In mid-March, residents of the Kempf Subdivision, a neighborhood off 12th Avenue that’s adjacent to the future construction site, were given flyers with notices regarding tree removal.
Removal began on March 17 and continued throughout the next few days until all trees were chopped down.
Currently, debris remains in the area and is not scheduled for removal until mid to late June.
Cathy Leazenby and her husband have lived in the Kempf Subdivision for six years. The couple is deeply saddened by the removal of the trees and view it as a big loss to the neighborhood.
“The current state of the trees is a mess for us to look at everyday,” Leazenby said. “Trees were toppled over and left with four foot stumps sticking out of the ground.”
Deforestation shatters wildlife habitats and drains the environment of its biodiversity.
Similar effects on the ecosystem bordering the Kempf Subdivision was seen immediately following tree removal. Loss of trees and underbrush have deterred wildlife such as squirrels, eagles, owls and deer from visiting the area they once frequented.
Iowa has already taken a major loss environmentally regarding its natural prairies. Prairies used to make up 70-80% of Iowa’s natural landscape. Today, less than 1% remain.
Prairie habitats that were formerly dominant across the state would have helped lessen runoff by allowing more water to soak into soil. These ecosystems also could have been useful in combatting the current domestic issue of water contamination due to agricultural runoff.
“We bought this beautiful lot thinking it would be like where we moved from, a country acreage,” Leazenby said.
Where plants and wildlife once existed, a wall of concrete slabs will replace them. This is intended to give locals some semblance of privacy for the projected busy intersection that their neighborhood will be fashioned into.
In September 2025, logistics to extend Forever Green Road off the roundabout at North Central Middle School were still being finalized. The impact of construction and such a busy intersection being implemented in the Kempf Subdivision was generally disregarded.
“Our quiet, safe neighborhood will be turned into a thoroughfare because of school traffic and other busy traffic days,” Leazenby said.
America’s Lung Association recently released its 2026 “State of Air” report. The data ranks air quality on an A through F scale. The Cedar-Rapids Iowa City Metropolitan area was given a D through F range. Trees are a natural way to combat carbon emissions, so it seems irrational to chop them down and construct a road that will bring more traffic into an area that already has poor air quality.
Although it can seem harmless to remove a sliver of trees, the extension of Forever Green Road is exactly the type of project that is causing environmental degradation and pollution.
