Most of last year's newly planted river trees survived Thursday's flood

Amid a week of flood damage across Kerr County, the Kerr County River Foundation has some rare good news: the majority of trees planted over the past year along adopted sections of the Kerrville River Trail survived Thursday’s flooding.

“Signs of good news up and down the river corridor,” the foundation said in a social media post. “The majority of trees planted over the past year on adopted sections of the Kerrville River Trail are, somehow, still alive and well.”

The same volunteers who planted the trees are returning to work, staking the survivors and using woody flood debris to protect them from deer and other browsing animals.

The foundation is also working with the City of Kerrville and adjacent landowners to remove silt, gravel and other debris from sections of the River Trail, while trying to avoid unnecessary disturbance and compaction, especially in sensitive riparian areas. The goal, the foundation said, is to help the city reopen portions of the trail that remain structurally sound without causing further damage to surviving vegetation.

Not everything survived, however. The flood destroyed eight water storage tanks the foundation uses to irrigate newly planted trees with river water or reclaimed water from the city’s wastewater treatment plant during low-flow conditions — a critical need for young trees through the dry summer months until their root systems are established. The foundation is raising money to replace them.

“Even with the setback, KCRF and our volunteer and stewardship partners are determined more than ever to keep at it,” the foundation said. “Keep planting. Keep seeding. Keep monitoring. Keep healing.”

Donations to help fund replacement water tanks can be made at https://checkout.square.site/E4DTRYXNWBV7EFFF6UVZHVHR.