, and should be mocked for for their willful ignorance. They put all of us in peril.

[jnratliff]

05:15 PM on 12/20/2011

91

[PAKALOLO]

02:20 PM on 12/20/2011

Have the Native Americans do a rain dance. Oh yeah, you killed them all. Remember the Alpo

[weneedmaturetrees]

04:32 PM on 12/21/2011

Wow, what a point of view. Native Americans are still very much alive. The White Devils found a better way than killing them, it's called assimilation. They are patiently waiting to take the country back after the Whites finish killing themselves off.

[PAKALOLO]

06:25 PM on 12/21/2011

http://www.ted.com/talks/aaron_huey.html

Just trying to make a point, man.

[Aladdin Sane1]

02:18 PM on 12/20/2011

"Now all that was left 'neath the bad-smelling sky
was my big empty factory...
the Lorax...
and I.
The Lorax said nothing
just gave me a glance.
Just gave me a very sad, sad backward glance.
He lifted himself by the seat of his pants
and I'll never forget the grim look on his face
as he hoisted himself and took leave of this place
through a hole in the smog without leaving a trace
and all that the Lorax left here in this mess was a small pile of rocks with one word.
UNLESS"
--Dr. Seuss, "The Lorax" (1971)

[Aladdin Sane1]

02:09 PM on 12/20/2011

It's like a nuclear bomb strike, or something.

[Honest-Frank]

01:55 PM on 12/20/2011

The heat was just what the doctor had ordered! It is good that I work for a power company.

[Rafi Simcha]

01:45 PM on 12/20/2011

Big Deal. It's Texas! They can just get better, bigger trees, made of plastic. It'll save water for the golf courses and swimming pools.

[bholesurfers]

02:25 PM on 12/20/2011

Don't forget beer.....

[weneedmaturetrees]

04:33 PM on 12/21/2011

I went to college with 2 of the BHoleSurfers.

[Edy Kel]

01:30 PM on 12/20/2011

Pretty soon they look a lot like Saudi Arabia.