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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October 9, 2009
Isthmus Publishing Company
This issue's contents:
In the News
- Biggest, Tallest Tree Photo Ever - NPR
- Smell Has Some Cities Ripping Out Ginkgo Trees - Associated Press
Specifically Wisconsin
- A Tree Falls in Madison - Isthmus Daily Page
- Transportation and Utility Rights-of-Way BMPs for Invasives
Emerald Ash Borer
- Wisconsin Shares - City of Stevens Point
- New Strategies Target EAB - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Thiensville Presents EAB Plan for Village Park -Mequon NOW
- Wisconsin EAB Newsletter
- EAB National News Coverage
Tools For Your Job
- NEW - A Field Guide to Terrestrial Invasive Plants in Wisconsin
- Grants Available for Urban Wildlife Abatement and Control
- Job Opportunity - Arborist II Lake Mills
- ISA Today
Conferences & Seminars
- Invasive Species Management Workshop - Register Today
- Workshops & Events for Natural Resource Educators
- Climate Change & Adaptation in Agriculture and Forestry
Biggest, Tallest Tree Photo Ever - NPR
National Geographic photographer Michael Nichols is one of the world's foremost wildlife photographers. But he recently said that he'd happily spend the rest of his life photographing trees. Of course, the folks over at National Geographic would almost certainly never hear of it. Nichols' newfound love developed after a serious, yearlong relationship with redwoods.
Smell Has Some Cities Ripping Out Ginkgo Trees - Associated Press
The ginkgo tree is renowned for its hardiness, surviving everything from road salt to an atomic bomb, but it may be undone by another trait — it reeks. "It's pretty disgusting," said Jan Schneider, an office manager in downtown Iowa City whose business has a ginkgo out front.
Editor note: Ginkgo fruit is associated with numerous medicinal uses and is collected/harvested and utilized by numerous cultures.
A Tree Falls in Madison - Isthmus Daily Page
Imagine a sniper in the sky, picking them off, one by one. Ping! There goes a tree on Waubesa Street, chopped down without warning during construction. Boom! Down comes a maple on Talmadge, felled due to a neighbor's wish to build a new driveway. Bam! There goes an oak in Olin Park, victim of a fungal disease known as oak wilt.
Transportation and Utility Rights-of-Way BMPs for Invasives
We all share a vested interest in preserving and sustaining our natural landscape of Wisconsin. Therefore, it is important that we as a community address the threat posed by invasive species. Although existing resources, programs, and organizations have been working to combat invasive species, in May of 2008, the Transportation and Utility community decided to do more.
With direction from the Wisconsin Council on Forestry, an advisory committee of 20 representatives from the utilities, transportation and government agencies, as well as environmental groups worked to develop the Draft Invasive Species Best Management Practices for Transportation and Utility Rights-of-Ways in Wisconsin. These BMPs provide a framework of voluntary practices to minimize the further spread and introduction of invasive plants, invertebrates, and diseases on the corridors and rights-of-ways of Wisconsin. This document is separate from the Urban Forestry BMPs which were up for review and comment several months ago.
To help make the draft Transportation and Utility Rights-of-Way BMPs the best that they can be, we need your feedback. A survey has been posted on the Wisconsin Council on Forestry website where you can view the manual and provide comments and recommendations. Please take time to review the manual, complete the survey, and share this email with your colleagues. Thank you!
To view the manual, please visit [Exit DNR]
Wisconsin Shares - City of Stevens Point
City of Stevens Point City Forester, Todd Ernster, keeps city residents informed about EAB and city plans to pro-actively treat ash trees in a portion of the community through a well crafted news release.
New Strategies Target EAB - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
One year after the discovery of the emerald ash borer in Wisconsin, public officials are adopting new and more aggressive strategies to combat the devastating beetle. A growing number of communities are deciding to treat ash trees with insecticides. And communities are starting to remove ash trees, even though they aren't yet infested.
Thiensville Presents EAB Plan for Village Park -Mequon NOW
Thiensville - Department of Public Works employees will have to go to school to learn how to inoculate ash trees against EAB. Village Manager Dianne Robertson said bids for treatment of the ash trees came in higher than anticipated, between $6,953 to $14,082, so DPW Superintendent Andy LaFond suggested buying the insecticide and equipment to treat the trees at Village Park.
