After the Scourge: Regions Struggle to Sustain Plantlife

Ted Gregory reports on the results of a recent tree census in the seven-county Chicago region that found more than 157 million trees, "a number that translates to about 21 percent of the area covered in trees and shrubs — well below the national average of 27 percent."

Gregory describes the effort of surveying and cataloguing the region's trees, part of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, as the most comprehensive tree census of any large U.S. metropolitan area.

The Chicago region, like many other parts of the country, is recovering from the emerald ash borer scourge, which "experts say will have wiped out 13 million trees by the time it moves downstate." The state has also been devastated by the European buckthorn, "an invasive plant that shoves out the state's native oak." The Chicago Region Trees Initiative hopes to build a sustainable blanket of plant life in northeast Illinois, with the help of 13 partner organizations. The article includes more details about the early efforts of the initiative.