Deforestation Locally
The Austin area, or more specifically Bastrop, was hit with one of the biggest forest fires in Texas in 2011.
This forest fire destroyed 1,554 homes while killing two people (NBCDFW-Bastrop Homes Destroyed)7.
Approximately destroying 5,550 acres of forest in Bastrop, including one of the oldest loblolly pine forests in Texas, said to have been there since the Pleistocene Era(Wikipedia-Bastrop County Complex Fire)8. This major tragedy put a major dent in the forests of the Austin Area and ultimately caused a lot of deforestation in Bastrop county.
Also, drawn-out Texas droughts have caused the deaths of millions of trees. Last year alone, 300 million trees in Texas died because of drought (USAToday-Texas Drought killed 300 million trees last year)9.
These major tree losses in East Texas are also a major factor in the Texas deforestation problem. East Texas, a main lumber production region in the United States, mainly is occupied by the Piney Woods region. However, between 2006 and 2011, an annual average of over 600 million cubic feet of trees are cut down and removed for selling (Texas Almanac-Forest Resources)10.
This forest fire destroyed 1,554 homes while killing two people (NBCDFW-Bastrop Homes Destroyed)7.
Approximately destroying 5,550 acres of forest in Bastrop, including one of the oldest loblolly pine forests in Texas, said to have been there since the Pleistocene Era(Wikipedia-Bastrop County Complex Fire)8. This major tragedy put a major dent in the forests of the Austin Area and ultimately caused a lot of deforestation in Bastrop county.
Also, drawn-out Texas droughts have caused the deaths of millions of trees. Last year alone, 300 million trees in Texas died because of drought (USAToday-Texas Drought killed 300 million trees last year)9.
These major tree losses in East Texas are also a major factor in the Texas deforestation problem. East Texas, a main lumber production region in the United States, mainly is occupied by the Piney Woods region. However, between 2006 and 2011, an annual average of over 600 million cubic feet of trees are cut down and removed for selling (Texas Almanac-Forest Resources)10.
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