Funds proposed for parks and trees

The Appropriations Committee heard testimony March 12 on two bills that would provide funding for outdoor projects in Nebraska.

LB374, introduced by Malcolm Sen. Ken Haar, would create an automatic spillover when the State Recreation Road Fund exceeds $15 million. Excess funds would be transferred to the Game and Parks State Park Improvement and Maintenance Fund.

Haar said the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission could apply any excess funds to deferred maintenance projects at facilities across the state, adding that it often takes time to obtain approval for the road projects that the State Recreation Road Fund was designed for.

“Sometimes this fund has grown to the point where it could be used for some other purposes—and that’s what this bill … is about,” he said.

Haar said he intends to introduce an amendment to reduce the dollar amount that would trigger an automatic spillover to $14 million.

Roger Kuhn of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission spoke in support of the bill, saying the road fund normally does not exceed $14 million so the trigger mechanism rarely would be used. But, he said, when excess funds are available the commission would like to use them to catch up on deferred maintenance projects.

“The recreation road [fund] balance over the last several years has been growing and currently has a balance of about $18 million,” Kuhn said.

LB461, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, would appropriate $3 million in general funds annually to the Nebraska Forest Service for the Nebraska Tree Recovery Program.

Pansing Brooks said the program, which was created to fund tree replanting after harsh winters, has not been funded in over 10 years. The program provides grants that require local matching dollars, she said, and should be funded in order to help Nebraska cities and towns prepare for a coming emerald ash borer infestation.

“It is the deadly insect that is killing millions of ash trees across the northeast,” she said. “It is on our borders if not in the state already.”

Dick Campbell of the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association spoke in favor of the bill, saying the ash tree is prevalent across the state and the financial consequences of dealing with an infestation will be a heavy burden for many communities.

“This tree has been a mainstay for years in community parks and streets and is dominant in private landscapes,” Campbell said.

Diana Failla, president of the Omaha Midtown Neighborhood Alliance, also testified in support of the bill, saying the tree canopies in older neighborhoods are in danger of being destroyed by the coming infestation.

The destruction caused by the emerald ash borer poses a public safety risk, she said, because ash trees become brittle and weak when they die. Ash trees grow to heights of approximately 120 feet with canopies that spread 70 feet wide, she said.

“These weakened trees will pose an imminent danger,” Failla said.

Scott Josiah, state forester and director of the Nebraska Forest Service, testified in a neutral capacity. He said the cost to municipalities to remove, dispose of and replace ash trees destroyed by the emerald ash borer on public lands is estimated at $275 million statewide.

“Some of our communities are up to 30 percent ash [trees],” Josiah said.

The forest service, which administers the fund, would be able to develop a strategic response to the coming infestation with adequate state dollars, Josiah said.

No one testified in opposition and the committee took no immediate action on the bills.