Oklahoma City State Representative Richard Morrissette’s bill to improve on his battle against the state’s invasion of Eastern Red Cedar trees won approval this week in the State House.
HB 2748 would make improvements and changes to his original bill approved by the legislature.
“Our greatest need is community outreach,” said Morrissette, a Democrat who has fought for the legislation for more than six years. “We need ‘boots on the ground’, assisting communities, rural and urban, in identifing solutions for those whose acreage is being eaten up by cedar to push out cattle from grazing, wildlife from habitat, creating fire hazards, water loss and allergen related public health emergencies.”
His latest effort is to improve on the original bill which created a state registry board, but Rep. Morrissette said it proved to be too bulky without someone that farmers, ranchers and others with cedar tree problems could contact.
Morrissette’s new bill will terminate the Registry board and create a voluntary position of the Office of the Eastern red Cedar Registry Coordinator.
“HB2748 sets up a structure for grants to be received and combined with funding from the Eastern Red Cedar Revolving Fund, enable the Oklahoma Conservation Commission to eventually employ a state coordinator,” said Morrissette. It would also transfer the Eastern Red Cedar Revolving Fund from the State Agriculture Department to the State Conservation Commission. The new cedar tree field registry would include a list of private property infested with the cedars and promotion of harvesting and the maintaining of harvesting records. It would also help communities statewide in establishing community-owned Eastern Red Cedar projects.
Morrissette’s bill heads to the State Senate where Sen. Patrick Anderson (R-Enid) will lead the effort.
How serious of a problem is it in Oklahoma? Just 12 years ago, Oklahoma State University scientists estimated 8 million acres of rangeland in the state had been encroached by the trees and it was estimated to grow to nearly 13 million acres by 2013.
“The number is increasing at an alarming rate, equivalent to 762 acres a day,” said Dave Engle at Oklahoma State in a 2004 interview.
One 12-inch diameter cedar tree can consume up to 42 gallons a day during the spring and summer when temperatures are high and there’s adequate soil moisture.
