Tree lines distinguish Sussex County
Trees are particularly quiet this time of the year. Hardwoods have dropped their leaves, giving the winter winds less surface to howl against. They’ve gone into hibernation. Even in this quieter time of the year though, trees remain a dominant natural feature of the Sussex County landscape.
An editorial in the Jan. 12 edition of the Cape Gazette suggested an expansion of the natural buffers required by the county between new developments and along waterways. In addition to helping cleanse our myriad of streams, creeks, rivers and bays, such an expansion would generally mean more trees across the landscape. Expanded buffers would also give our wildlife a better shot at sustainable habitat over the next 50 years.
If Sussex County ever adopts a set of core values to help guide its decision making, the maintenance and enhancement of its distinctive tree lines should be high on the list. Those ever-present tree lines demarcate the hundreds of waterways that criss-cross Sussex. Historically, they remain in place because farmers couldn’t till into the stream beds. That left space along the course of the waterways for trees, and in turn wildlife, to thrive.
It’s said that the municipality of Marco Island in Florida set its building height limit - at least in many areas - to ensure that construction wouldn’t rise above the prevailing height of mature trees. Human scale. Respect for nature.
In Sussex County, whether by accident or for another reason related to the traditional height of buildings, the 42-foot limit for all buildings other than spires, towers, steeples and other special purposes hits pretty close to the height of the prevailing tree line from north to south and east to west. It may be coincidental, but it shouldn’t be left that way.
Maintaining a quality of life that places a high value on respect for nature is important for continuing to attract new residents and maintaining the vigor of our economy. When the next edition of Sussex County’s comprehensive plan is written, the pervasive tree lines that give such comforting and distinguishing texture to the flat Sussex landscape should be memorialized to give nature well-reasoned protection.
