Published: May 10, 2008 10:59 pm            

Mixture of trees mulled for memorial

SOMERSET — The central design of the Flight 93 National Memorial – an arc of blazing orange maple trees surrounding a walkway around a natural bowl leading to the crash site – may be changing colors.

Memorial designers are considering using a variety of trees rather than just one species to prevent disease and insect infestation.

“We have a committee of professional horticulturists and foresters working with our design team to ascertain the risk of planting a homogeneous stand of trees,” said Joanne Hanley, Flight 93 superintendent for the National Park Service.

“We have 40 groves of 40 trees. If we plant all one species, it may be more susceptible to pests and diseases,” she said. “We’re just beginning the dialogue of risk assessment right now.”

A decision will have to be made soon, in order for the trees to be ordered and planted before the memorial is dedicated on Sept. 11, 2011.

The initial $22.5 million phase of the memorial, including the trees, is expected to be dedicated on the 10th anniversary of when the hijacked plane crashed into an abandoned strip mine near Shanksville. Remaining phases of the memorial will be completed later.

Forty innocent passengers and crew are considered national heroes for fighting back against the four hijackers before the plane reached its intended destination, either the White House or Capitol in Washington.

Having a mixture of trees makes sense, said Bob McBride, service forester for Somerset and Fayette counties for the state Bureau of Forestry.

“When you have one species in place, you’re more likely at some point to have it attacked by insects, disease or environmental concerns,” McBride said. “You’re not wise to proceed with a grove of one species. Diversity makes a great deal of sense.”

It’s even more important on a reclaimed strip mine, where certain species – such as red maples, aspens, black locusts and sycamores – tend to survive better, he said.

“They can tolerate rigorous conditions,” McBride said.

The arc of trees has been a point of controversy for design opponents, who contend the fiery-colored crescent shape symbolizes an Islamic mosque that points toward Mecca.

But even though the foliage may change, the symbolism remains, said California author Alec Rawls, who has been fighting the design along with Thomas Burnett Sr., whose son was killed on the hijacked plane.

“No tweaking of the design is satisfactory,” Rawls said. “It’s a terrorist memorializing mosque.”

Hanley said developers have said since the design was chosen that it would change, as it is refined from concept to reality.

“We said from the very beginning that this design will evolve over time,” she said.

        

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