Nearly all of Delaware was once covered with forest. Deforestation has removed most of our trees. A recent uptick in woodland loss Sussex spurs an urgent effort to protect them.

Explosive population growth in Sussex County is well documented. Known less well is what is being lost to accommodate all those people: trees. Millions of trees.

Jane Gruenebaum is so concerned with the loss so far–and the potential for loss in the future–that she and Jill Hicks founded the Sussex Preservation Coalition in 2022.

Coalition members are closely following the county’s new development design initiative, which began in early 2023 to update requirements on “perimeter buffers, forest preservation, open space, interconnectivity, superior design, and miscellaneous code updates.”