City removes diseased trees located on airport property

The City of Douglas is making improvements to the airport as well as the historic WWII Airbase at the airport. Approximately 165 trees on the historic airport property have been removed due to past weather/storm damage and disease. Contractor Burns Timber, LLC began removing the trees in early July and has completed the removal of these trees.

Many of the trees were leaning dangerously beside the old WWII barracks and other structures on the historic air base. Working together with the Airbase Preservation & Development Committee (APDC), the City hopes to restore the existing structures at the airbase. APDC was formed in 2015 with the goal to identify, evaluate, and plan for rehabilitation, the adaptive use and restoration of the historic structures at the air base by protecting the historical integrity and increasing awareness of this hidden jewel within our community. Douglas’ air base is the most intact, unaltered WWII air base in the nation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Completion of the removal of the trees comes just in time for Douglas’ first National Aviation Day “Fly In” at the Douglas Municipal Gene Chambers Airport on Saturday, August 19, 2017, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. as a fundraiser for the Airbase. For more information or to make a tax deductible donation for the restoration efforts of this historic Airbase, call 912- 383-0277 or 912-592-1430