The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Insider
An electronic newsletter of breaking news and valuable information for the Urban Forest community in Wisconsin and beyond.
Community Response Needed!
This week, the primary community forestry contact for each of Wisconsin’s 685 cities, villages and selected urban towns was sent a questionnaire designed to assess Urban and Community Forestry programs and activities throughout the state. The questionnaire, pictured above, is printed on bright yellow paper. Look for it!
This survey is being conducted and sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Program and the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Your community’s participation is critical to the evaluation of the current state urban forestry program and to the continued development of technical, financial and educational efforts that can help your community’s tree program. Whether your community has an active tree planting and care program or not, please complete the questionnaire as soon as possible so your information can be included in the results.
We need at least a 70% return for valid results, so if we don’t hear from you, you’ll be hearing from us with a reminder! Please complete the survey as soon as you can to save yourself and our researchers the trouble of a follow-up call.
Thanks!!
Toledo, OH chipping operation
Portable sawmill, Monroe, MI
WDNR photos
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September 18, 2008
This issue's contents:
Special Feature
In the News
Specifically Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Fall Color - Postcrescent.com
- Turning Fallen Trees into Woodworking Projects -JS Online
- Northland College Begins Tree Campus USA Process
Emerald Ash Borer
- New Signs of EAB - JS Online
- Wisconsin EAB Survey
- Homeowner Guide to EAB Insecticide Treatments
- EAB Quarantine Regulations
Tools For Your Job
- Northeast Region Forest Pest Update
- Arbor Day Foundation Seeking Nominations
- Using Video to Tell the Urban Forestry Story
- Center for Watershed Protection Post-Construction Manual
- Watershed Protection Mini-grant Program
- Woody Biomass Grants
- Job Opportunity - Washington DNR
- Job Opportunity - NIPSCO Indiana
Conferences & Seminars
- WAA Fall Seminar - October 9, 2008
- Certified Treecare Safety Professional
- Landscape Below Ground Conference
- “The tree care industry’s biggest show is in Milwaukee Nov. 13-15, 2008”
- More Conferences & Seminars
EAB Stories Shared... Lessons Learned - Utilization
This is the sixth entry in a ten part series compiled by DNR urban forestry staff who visited Michigan and Ohio communities dealing firsthand with EAB infestations. These entries bring to you stories shared by these communities, and offer supplemental information such as specific examples, documents, web sites and ideas you can implement to play a proactive role in facing the threat of EAB.
"It takes four full-time employees, working year-around, just to run the mulching operation for Toledo's 8,000 public ash trees. "
EAB Utilization [PDF, 184KB] - EAB Stories Shared... Lessons Learned
Arboriculture Standards and OSHA
On June 25, OSHA’s Compliance Directorate released a Directive that would have wiped out commercial arboriculture as we know it, forcing all companies to adopt unsafe practices designed for the logging industry. Tree Care Industry Association went to work immediately in Washington and pledged in an Aug. 8 Regulatory Alert to members that the association would “not rest until this directive is rescinded.”
Effective August 21, the Directive has been rescinded!
Arboriculture Standards [PDF, 65KB]
Wisconsin Fall Color - Postcrescent.com
Fox Cities foliage is about four weeks from showing peak fall colors.
Turning Fallen Trees into Woodworking Projects -JS Online
If there is a silver lining to the destructive force of the emerald ash borer, Dwayne Sperber sees it from the woodworking shop in his Waukesha County home. The invasive bug has killed about 40 million ash trees from Maryland to Missouri since 2002, when it was discovered in the U.S. It was spotted for the first time this month in Wisconsin — at sites within a mile of each other in Ozaukee and Washington counties.
Northland College Begins Tree Campus USA Process
Congratulations to Northland College for beginning the application process for designation as a Tree Campus USA! The program is one of the newest initiatives of the National Arbor Day Foundation and encourages and recognizes the best campus forestry programs at colleges and universities. Northland College, located in Ashland, Wisconsin, is the first college in Wisconsin to begin the process.
New Signs of EAB - JS Online
Wisconsin State officials have found suspicious new signs of trees damaged by emerald ash borers in an area that straddles the Ozaukee and Washington county line. They are all but certain the invasive pest has infected additional ash trees at Fireman’s Park in the Village of Newburg, where some trees tested positive in early August.
Wisconsin EAB Survey
A survey to help determine the extent of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Wisconsin is underway, with crews sampling ash trees in 29 counties. The work marks the conclusion of the “felling and peeling” survey that state workers conducted during the last two years.
Homeowner Guide to EAB Insecticide Treatments
A variety of insecticide products are available to homeowners for control of emerald ash borer (EAB). Based on current research however, treatments are suggested only for ash trees located within 10 to 12 miles of a confirmed EAB site, or for trees located within a quarantined area.
Insecticide Treatments [exit DNR]
EAB Quarantine Regulations
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has composed a quick guide to regulations regarding the emerald ash borer quarantine.
Northeast Region Forest Pest Update
September Pest Update by Linda Williams
Topics include:
- Insects:
- Birch Catkin Feeder
- Emerald Ash Borer
- Giant Willow Aphid
- Gypsy Moth
- Ladybugs
- Oak Gall
- Oak Slug Sawfly
- White Birch Mortality
- Diseases:
- Rhizospaera Needlecast
- Other:
- Firewood further restricted on Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
- Red Pine fall color
Arbor Day Foundation Seeking Nominations
Since 1972, the Arbor Day Awards Program has provided the Arbor Day Foundation the opportunity to recognize individuals, organizations, projects and communities for their extraordinary efforts in tree planting, conservation, stewardship, education, and the celebration of Arbor Day at a local, national, and international level. The Arbor Day Foundation is now seeking nominations for the 2009 Arbor Day Awards Program and they would like your ideas. Share information about potential candidates in your community or state. If you know of exciting projects locally or internationally, we’d like to hear about them.