Wisconsin EAB Newsletter
The October 2009 issue of the Wisconsin Emerald Ash Borer Program Newsletter is available.
EAB National News Coverage
Robin Usborne, Communications Manager with Michigan State University, shares links to recent news coverage regarding EAB.
NEW - A Field Guide to Terrestrial Invasive Plants in Wisconsin
Organizations - Municipalities - Businesses and other groups interested in invasive species, please take note: Now that the invasive species rule has passed and is in effect, the WDNR will soon be printing a field guide of WI's terrestrial invasive plants. The following link provides a version that is close, but not completely finalized. The DNR has a grant that they will utilize to print a limited number of copies, primarily for right of way managers. The anticipated cost to print will be $2.25/each.
The DNR realizes there are groups that may want to have a significant number of the field guides. It would be best if the DNR could get printing orders in over the next week, and print them all together. For example, if you have $225 to buy field guides, you can order 100 copies and DNR will invoice you for the actual cost + shipping. We would need the invoice to be paid fairly quickly. We won't know the actual cost until after the guides are printed, but you should budget for $2.25/each. If any organization you work with would like to place a print order, please reply to Tom Boos (Thomas.Boos@Wi.gov - 608-266-9276) by Friday, October 16, 2009. Call if you have questions.
Draft-Field Guide to Terrestrial Invasive Plants
Grants Available for Urban Wildlife Abatement and Control
Municipal and tribal governments in defined “urban areas” have until Dec. 1, 2009 to apply for cost-sharing grants to help them develop long-term management solutions for damage caused by herds of white-tailed deer and/or flocks of Canada geese. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is accepting grant applications for the Urban Wildlife Damage Abatement and Control Grant Program, which was created to foster and encourage communities to solve their own wildlife control problems by awarding 50/50 reimbursement grants up to a maximum of $5,000.
Job Opportunity - Arborist II Lake Mills
The City of Lake Mills is currently accepting applications for an Arborist II position. Applicants must have a minimum of 2 years experience in the tree care industry with an emphasis in trimming, removals, line clearance & planting. Applicant must be a Certified Arborist or obtain the certification within 2 years of hire. Submit your resume and or pick up a full job description at: City of Lake Mills, 200D Water St., Lake Mills, WI 53551. 920-648-2344. Applications will be accepted until November 6, 2009.
ISA Today
Your source of the latest information and updates from the International Society of Arboriculture.
Invasive Species Management Workshop - Register Today
The Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium is providing a one-day workshop on invasive plant management and how to comply with the new Wisconsin law, NR-40 that went into effect on September 1.
The purpose of NR 40 is to establish a consistent and comprehensive classification and regulatory system for all listed invasive species. Two workshops will be held at Havenwoods Environmental Awareness Center in Milwaukee and will teach attendees to identify invasive plant problem areas, plan management activities and techniques, and adopt long-term, sustainable strategies for successful invasive plant control and native plant conservation.
The October 21 workshop will be geared for Parks managers, directors, and staff.
The October 22 workshop will be geared for highway, railroad, and utility right-of-way staff.
Deadline to register is October 9.
Registration Brochure [Exit DNR]
Workshops & Events for Natural Resource Educators
A new issue of the Educator Workshops and Events from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is now available.
Climate Change & Adaptation in Agriculture and Forestry
The UW-Madison Nelson Institute Community Environmental Forum will host a presentation addressing Adaptation in Agriculture and Forestry on Tuesday, October 13th from 5:45 pm until 7:00 pm in 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building at 1513 University Avenue in Madison.
Climate change and variability poses a growing challenge for Wisconsin agriculture and forestry. What do these changes mean for our state's northern forests and the economic interests and communities that depend on them? And what does a changing climate mean for our diverse agricultural landscape? Please join us for a presentation on climate change and Wisconsin forestry, and a panel discussion on climate impacts on agriculture.
Presentations are free and open to the public. Presentations are also archived.
Adaptation in Agriculture and Forestry [Exit DNR]
More Conferences & 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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