PRESQUE ISLE – The trees on U.S. Route 1 between Presque Isle and Caribou look a little under the weather.

The evergreens, many of which were transplanted last year to build up a natural snow fence along the state highway, bear patches of needles that are brown and look like they’re ready to fall off.

But state Department of Transportation officials say this isn’t a case of a transplanting gone bad.

“What we understand is that it has something to do with the salt and liquid calcium we use on the roads during the winter,” said Dana Chasse, DOT’s Division 1 superintendent. “We were told by an arborist that if we have normal spring rains, that will wash all the residue off and the trees will turn green again.”

He pointed out that the trees that were transplanted last year by Presque Isle and Mars Hill DOT crews and trees that have been in the area for years have turned brown temporarily.

“We’ve seen it from time to time in some winters; other winters it doesn’t show up,” he said.

The transplanted trees, approximately 100 of them, have made it safely through their first winter along Route 1. With the success of last year’s transplanting, Chasse said, DOT plans to do more during the last two weeks of May.

Presque Isle resident Tom Deschaine, who donated the trees for last year’s project, has offered the department approximately 200 more to add along Route 1, Chasse said.

DOT landscapers will visit the area May 13 to show DOT crews where they can plant more trees along the highway.

DOT officials will wait to start planting until after the visit not only because they do not want to disturb seedlings that have been planted in the area, but also because the fields along Route 1 won’t be sufficiently dried out until then, Chasse said.

The department expects to finish its second transplanting before Memorial Day, because, as the superintendent said, “that’s when the trees start growing.”

The extra trees will add a higher level of protection during the winter from winds and blowing snow, which can create whiteout conditions.

And, as Chasse pointed out, it’s a “one-time shot” natural barrier that is less expensive for taxpayers and better for the environment. “We’ve got an instant snow fence out there right now with the size of the trees that we’re transplanting,” he said.

It worked well this winter, and Chasse believes the trees will be in good form for the next snow season.

Brown or not, they’ll still do the job.