The Nebraska Public Power District got a jump on celebrating Arbor Day by planting 9 trees at Chadron State Park on Tuesday. 

       NPPD Community Outreach Supervisor Heidi Elliott says the utility has held a yearly Arbor Day tree planting event in conjunction with one of its retail customer communities, calling it something NPPD and its workers look forward to.

      Elliott says Chadron and Chadron State Park seemed like an ideal choice this time because the park and the entire Nebraska State Park System are celebrating their centennials this year. 

      Park Superintendent Gregg Galbraith says they were thrilled to get 9 trees and calls the timing perfect as Chadron State Park prepares for its milestone while also recognizing Earth Day and Arbor Day this month.

     Galbraith says the new trees will add beauty and shade to several areas of the Park which have recently been updated or seen new construction.

       NPPD was recently acknowledged for the 16th consecutive year by Tree Line USA, a program that recognizes electric utilities who demonstrate practices which protect and enhance America’s rural and urban trees. 

       NPPD has met its standards of training employees in quality tree care and educating the public on tree planting for energy conservation and appropriate planting near power lines.

10,000 Ponderosa Pine Seedlings Planted Monday On East Side Of CSC Campus

     There are a lot more Ponderosa pine trees at Chadron State College than there were a week ago.

Northwest District State Forester Doak Nickerson says 10,000 seedlings were planted Monday as part of a joint project with the college.

The pine seedlings went into one of the eastern-most parts of the campus as part of the long-running recovery effort from the 2006 fire.

A 13-member professional crew hand-planted the seedlings in a matter of hours. 

Crew Chief Elder Medrano from Idaho-based Worman and Associates Forest Management and its CRW subsidiary says his entire group came to the U-S from Central America to plant trees all across the nation.

Some are new this year and some are veteran plants with Medrano.