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The Tree Solutions Act includes provisions for the maintenance of all trees planted–a historic first for a tree-planting bill.Ħ0 trees were planted at Big Run State Park in partnership with Trout Unlimited, Maryland Forest Service, Maryland Park Service, Maryland Fisheries Service and Frostburg State University students Foresters and contractors plant and maintain the seedlings, using best practices for high survival rates. Once harvested, the seedlings are shipped to planting sites all over Maryland. The beds are managed by species and harvested accordingly. Each bed has six rows, with hundreds of tree seedlings per row. Each nursery field has at least 100 beds, each about 100 yards long. Nursery Manager Richard Garrett says that seedlings are like any other agricultural crop, but managed differently due to the time scale. The Ayton Nursery, located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, grows millions of seedlings each year. The Maryland Forest Service partnered with the Sierra Club’s Southern Maryland Group to plant trees at three sites in spring 2022.
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Ayton State Tree Nursery, which produces tree and shrub seedlings for plantings across Maryland and Delaware, received special permission to purchase extra seeds and begin growing out the seedlings needed for the first few years of the Initiative. The Maryland Forest Service quickly put a tree-growing plan into action in response to the Initiative. In order to meet the 5 Million Trees goal, an additional half-million seedlings need to reach the desired planting size each year. Smaller plantings usually use containerized trees, which are grown for an additional 1-3 years or longer before planting. Large-scale plantings use tree seedlings, about 1.5 years old, with about 400 seedlings planted per acre. Time is needed for trees to grow from seed to the desired planting size, which can vary.
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One of the first questions the Maryland Department of Natural Resources considered was how to prepare the forestry industry to provide that many trees. These trees are in addition to standard state planting levels–so with more than six million people living in Maryland, at least one tree will be planted for each resident by 2031. Part of this legislation included a historic directive to plant 5 million native trees on public and private land by 2031. The 5 Million Trees Initiative was mandated by legislation, the Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021. Students from the Northern High School Interact Club planted serviceberry, river birch, and American plum trees at the Oakland Rotary Parkįor the next eight years the Maryland Forest Service will feature a familiar refrain: 5 Million Trees!
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