Sussex officials implored to preserve forests

My message to fellow Delawareans is simple - leave the last stands of natural forest in Sussex County alone.  I’m passionate about preserving existing forests for environmental reasons, but especially now that scientists are realizing that when decades - or centuries-old forests are removed, they cannot be replaced by simply planting more trees.  

Worldwide, people are trying desperately to replant forests for so many important reasons: to prevent flooding, to curb erosion, for carbon capture, to protect biodiversity, for shade and temperature moderation, and, of course, for supplying oxygen.  But in fact, only nature can create a healthy forest, because a natural forest is a hierarchy of life that evolves at a specific location that cannot be artificially created.

When we destroy a natural forest it’s gone forever. 

The trees that survive, the birds, insects and wildlife that live and feed there, the fungi that create the underground networks that transport nutrients to tree roots in exchange for sugars - all contribute to the health and success of each and every tree.  

Communities have been replanting trees in bare areas only to find them struggle to survive without the right community of life to sustain them.  

And recent research on forests is absolutely fascinating.  For example, it’s been shown that in a natural forest, mother trees actually feed their seedling offspring through their root systems to keep them alive until they grow tall enough to reach sunlight and photosynthesize their own sugars. 

And trees in forests actually alert nearby trees of insect and disease dangers by sending chemical warnings through the air and through their fungal and root networks.  In essence, trees grow tall and strong when they are standing in a grove where the winds and the weight of snow and ice are shared by the entire group.  It’s rare for a single tree to ever live a healthy normal lifespan.  

The forested areas that still exist in Sussex County are typically found where the ground was unsuitable for agriculture and, in many cases, have remained undisturbed for many decades.  We need to keep these forests and their fragile ecosystems intact and alive.   

Stop a minute to consider all the life-forms in Sussex County and realize how interconnected they are. 

Forests provide food and shelter for mammals, birds and invertebrates.  Forests harbor rich diversities of wildlife, but we are experiencing population decline across the board for local wildlife.  Delaware state scientists note, “Larger, connected forest blocks are extremely important for species that require interior forested areas for breeding, such as neotropical migratory birds. This type of habitat also provides an important stopover for these birds as they undertake lengthy migrations.”  

North America has, in fact, lost one in four birds since 1970. Scientists have determined that 2.9 billion adult birds have been lost in the last 50 years.  Tragically, 2.5 billion of those lost were migratory. A significant reason for the decline is habitat loss caused by human development.  Coastal Sussex County, due to its geographic location, is one of the most vital stops for migrating birds on the Atlantic flyway.  We must maintain any remaining forests for these migrants. 

Retaining existing forests is essential.  They form the bedrock of our entire ecosystem and food web. We need to begin to assign a higher value to our natural habitats when making decisions, and we need to keep their importance in mind.

Not only are forests essential for their role as home to great biodiversity, but also for the health of our waterways. Trees are 50 percent water and act as water towers helping to alleviate potential flooding and erosion along creeks and on the land. Their massive intertwined root systems act like dikes to keep the soil in place and filter out pollutants from water flowing into waterways.  A watershed expert used the analogy that “forests and wetlands are like the kidneys of our landscape, filtering out toxins.” 

Our county is being transformed from farmland into one sprawling housing development after another. 

One of the goals stated in Sussex County’s new comprehensive plan was to limit building in cluster developments to “the environmentally suitable portions of the tract - specifically those portions of the tract least encumbered by sensitive environmental features, including (but not limited to) wetlands, mature woodlands, waterways and other water bodies.” 

Additionally the plan calls for setting aside “lands of extraordinary environmental importance.” From what we now know, land that still contains mature forest should be considered of extraordinary environmental importance and left undisturbed. 

But mature trees are not incompatible with housing developments. In fact, mature trees add value to residential areas, and provide benefits both physically and psychologically.  Developers today should get creative and reconfigure their housing developments to take advantage of any existing natural forests and build only on already-cleared farmland.

Sussex County officials already determined that wetlands are too important to disturb, and buffer zones and building restrictions have been implemented near them. But we need to realize that forests are equally important, and create buffers and building restrictions to protect them also.   

I’m aware of a developer’s economic incentive to utilize every square foot of land to maximize profit, but in the case of mature forests, there is just no way to justify their removal for financial gain.  They are, in reality, irreplaceable and therefore priceless.   

So I humbly ask developers to stop designing projects that encroach on any existing forests and that the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission prohibit developers from removing existing forests in their land-use plans. 

I also hope the public will get behind this critical goal before it is too late. Use this new decade to begin implementing this important Sussex County Comprehensive Plan goal.  It would be a bold and responsible move, and one that current - and future - citizens and voters of Sussex County would applaud.  

Merril Levesque
Frankford