The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Insider
An electronic newsletter of breaking news and valuable information for the Urban Forest community in Wisconsin and beyond.
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Found in Michigan
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September 6, 2006
This issue's contents:
In the News
- Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Found in Michigan
- Tree Planting Seeks to Bring New Urban Cool (Washington Post)
- Climate Changes Shift Springtime in Europe (BBC News)
Specifically Wisconsin
- Chequamegon National Forest Bans Firewood
- Time to Report Purple Loosestrife Infestations
- Volunteers Help Native Species at Lapham
Emerald Ash Borer
- EAB Found in Winnetka (Chicago Tribune)
- EAB Found at Indiana Beach Campground (Chicago Tribune)
- Sandusky, Ohio Removing Ash Trees
Tools For Your Job
- WI Plant Disease Clinic Data
- Wisconsin Environmental Education Board 2007 Grants Available
- Forest Service Urban Connections Program
- The Living Memorials Project: Remembering 9-11
Conferences & Seminars
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Found in Michigan
Yet another invasive forest pest has come to Michigan forests. On Aug. 21, hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) was found on hemlock trees planted in the Harbor Springs area of Emmet County, in northern Michigan. Apparently, 30 trees were imported in 2003 from a nursery in an infested county in West Virginia. They were planted as landscape trees in four sites. Personnel from the MI Dept. of Ag did a preliminary survey last week.
Hemlock woolly adelgid is a sap-feeding insect native to Asia. It feeds at the base of needles and produces white woolly material (ovisacs). As HWA populations build, the vigor of the tree decreases. HWA is quite capable of killing trees itself, typically after 4 to 10 years of infestation. When drought, defoliation or other stress affects infested trees, mortality rates are especially high. This is the first time that reproducing populations of HWA have been found and the first time that native hemlock trees have been infested.
Tree Planting Seeks to Bring New Urban Cool (Washington Post)
Most American cities have shrinking tree canopies in relation to their growth. That's because of inadequate budgets to maintain older trees and a failure to plant shade trees in new residential and commercial developments, according to federal experts, tree-planting organizations and scholars of urban ecology. A number of major cities have launched sizable tree-planting programs -- including Washington, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.
Tree Planting Seeks to Bring Urban Cool
Climate Changes Shift Springtime in Europe (BBC News)
A Europe-wide study has provided "conclusive proof" that the seasons are changing, with spring arriving earlier each year, researchers say. Scientists from 17 nations examined 125,000 studies involving 561 species. Spring was beginning on average six to eight days earlier than it did 30 years ago, the researchers said. The findings were based on what was described as the world's largest study of changes in recurring natural events, such as when plants flowered. The study is published in the journal Global Change Biology.
Chequamegon National Forest Bans Firewood
Wisconsin's Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest joined the growing list of public land managers banning importation of firewood, a move aimed at preventing an infestation of emerald ash borers. The national forest has instigated a rule banning firewood from other states to stop the ash borer, which often hitchhikes into new areas on firewood. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has a similar ban on out-of-state-wood and is moving to even tougher rules.
Time to Report Purple Loosestrife Infestations
Purple loosestrife is currently blooming across Wisconsin, with its deep purple flowers now easy to see along roadside ditches, lakeshores and river banks,making this an excellent time of year for people to report extensive infestations of this invasive purple plant and to take other steps to keep it from taking over wetlands. Information on how to get involved in a beetle biocontrol program and other steps to prevent and control purple loosestrife follow.
Reporting Purple Loosestrife Infestations
Volunteers Help Native Species at Lapham
Delafield, WI - Almost every day, a group of volunteers is waging a battle against invasive species at Lapham Peak park. Mike Fort of Wales cuts away the woody stems of buckthorn, which he and other volunteers are removing at Lapham Peak. Fort received a 2006 Invader Crusader Award from the Wisconsin Council on Invasive Species.
Volunteers Help Lapham Peak Park
EAB Found in Winnetka (Chicago Tribune)
Seven weeks after the emerald ash borer first was spotted in the leafy North Shore, the ravenous tree-killer has been found in a third town: Winnetka. Suspicion about the beetle's presence arose when an arborist submitted branches from an ailing tree in Winnetka to the state for testing. The Illinois Department of Agriculture confirmed that at least one ash tree along Indian Hill Road near Indian Hill Golf Club houses emerald ash borer larvae.
EAB Found at Indiana Beach Campground (Chicago Tribune)
MONTICELLO, Ind. -- Emerald ash borer has been found at an Indiana Beach campground, prompting officials to urge residents not to transport ash trees or wood products. Signs of the emerald ash borer were spotted at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Camp-Resort and the infestation was confirmed by the Department of Natural Resources.
Sandusky, Ohio Removing Ash Trees
In an effort to spread the costs of ash tree removal and replanting over several years, Sandusky, Ohio will begin to remove and replace ash trees before emerald ash borer arrives.
WI Plant Disease Clinic Data
Brian Hudelson and staff provide a four-week summary of woody ornamental plant diseases observed at the University of Wisconsin Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic.
WI Plant Disease Clinic (PDF, 15KB)
Wisconsin Environmental Education Board 2007 Grants Available
The Environmental Education Grant Program is a project of the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board (WEEB). Initiated in 1990, WEEB will administer a total of about $430,000 in grant fundings in 2007. Information on WEEB's mission and 2007 grant process is available.
Forest Service Urban Connections Program
The USDA Forest Service - National Forest System's Urban Connections program serves as an urban outreach program working with community organizations to involve urban constituents in conservation education, community greening efforts, and visiting national forests.
The Living Memorials Project: Remembering 9-11
The Urban Natural Resources Institute (UNRI) Informational Webcast aims to bring the work of Forest Service scientists and our cooperators, to those working on urban natural resource research and development projects.
The upcoming webcast, "The Living Memorials Project: Remembering 9-11", will feature Erika Svendsen and Lindsay Campbell, USDA Forest Service, New York City, NY. The webcast session is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20th at 11:00 AM (Eastern). This informational webcast will provide a progress report on the Living Memorials Project, which aims to provide a sustainable remembrance of the September 11, 2001 events.
Shrub Identification and Selection Workshops
The theme for the 2006 Urban Forestry Workshops is "Shrub Identification and Selection". Instructors will be Melinda Myers and Kristin Gies of Melinda Myers LLC of Milwaukee. The workshop will introduce parks and tree professionals to shrub identification, selection and maintenance techniques. Classroom instruction will be complimented by out-door demonstrations.
A series of 14 workshops will be held in 11 locations. The cost is $20.
Shrub Identification and Selection Workshops
More Information on Conferences and Seminars
For more conferences and seminars check out WDBR's Urban Forestry Website.
About the Insider
The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Insider is intended as a quick networking tool for all people actively working in the area of urban and community forestry, especially in the state of Wisconsin.
Items that cannot wait for our quarterly print newsletter, Wisconsin Urban & Community Forests, will appear here.
The Insider is produced biweekly by the Urban and Community Forestry program of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin. Past issues will be archived on the UF pages on the WDNR web site.
We are happy to accept your suggestions and contributions. Send them to the editor, at Laura.Wyatt@Wisconsin.gov. Or call her: 608/267-0568.
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