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Ann Schneider of Lumberjack Tree Service said snowstorms in February amounted to a "stimulus package" for the West View company.

More than 4 feet of snow fell on the region last month -- much of it so heavy and wet that it brought down or damaged thousands of trees and branches.

"We were so blessed," said Schneider, office manager of Lumberjack Tree Service. "It was just awesome the way everything happened this year, monetary-wise."

Park leaders and public works directors would disagree.

County and local governments spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on emergency cleanup during the height of the storms. The bills, however, will get bigger because crews have just begun clearing the trees and branches that didn't present an immediate threat, officials say.

Pittsburgh has spent $205,000 on the emergency removal of 160 trees -- about 6 percent of the $3.64 million that the city shelled out for storm cleanup, said Public Works Director Robert Kaczorowski.

Allegheny County spent $55,000 on tree removal last month -- about 6 percent of the $935,000 that the county spent during the peak of the snowstorm, said county spokesman Kevin Evanto.

The county and its municipalities, schools and hospitals are seeking reimbursement for $9.1 million in emergency cleanup costs, according to a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency application filed last month. If 6 percent of those expenses went toward tree removal, the bill would exceed $500,000 -- just for the costliest 48 hours of cleanup.

"Now that the snow is melting, we're just now getting into the parks, doing an assessment and putting a plan together of what needs to be done," Evanto said.

The snow damaged about half the pine trees and downed more than a dozen trees in Cedar Creek Park in Rostraver, the only county park in Westmoreland County to experience major damage, Maintenance Director Greg McCloskey said.

Westmoreland shut the park for about a week and used county crews to remove the trees, limiting the cost, McCloskey said. The county plans to pay about $400 to rent equipment to help workers trim broken branches.

For many contractors, February is the gift that keeps on giving.

"February is usually our slowest month," said Jim Gorby, owner of Charleroi-based Jim Tree Service.

"Things usually don't start picking up until mid- or late March, when people look out at their yards and see all the work that needs to be done. But we've been running since that first storm in early February."

Kenny Doyle, owner of American Tree Co., which has shops in Robinson and Mt. Lebanon, echoed Gorby.

"This year because of the storm, it was a blessing," said Doyle, whose crews this week were in Upper St. Clair's Deerfield Manor neighborhood. "It's really banged up here. Almost every yard has damage. We go from one property right to the next. Normally, we don't start getting busy like this until St. Patrick's Day or later."

Some companies are giving back, though.

In Allegheny Commons on the North Side, an estimated 230 of the West Park's 1,000 trees were damaged in the storms, said Matt Erb, director of urban forestry for the nonprofit Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest.

On Friday, crews from 15 tree-care and landscaping companies will fertilize, mulch, prune and inspect every tree, then remove hazardous limbs, Erb said. Man-hours alone are estimated at $30,000. The companies are volunteering as part of the International Society of Arboriculture Penn-Del Chapter's Western Arbor Day of Service.

"There is obvious tree-branch damage, but also a lot of not-so-obvious damage," Erb said. "Each tree needs to be thoroughly inspected."

Kaczorowski said the city is "doing an evaluation now" of what work remains. Some leaders and contractors expect work to pick up as more damage is discovered.

"We're getting calls now, as the snow is melting, and people are getting outside more," said Steve Blackburn, owner of D&S Tree Service in Connellsville. He said most of the calls his company fielded so far were for emergencies during the storms.

Randall Nelson said he hopes to hire back two laid-off workers at his North Huntingdon-based Nelson Tree Co. He said a few homeowners called last month, but no government leaders.

"I sat here with nothing to do," he said. "The snow was devastating to my business."

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