The northeastern and central high desert regions have not been able to sustain commercial tree production before, but that is changing. The trees are being tested to supplement or replace alfalfa as a source of income.
Evidence also suggests that the trees can serve as weather windbreakers and snow fences.
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Educator Willie Riggs and Specialist Jay Davison have spent two years researching the survivability of hybrid poplar trees as alternative crops in Eureka and Fallon, and have found some success. The sustainable agriculture project began in June 1998. Riggs and Davison planted 300 trees of three varieties in Eureka and had a 99 percent success rate in the first year of growth. The trees averaged 53 inches of growth in their first year, but perished in the winter due to irrigation problems. A new crop of trees will be planted in 2001.