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Trees could face axe if Corps of Engineers enforces strictvegetation rulesBy Sheila Grissett, The Times -PicayuneA p r i l 2 6 , 2 0 1 0 , 7 : 2 0 A M

Ted J ackson / The Times-PicayuneBJ. Morgan and his dog Hank walk the levee as they enjoy the dog play area and thetrees along the levee near the Riverbend section and the Mississippi River in NewOrleans earlier this month. The mature line of trees runs afoul of an Army Corps ofEngineers vegetation policy, previously ignored but now being aggressively enforced,that prohibits trees within 15feet of levees and f1oodwalls.

Some 500 trees along the Mississippi River in EastJefferson and NewOrleans -- and eventhe English ivythat hascovered a FrenchQuarter floodwall for decades -- are the next targets of a controversial ArmyCorps of Engineers vegetation policy that likely will require their removal.Mostof the trees are located behind homes that backup to the river in River Ridge, Harahanand Kenner,but a highly visible line ofmature trees also flanks the western edge of the unofficial dog park along LeakeAvenue, a clover-and-grass-covered levee slope long used by residents of Uptown NewOrleans and thecanines who walk them.

All of the trees, as well asvines blanketing the floodwall that separates the MoonWalkand parking lot eastof J axBrewery from Cafedu Mondeand other iconic FrenchQuarter establishments north of the wall, arenow listed onannual corps levee inspection reports as "encroachments" in needof removal.Local leveedistricts have been advised not to start cutting yet, however, as decision-makers at corpsheadquarters continue grappling with the fallout from their post-Hurricane Katrina decision to startaggressive enforcement of a previously ignored policy that prohibited trees within 15 feet of levees andfloodwalls.

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Not only hasthe policy raised the ire of naturalists, it has also spawned complex real estate andenvironmental issuesthat must beaddressed.Whenaskedfor advice on howto proceed, a corps operations supervisor in NewOrleans recently told a ,group of regIonal leveecommIssIoners and dIstrict executIves that hewouldn't adVIsecutting riverside treesuntil there is further word from headquarters."I can't speakon behalf of the whole corps ... but I wouldn't move just yet," Jerry Colletti, assistant.operabons chIef for the dIStrict, told the group. "Wemay know somemore after a meeting we're having inafew weeks ... or by the end of the year."Trees are going to bean issue for a long time, and~e've asked (headquarters) for a better waiver system.and the ability to use some engineering judgment when it comes to deciding what needs removing in ourdistricts," hesaid."I'd say don't do anything yet until we hear something else from them."'Minimally acceptable'Colletti and corps geotechnical engineer RichVaruso said agency inspectors have nochoicebut to note theexistence of trees and other growth that seems to violate the vegetation poucy. But they said inspectorsaren't lowering the overall ratings the leveesystems are given. te~IJt n .+'f '"N..!.I , ,NO ve.c..ef' I t- '

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But the document alsomade clear that in the future, the cost of noncompliance would be steep: Federalaidwill bewithheld in responseto any future floods, and offending leveesystems risk decertification and theloss of participation in the federal flood insurance program.Corpsofficials saidthere's no chancethat such punitive action would be taken against local levee districts fornot cutting trees at this point,There is still no certainty as to what role, if any, large trees blown over by Katrina might have played infloodwall breaches that led to the catastrophic flooding of NewOrleans and parts of EastJ efferson.Lessons learned since then have revealed floodwall design deficiencies, including shallow foundations, thatcouldwell account for all the failures. But large trees growing in leveeslopes near the major breacheswereuprooted in the storm.Tests explore trees' dangerIn an effort to help resolve some of the dueling scientific theories regarding the marriage of trees andlevees, the corps last year tasked the Army's own Engineer Researchand Development Center to launch newresearch into the effects of woody vegetation on levee performance. The project, which includes computermodeling and hands-on test sites in NewOrleans and nine other cities in eight states, is scheduled to finishup this year. .In addition, the Army facility staff is also collaborating in research being led by a California consortiumhoping to find away to ensure levee safety while saving the last remnants of the riparian forest that oncelined rivers in the Central Valley."This is a work in progress, and we're trying to be consistent, " Varuso said. "But on levees that have beenaround for a while, there are complicating issues. It takes time."Thepush to eliminate everything but grass on or around federal levees and floodwalls was fueled by Katrina,and well before the position paperwas ever published, the crackdown on trees was in full swing alonghurricane protection levees on Lake Pontchartrain and floodwalls in NewOrleans, Metairie and Kenner.

Bythe time itwas over, some 5,000 trees had beencut, many of them along the breachedLondon and 17thAvenue canals, and lawsuits filed asa result of the removals are still working their way through the courts.Varuso and Colletti said it was necessaryto cut trees off the levees, berms and adjoining 1s-foot zonesbecauseof the Katrina experience.Sheila Grissett can be reached at sgrissett@timespicayune.com or 504.467.1746. 2010 NOLA.com.All rights reserved.

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