To the Editor:

The City of Fayette is thankful for the Cost Share grant received from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) in October. The grant funding is covering 75% of the removal cost of 15 dead and dying trees, 7 of those with Emerald Ash Borer infestation. Also funded is 75% of the purchase and planting of 6 replacement trees, as well as educational outreach and a year’s subscription to TreeKeeper software. The City of Fayette hopes that citizens will utilize the TreeKeeper subscription to learn more about the community forest included in city tree inventory: https://fayettemo.treekeepersoftware.com 

The Cost Share replacement plan includes eighteen new plantings, twelve of those free from the Forest ReLeaf organization in STL. You can see photos of newly planted trees in the Tree Board Album on the Friends of Fayette Parks Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/friendsoffayetteparks also accessible on the City of Fayette website: https://cityoffayettemo.com/ under the Parks tab.

The community faces the inevitable loss of over seventy city trees listed on the 2023 inventory removal list and this does not include diseased and dying trees on personal property within the city. The public is encouraged to replant the right tree in the right place utilizing the Standard Inventory Analysis and Management Plan, C Suggested Tree Species prepared by the Davey Resource Group in Jan. 2023, available on https://cityoffayettemo.com/  Plant large canopy trees at least 30 feet from power lines. 

Bekki Galloway

Southwest Ward Alderwoman

Liaison to the Fayette Tree Board