Idaho Lands will Study Trees in Eastern Idaho

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Department of Lands is using a $300,000 federal grant to calculate the urban tree canopy in eastern Idaho. Agency spokesman Gerry Bates tells the Post Register that the Snake River Canopy Analysis Project starts Monday.He says the project will measure shade coverage from trees in Idaho Falls, Ammon, Blackfoot, Shelley, Chubbuck and Pocatello. The project will have 300 study plots one-tenth of an acre spread out across 125 square miles. A computer system will take information from the 300 plots and extrapolate it over the 125-square-mile region. Interns will also work over the summer using aerial photographs and field expeditions to help determine shade coverage in each city.