Marshalltown is among the areas that will be a focus of a massive campaign in the spring to restore thousands of trees that were destroyed by the August 10th derecho. John Bright, spokesman for Marion-based Trees Forever, says the effort is being called Project Hope and it’ll focus on purchasing and planting trees in areas that were devastated by the powerful storm.

Bright says the tree canopy in Cedar Rapids was ravaged by the storm and some estimate more than six in every ten trees were destroyed by wind gusts there that reached 140-miles an hour.

The derecho recovery process will take decades and Bright says the organization is asking citizens to give the gift of trees to the next generation of Iowans.

www.treesforever.org