Carroll County Board Giving Away Tree Bundles

WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) -- Want to plant your own mini-forest? The Carroll County Forest Conservancy District Board can help.

The board is giving away bundles of 25 trees for landowners as part of the Backyard Buffers program.

The Carroll County Times reports that landowners with lots five acres and smaller can help reduce stormwater runoff from their land with the trees, whose roots help soak up water before it runs off and makes its way to stormwater systems and creeks.

The seedlings -- five each of white oaks, pin oaks, red osier dogwoods, hazelnuts and the American plum -- are a year old and about a foot tall, with about 6 to 12 inches of roots.

The 2,500 seedlings were bought with a federal grant to the Department of Natural Resources' Forest Service.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)