The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Insider
An electronic newsletter of breaking news and valuable information for the Urban Forest community in Wisconsin and beyond.
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March 22, 2007
This issue's contents:
In the News
- Urban Tree Planting and Greenhouse Gas Reductions
- USDA Announces Urban and Community Forestry Grants
- Dell Starts Tree Planting Program (The New York Times)
- Wall Street Adds Climate Change to Bottom Line (Christian Science Monitor)
- Anne Frank's Tree Story (BBC News)
Legislation
- Proposed Cut in Federal Urban & Community Forestry Program
- Wisconsin Assembly Bill 36 Relating to Grants for Storm Damage
Specifically Wisconsin
Emerald Ash Borer
- Wisconsin's EAB Battle (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Battling EAB -Editorial (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Lessons from Insect Infested Wood (Great Lakes Radio Consortium)
- Illinois Removes EAB Infested Trees (Chicago Tribune)
- Wisconsin's EAB Website Updated
Tools For Your Job
- Developing and Managing an Urban Forestry Program for Public Works - Webcast
- 3rd Annual Forestry Field Day - Your Community Forest!
- GreenWorks! Grants
Conferences & Seminars
Urban Tree Planting and Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Several stories have appeared recently in popular news outlets suggesting that trees are not a solution in the fight against global warming. Greg McPherson, Director of the USDA Forest Service Center for Urban Forest Research, addresses the complex role that city trees play in fighting global climate change.
Urban Trees and Global Warming (exit DNR)
USDA Announces Urban and Community Forestry Grants
USDA Secretary, Mike Johanns, announced more than $589,000 in federal cost-share grants to eight organizations with urban and community forestry projects nationwide. The funds will be matched by recipient organizations that will contribute an additional $629,000. The projects were recommended by the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council to the U.S. Forest Service who will award the projects as Federal Financial Assistance Grants.
Urban and Community Forestry Grants (exit DNR)
Dell Starts Tree Planting Program (The New York Times)
Michael Dell, who made his name building computers, has a new goal: planting trees.
Dell urged the electronics industry to foster the planting of trees to offset the effect on the environment of the energy consumed by the devices they make.
Dell will begin a program called "Plant a Tree for Me," asking customers to donate $2 for every notebook computer they buy and $6 for every desktop PC. The money would be given to the Conservation Fund and the Carbonfund, two nonprofit groups that promote ways to reduce or offset carbon emissions, to buy and plant trees.
Dell Tree Planting Program (exit DNR)
Wall Street Adds Climate Change to Bottom Line (Christian Science Monitor)
The environmentally tinged takeover of TXU Corp. illustrates global warming's increased financial relevance. Wall Street now views the color green as something other than money. In the latest sign that global climate change is becoming a major factor for investors, potentially the largest private takeover in the nation's history has environmentalists' fingerprints all over it.
Climate Change and the Bottom Line (exit DNR)
Anne Frank's Tree Story (BBC News)
The old chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank while she was in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands is to be cut down.
Anne Frank's Tree Story (exit DNR)
Proposed Cut in Federal Urban & Community Forestry Program
The President's budget for the Forest Service includes a cut of 38% to the popular Urban and Community Forestry Program (U&CF). If enacted, this would provide only $17.4 million nationwide for the U&CF program, far less than at any time in the program's history since 1990. The Alliance for Community Trees (ACT) has issued a call to action to help urban and community forests nationwide.
Save the Forest Service Budget (exit DNR)
To learn how this reduction in federal funds will impact Wisconsin communities, contact a member of the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council.
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 36 Relating to Grants for Storm Damage
Assembly Bill 36 unanimously passed the Assembly and has moved to the Senate where it received its first reading on March 15 and referred to committee. The bill authorizes DNR to provide match-free urban forestry grants to communities in catastrophic storm situations. Wisconsin citizens are invited to contact the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and their Senator with comment.
