Reno Gazette Journal 4-19-10

Local experts express doubts about proposed Reno tree plantation

Backers of a proposal to establish a massive tree farm north of Reno insist the trees can survive the sometimes harsh conditions of Northern Nevada despite skepticism by some local critics.

“We feel more than confident” the project can succeed, said Collie Christensen, chief executive officer of ECO2 Forests, Inc.

On April 6, Christensen and colleagues announced plans to establish a 3 million-tree plantation of kiri trees in the Winnemucca Ranch area between Reno and Pyramid Lake. The trees would be raised to sell lumber for furniture making and to sell carbon credits.

Some local experts and nursery owners were quick to question the proposal, insisting the trees, native to China, can’t survive the area’s climate.

“They won’t grow here,” said Rich Ziegler, owner of Carson Valley Garden and Ranch. “They’re just not going to make it.”

Ziegler said a combination of the area’s arid, cold climate and high winds will likely make the project a losing proposition. He said he’s tried to grow several of the trees, also known as Paulownias, and they all died. A local relative once tried to grow 200 of the trees he received by mail order and they also died, Ziegler said.

David Ruf, owner of the Greenhouse Garden Center in Carson City, agreed.

“I’ve tried three different times and the trees always died. They just didn’t make it over the winter,” Ruf said. “I’m not sure if they have a full knowledge of what they’re doing.”

JoAnne Skelly of the University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension also questions whether the trees can survive, in part due to the short frost-free season of the area. Low humidity, drying sun and winds and soil conditions could also cause problems, Skelly said.

“I’m a little skeptical this might work,” Skelly said.

After news of the ECO2 Forests plans, the extension received calls from homeowners interested in growing kiri trees for shade, Skelly said. Officials are not recommending they do so.

Christensen, however, insists the type of kiri tree his company plans to grow at Winnemucca Ranch should flourish there, given proper care.

“We have spent a great deal of time and money making sure this project can work up in Northern Nevada,” Christensen said.

And to make sure that’s the case, the company’s earliest efforts will involve the test planting of 50,000 of the trees. Subsequent planting of 450,000 trees will occur on 2,000 acres in May 2011 only if that $1 million test succeeds, he said.

“We’re going to confirm that it works. We’re going to test it,” Christensen said. “We’re not just rolling into town and planting 3 million trees.”

ZoeAnna Thies, owner of Paulownia Tree Co. near Ukiah, Calif., agrees the trees can thrive locally. Thies is supplying the trees to be used by ECO2 Forests.

Thies said she has clients that are successfully growing the trees in frigid parts of Wisconsin and a high wind and ice-storm-prone part of Pennsylvania.

“They can grow and thrive in harsh conditions,” she said.

Any concerns the trees could spread across the desert landscape or introduce pests to the area are also invalid, Thies said.

“I wouldn’t be involved in any type of project I didn’t think would work or which I think wouldn’t be beneficial to the environment,” Thies said.

Kiri trees grow quickly and can reach 65 feet within five years, according to ECO2 Forests. New trees spring from trunks once a tree is harvested. They broad-leafed trees are particularly efficient in sequestering carbon dioxide, making them valuable in the carbon credit market, the company said.

Within seven years of startup, ECO2 Forests representatives estimate they can raise $1.5 billion in lumber sales and sale of carbon credits from their Northern Nevada project.