Never Greener in Grosse Pointe Park

摘要

Here's a fact that may surprise you: compared to 100 years ago, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan (adjacent to Detroit), today has many more trees and an infinitely greater "crown cover." According to noted Detroit historian Nick Sinacori, Grosse Pointe Park was a Grand Marais, or Great Marsh, with hardly any trees at all. As Detroit developed, dirt from excavations was dumped here. That effectively reclaimed land that could support subdivisions. Before houses were built, land was platted out, roads created and trees planted; American elm (Ulmus americana) almost exclusively. By 1950, we had 5,000 street trees, 4,000 of which were American elm.