Bill history: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/AB36hst.html (exit DNR)
Senate Committee: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/leginfo/CommPages/IndividualCommittees.aspx?committee=Environment%20and%20Natural%20Resources (exit DNR)
Invasive Species Awareness Month
In June thousands of Wisconsin citizens will celebrate Invasive Species Awareness Month (ISAM) by attending field trips, workshops, presentations, work parties, canoe floats and bike rides. Events are being planned around the state to engage local folks in learning how invasives impact our natural and managed landscapes.
But your help is needed! As natural resource professionals, environmental educators or concerned citizens you are in an ideal position to reach out to local citizens in your community and teach them about invasive species and how to prevent their spread.
"How do I get started" you might ask? Here's a list to help you in the planning. It's as easy as 1-2-3 !
Invasive Species Awareness Month (exit DNR)
Wisconsin's EAB Battle (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Many folks believe it's just a matter of time - conceivably only weeks - before the voracious emerald ash borer is discovered in Wisconsin, thrusting the state into a war to control the ash-killing beetle already blamed for the death or decline of more than 20 million trees across the Midwest.
Wisconsin's EAB Battle (exit DNR)
Battling EAB -Editorial (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Wisconsin's plan to control this destructive bug could be worse than the problem itself and should be reconsidered. The feds must give some leeway for use of emergency funds.
Battling the Beetle (exit DNR)
Lessons from Insect Infested Wood (Great Lakes Radio Consortium)
Ash trees are dying by the millions because of an infestation of the emerald ash borer. In one Michigan community, they're using the dead wood to help build a library. The wood beams and flooring will be a permanent exhibit to remind visitors of the trees that were once there and the cost of imported pests.
Illinois Removes EAB Infested Trees (Chicago Tribune)
The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced that it expects to take down about 250 trees on public and private property at a cost of about $1 million. The plan is part of its strategy to hold down the population of the invasive beetles discovered last summer in parts of Kane and northern Cook Counties.
The state's EAB Management and Science Advisory Panel unveiled its strategy to control the pest. The plan gives landowners the option to have infested trees removed at no cost if they sign an indemnification waiver that holds the department and its contractors harmless should the work cause any damage.
Wisconsin's EAB Website Updated
Information regarding the Emerald Ash Borer Toolkit for Wisconsin Communities is now available on Wisconsin's EAB Website. For current EAB information visit:
Developing and Managing an Urban Forestry Program for Public Works - Webcast
The American Public Works Association is sponsoring a Click, Listen & Learn webcast highlighting the best management practices for issues including hiring and recruitment of staff, budgeting/funding, policies, procedures, ordinances and regulations, and tree inventory systems. The program is being developed through a partnership with APWA, the US Forest Service, the Society of Municipal Arborists and Davey Resource Group. Don't miss this great opportunity to learn about creating a successful, sustainable urban forestry programs for your public works department.
The first 100 sites registered are free. Online registration only.
Urban Forestry Program for Public Works (exit DNR)
3rd Annual Forestry Field Day - Your Community Forest!
LEAF (Learning, Experiences, & Activities in Forestry) invites you to be part of the Third Annual LEAF Forestry Field Day on June 14th in Appleton. This is your chance to see how you can use the forest in your own community to enhance learning. We'll see how the City of Appleton manages its forest and participate in hands on activities to explore the benefits of community forests and how to keep them healthy. Participants will even visit the Paper Discovery Center. Be part of this great opportunity and have fun while you learn! Free Lunch! Door Prizes! Resources to Take Home!
LEAF is the Wisconsin K-12 Forestry Education Program.
LEAF Annual Forestry Field Day (exit DNR)
GreenWorks! Grants
Do you have an idea for an exciting service-learning or community action project for students but don't have enough funds to implement it? GreenWorks! offers educators the opportunity to apply for grants ranging from $50 to $1000 to implement community action and service-learning projects. Project Learning Tree trained educators teaching in both formal and non-formal settings are eligible to apply for and receive GreenWorks! grants.
For more information including eligibility requirements, visit:
More Conferences and Seminars
For more conferences and seminars check out WDNR's Urban Forest 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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