News Release

LOUDONVILLE, OH -- Approximately 400 volunteers will hand plant 8,000 silky dogwood trees on Saturday, March 27 at the Mohican-Memorial State Forest in northern Ohio. As part of a "Trees for Wildlife" project coordinated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation, volunteers will reforest areas around several natural gas wells that were reconditioned last year by the company.

Volunteers will include scout troops from the region and members of local chapters of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

"Planting seedlings around the reconditioned wells will speed the natural vegetation growth process, as well as increase wildlife habitat in the forest," said Greg Smith, forest manager.

The Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation maintains 54 gas storage wells within the Mohican Memorial State Forest. Over the past year, the company has performed maintenance work on eight wells, requiring them to remove trees around the sites.

According to the ODNR Division of Forestry, the silky dogwood trees were home-grown at the state's tree nursery in Zanesville and purchased by Columbia Gas. Silky dogwoods are native to Ohio and are commonly used in reforestation efforts.