Iowans lost an estimated $20 million in annual benefits from its urban tree canopy that was damaged by the derecho in August 2020, according to the results of a recently completed survey conducted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resource.

The findings were included in a report, available online at https://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/forestry/DerechoReport.pdf, that estimated that Iowa communities had nearly 4.5 million trees damaged or destroyed by the storm.

The survey also looked at the damage to trees on rural lands and estimated that nearly 2.7 million trees were damaged or destroyed by the storm. Those findings are included in a report available online at https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/5/555.

The derecho impacted 27 counties along U.S. Hwy. 30 corridor primarily in central and east central Iowa, damaging or destroying an estimated 7 million rural and urban trees along the way.