Nearly 7 Million Iowa Trees were Damaged/Destroyed by the Derecho

According to the recently completed survey from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the state of Iowa had an estimated seven million trees damaged or destroyed by the derecho in August 2020. The derecho impacted 27 counties along U.S. Hwy. 30 corridors primarily in central and east-central Iowa.

The survey also looked at the damage to trees on rural lands and estimated that nearly 2.7 million trees in nearly 57,000 acres of Iowa’s forests were damaged or destroyed by the storm.

In 2016, the United States Department of Agriculture estimated that Iowa was home to over one billion trees. There are also at least 60 species across the state. The top five species with the greatest number of trees in the state are Bur Oak, Silver Maple, White Oak, Cottonwood, and Black Walnut. Twelve different species of oaks are native to Iowa. Iowa has ZERO national forests.

Of the estimated 4.4 million trees damaged, the most were in Linn County with over 953,000, followed by Polk County with over 642,000 and Scott County with over 514,000.

mdpi.com

Roseanne Barr Abandoned Iowa Mansion in Eldon, IA

I fell into a rabbit hole when I found out that Roseanne Barr almost had a mansion in Iowa. After seeing the current state of the property on Facebook, I was amazed that such an extravagant project could be so quickly overtaken by nature. Only two hours away from Waterloo, this abandoned field could have hosted some of the coolest and elite Hollywood parties in the Midwest. The current photos were taken by Gable Fry on a recent trip he took.

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.