Month: June 2019

Fireworks can cause wildfires

Posted on by laurahayes

Fireworks can cause wildfires. Don's let your fun turn into flames.Forestry officials suggest caution with fireworks
By: Amy Luebke, DNR

Each year the use of both legal and illegal fireworks causes wildfires in Wisconsin.  Anyone using legal fireworks should do so only in a clear area away from buildings, vehicles and shrubbery and should have water or a fire extinguisher handy.  Remember that wildfires can occur anytime the ground is not snow covered.  Make sure you are aware of your local weather conditions and plan accordingly.  Fireworks can cause wildfires.  Don’t let your fun turn into flames!

WAA Summer Conference

Posted on by margueriterapp

WAA Summer Conference

Join the WAA (Wisconsin Arborist Association) for their summer conference and picnic at the Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake on Tuesday, July 16th. The program committee has put together another excellent lineup for this event. They are offering two educational tracks, one indoors and one outdoors- a little something for everyone.

Topics include:

  • Cold hardiness of EAB
  • Pruning young trees
  • Tree care for wildlife
  • Toxic Wisconsin plants
  • Aerial inspections
  • Nutrients, soils and air spade use
  • Tree ID basics
  • Portable sawmill demonstration

For more information or to register, visit the WAA website at http://www.waa-isa.org/events-programs/summer-conference/.

Invasive plant management on roadsides workshops

Posted on by margueriterapp

Invasive plants have been shown to impact Wisconsin’s economy, environment and human health. Roadsides are a key area where these unwanted plants establish and spread. These right of way habitats are challenging to work in but focused efforts can be successful in preventing spread and reduce invasive plant populations.

To help educate and jumpstart management, The University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension along with 4-Control are conducting roadside invasive plant workshops throughout the state. We invite you to attend one of these five regional workshops. While this training is available to anyone interested, the focus will be on training staff of municipalities that manage vegetation on roadsides. Continue reading “Invasive plant management on roadsides workshops” →

Inaugural ‘Good Health Grows on Trees’ conference a success!

Posted on by margueriterapp

Whether it be a hike through the woods, time spent with your family at a local park or sitting beneath the shade of that stately red oak in your backyard, we, as urban forestry professionals and enthusiasts, experience and recognize the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of spending time outdoors in nature.

For decades, scientists have been researching and documenting the health benefits that trees and nature provide, and as urban populations continue to rise, the impact of nearby nature on human health has generated a lot of interest in our world of urban and community forestry.

To further that conversation in Wisconsin, the first ever ‘Good Health Grows on Trees: The Influence of Nearby Nature on Public Health’ conference was hosted by the DNR Urban Forestry program at the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville on May 30th.  Continue reading “Inaugural ‘Good Health Grows on Trees’ conference a success!” →

Changes in DNR Urban Forestry grant staff

Posted on by margueriterapp

There are some new faces in the DNR Urban Forestry grant staff.

Chase O’Brien started on June 10th as the Urban Forestry Grant Manager located in the Madison office. He has spent the last 3 ½ years working in the DNR Forest Tax Program. He has a degree in Geography & Earth Science with a GIS concentration from UW – La Crosse. Chase enjoys spending his free time seeing live music, traveling, crafting food and drink and playing Ultimate Frisbee. His contact information is Chase.OBrien@wisconsin.gov and 608-640-6143.

Nicolle Spafford is the Forestry Division Budget and Grant Specialist located in the Tomahawk office. She’s been working with our program for several months now, but you’ll be seeing even more of her in the future. Nicolle has been with the DNR Division of Forestry for 28 years. She enjoys spending her free time at her daughter’s academic and sporting events, running races with her daughter, bicycling, reading/collecting books, traveling, training for a marathon and collecting wine corks. Her contact information is Nicolle.Spafford@wi.gov and 715-453-2188 ext. 1274.

Information on the Urban Forestry Grant Program can be found at https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/UrbanForests/grants/index.html. DNR Urban Forestry grant staff may also be reached at DNRUrbanForestryGrants@wi.gov.

Soliciting teachers and students for school tree inventories

Posted on by margueriterapp

There is a small sign in the Milwaukee DNR office that instructs the reader to “Learn of a pine tree from a pine tree.” In other words, to better understand something, one has to see it, feel it, smell it, rather than just reading about it. In urban forestry, this manifests itself in tree inventories, or surveys of individual trees in a given area. Municipalities have recognized the importance of these tree inventories for years, and now, led by a few pioneering teachers, so have some schools. Continue reading “Soliciting teachers and students for school tree inventories” →

Spring 2019 chainsaw safety training

Posted on by margueriterapp

Routinely, DNR North Central Urban Forestry Coordinator Don Kissinger puts a call out to his networking group regarding chainsaw safety training. This past winter he hit the jackpot and received a great response and a first ever request for an Advanced Training. Thus, two courses occurred this past April (Basic & Advanced). Continue reading “Spring 2019 chainsaw safety training” →

The continuous transformation of Havenwoods State Forest

Posted on by margueriterapp

On the north side of Milwaukee is a park with a name more evocative of a medieval forest than one of the most densely populated parts of modern Wisconsin. Yet its history is as rich, its canopy as green and its deer as plentiful as any royal hunting ground. Havenwoods State Forest is Wisconsin’s only urban state forest and thus plays a critical role in connecting urban populations to nature. Continue reading “The continuous transformation of Havenwoods State Forest” →

Native caterpillars not a major concern for trees

Posted on by margueriterapp

Mike Hillstrom, forest health specialist, Fitchburg, Michael.Hillstrom@wisconsin.gov, 608-513-7690

Eastern tent caterpillars (ETC) are hatching and beginning to feed on host trees, including cherry, apple and crabapple. Landowners and homeowners may notice the white silken tents forming in branch forks. Although they form unsightly tents, ETC is a native insect so management is not typically necessary. Even completely defoliated trees will put out new leaves within a few weeks.

A group of eastern tent caterpillars warm themselves on white silk tent before leaving to feed on black cherry leaves.

If landowners want to remove the tents the best time to do so is early morning or evening when the caterpillars are inside. Unless it is raining, eastern tent caterpillars leave their tents each morning to feed throughout the day before returning at night. Caterpillars can be removed either by hand if they are within reach or with a rake if they are high in the tree. They can then be killed by soaking them in soapy water or sealing them in a trash bag. Insecticides are rarely necessary but should penetrate inside the tent if used. Do not prune branches, burn tents or soak them with WD-40. These methods are more harmful to the tree than ETC defoliation and are not recommended.

For more information on eastern tent caterpillar, read this factsheet from UW-Madison Division of Extension.

Protect yourself from ticks and tickborne illnesses

Posted on by margueriterapp

Bill McNee, forest health specialist, Oshkosh, Bill.McNee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942

Adult deer tick. Credit: Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, bugwood.org.

So far this spring we are off to a busy tick season, with many reports and photos being sent in to DNR staff. Ticks can be found year-round in Wisconsin but are most active from May to September. Some species, including the deer tick responsible for Lyme disease, carry infectious diseases that elevate them from mere nuisance to serious health threat.  Lyme disease is most often spread by very small, immature ticks known as “nymphs.” Adult deer ticks can also transmit Lyme disease, but because they are larger, they are more likely to be discovered and removed compared to the tiny nymphs which can be as small as a chia or sesame seed.

Continue reading “Protect yourself from ticks and tickborne illnesses” →