NOTE THAT THE NOMINATION DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 15, 2008.
Using Video to Tell the Urban Forestry Story
Cumberland MD is taking advantage of electronic technology to promote their urban forestry program. Using data and information gained from UFORE or STRATUM analysis, Cumberland produced a video that not only illustrates all the benefits of trees, it identifies actions the community is taking and how residents can get involved. Cumberland MD has a population of about 21,000 in the rural western part of the state.
Center for Watershed Protection Post-Construction Manual
The Center for Watershed Protection has developed a new manual called: Managing Stormwater in Your Community: A Guide for Building an Effective Post-Construction Program. This manual was developed to assist Phase II communities in developing and building effective post-construction stormwater programs.
The manual outlines the major elements of a post-construction program, including the relationship between local land-use decisions and stormwater management. It also covers critical elements such as developing an ordinance and design criteria, implementing a plan review process, establishing a maintenance program, and tracking and evaluating the program. There are eight related tools, including a self-assessment, model ordinance, manual builder, and more.
Watershed Protection [exit DNR]
Watershed Protection Mini-grant Program
With funding from a U.S. EPA Targeted Watershed Initiative Grant, the Center for Watershed Protection is currently inviting proposals for its Technical Capacity Mini-Grant program, awarding direct assistance and financial support to a wide range of small watershed organizations. These small watershed organizations play a key role in local watershed management and, collectively, in regional water resource protection and restoration. The goal of the mini-grant program is to strengthen the technical capacity of these watershed organizations in the areas of stormwater and watershed management.
Since watershed organizations often have little to no full-time staff, the grant application process is intended to be simple and streamlined. However, funds are limited and grants will be awarded on a rolling basis, so associations are urged to act quickly.
Woody Biomass Grants
The woody biomass utilization grant program is intended to help improve forest restoration activities by using and creating markets for small-diameter material and low-valued trees removed from forest restoration activities, such as reducing hazardous fuels, handling insect and diseased conditions, or treating forest lands impacted by catastrophic weather events. These funds are targeted to help communities, entrepreneurs, and others turn residues from forest restoration activities into marketable forest products and/or energy products. Pre-application deadline is November 7, 2008.
Job Opportunity - Washington DNR
The Washington Department of Natural Resources Urban & Community Forestry Program is taking applications for an Urban Forestry Inventory Coordinator. Help Washington’s communities maintain and improve their urban forests and become part of the team implementing the Evergreen Communities Act of 2008. The position will be open until filled (first screening October 1, 2008).
Job Opportunity - NIPSCO Indiana
Northern Indiana Public Service Company is accepting applications for Supervisor Forestry Operations based in Plymouth, Goshen or Angola Indiana. Job Summary: Develop, implement and manage NIPSCO's Distribution Line-Clearance, Bare Ground Treatment, Landscape Maintenance and Tree Planting/Public Education Programs to ensure system reliability, regulatory compliance, public safety, cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction.
WAA Fall Seminar - October 9, 2008
Wisconsin Arborist Association Fall Seminar will be held on Thursday, October 9 in Wisconsin Dells and will feature Kevin T. Smith, Project Leader/Supervisory Plant Physiologist with the Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service and Tom Smiley, Arboriculture Researcher with Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory. Topics include: “Energy Flow for Trees and Associates” – looks at energy capture and utilization by trees and how that energy supports both the tree and the community of associates (mycorrhizal fungi, symbionts, pathogens, wildlife, other plants/fungi/insects…), “What Does Fertilizer Actually Do?” – looks at how trees use essential chemical elements to live and grow and how trees and associated organisms cycle those elements in the environment, “Effects of Root Cutting on Tree Stability” – research into the effects of root cutting on tree stability. This project resulted in preliminary recommendations as to how close to a tree trunk you can cut without risking severe structural, and "Reducing Sidewalk Breakage from Tree Roots” – research on reducing sidewalk breakage from tree roots and a detailed comparison of root barrier products that are currently on the market.
Certified Treecare Safety Professional
Learn more about becoming a Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP), the tree care industry's only safety trainer credentialing program at the TCI Expo in Milwaukee. A CTSP "Meet & Greet" is scheduled for
Thursday, Nov. 13, from 3:00 – 3:30 pm. Here's your chance to meet current CTSPs and ask all your questions about the program, how it works, what having a CSTP on staff can do for your company, how enrolling in the program can help your career grow, and more. If you're already planning on attending TCI EXPO in Milwaukee, make sure this free opportunity is on your schedule!
Landscape Below Ground Conference
For the most comprehensive information on tree root development in urban soils, plan to attend the third Landscape Below Ground Conference at Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL) October 6-8, 2008.
“The tree care industry’s biggest show is in Milwaukee Nov. 13-15, 2008”
The world’s largest tree care industry trade show and conference is coming to Milwaukee, WI Nov. 13-15, 2008 (pre-conference workshops Nov. 12)! Bring your team to EXPO for the best deals on the newest tools, heavy equipment and gear, over 60 hours of education and CEUs, and to meet and mingle with over 3,000 industry professionals. Featuring three educational tracks, demonstrations, raffles, free receptions, and the most displays of any show in the industry, TCI EXPO is not to be missed!
More Conferences & Seminars
For more conferences and seminars check out WDNR'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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