[Arid_gardener] Trees for White Mountains Area

[lawson at xwinds.com]

Hello,

I have a summer home in a small, older community in Navajo County, in  
the White Mountains, very near Show Low Lake. We have a 10-acre common  
area at the back of our community that borders what was once open  
forested land. Recently developers have bought that land and are  
building large vacation homes there, some of them right up next to the  
property line of our beautiful, open, common area. Naturally these  
homes' occupants are going to enjoy the view of our mountain meadow  
common area, but we who live on the other side of the property line  
will now have our view spoiled and will be looking at the sides of  
their McMansions!

My question is: what type of trees can we (the community residents)  
plant in this common meadow area along the property line that will  
grow to form a screen that blocks these vacation homes from our sight?
We want to plant something that is native to the area, is firewise,  
and won't require a whole lot of water. Full sun to partial shade,  
elevation is 6 to 7,000. It would be great if it was fast-growing too,  
but we realize that is unlikely. Most of the other trees in our  
community are well-established Ponderosas and other evergreen trees.

Someone has suggested Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) as the  
fastest growing tree in the world, but I have also read that it is an  
invasive species and am not sure it is a good idea. Have you heard of  
this tree growing in Northern AZ?

Thank you very much for any suggestions and/or guidance you can provide!

Linda