Fie Photo Icy trees are seen on the side of the road following a severe ice storm in Northeast Michigan earlier this year. The AAlpena Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is giving away 13,000 white pine trees to Alpena residents and businesses this month to help replace the damaged or killed trees.

ALPENA — Alpena Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is coordinating and financing a giveaway of 13,000 white pine trees to Alpena residents and businesses this month, according to a Alpena Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau press release.

The bureau is calling the tree the initiative The Big Plant! White Pine Seedling Giveaway. The release states that the effort is taking place to celebrate Northeastern Michigan natural heritage while also encouraging “a hands-on step toward a greener future.”

The bureau also states that the giveaway is a way to “honor the land with new growth in the wake of the ice storm.”

Mary Beth Stutzman, Alpena Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau President and CEO, told The News that the bureau had allocated money for conservation and infrastructure projects at the beginning of the year.

“Part of our job is to protect and invest in the region,” Stutzman said. “We were super surprised when the ice storm happened. It just makes this project much more important.”

Stutzman said that the bureau worked with the Alpena-Montmorency Conservation District to determine which species of tree would be best suited for the region.

“We narrowed it down to what the ultimate species would be,” Stutzman said. “White pine is what we determined to be best for the area.”

Stutzman said that fall is a good time to plant the seedlings and is a way to commemorate the March Ice Storm.

“It’s the perfect time for the community to close out what that experience was,” Stutzman said. “The giveaway is to honor what we’ve been through and honor the forest.”

The press release states that white pines are one of the tallest species of trees in local forests and were once “vital to the Alpena Region’s history and economy.”

“They are still of environmental and economic value today for a multitude of reasons and since the ice storm, the environment could use a little help,” the release states.

Free White Pine seedlings will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on Oct. 17 and 18 at the Alpena Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Tourism Marketing Offices and Visitor Center located on second avenue.

John Schmitz, Alpena-Montmorency Conservation District district manager, will be on site both days to answer any tree planting questions.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.