By Dan Buckler, DNR Urban Forest Assessment Specialist, Madison, daniel.buckler@wisconsin.gov or 608-445-4578
The United States features a diverse yet complex group of people and locations. The U.S. Census Bureau regularly undertakes an attempt to catalog those people and places.
Likewise, many communities and organizations survey the trees they manage to better understand and maintain their urban forest.
By Sara Minkoff, retired DNR Urban Forestry Council Liaison
Many smaller Wisconsin communities would like to expand their tree planting efforts but have limited budgets. One village in southern Wisconsin came up with a solution.
Rochester Commons Park has been working to create an arboretum using several grants from the American Transmission Company, an electric transmission utility that aids in promoting natural resources in areas separate from electrical utility service lines.
The western Racine County village of about 4,000 people is lined predominantly with maple trees in the public right-of-way along streets and sidewalks. The goals of the ATC-funded project are to exhibit a variety of species beyond the maples to encourage residents to plant and grow more types of trees and diversify and beautify Rochester.
Continue reading “Rochester Creates Arboretum To Encourage Species Diversity”
By Joel DeSpain, Division of Forestry Communications Specialist
“Each of us from birth to death is intimately connected with trees. On their beauty and longevity we hang our memories and beliefs, trusting trees to be symbols of our achievements and things we hold dear,” wrote renowned Wisconsin arborist, R. Bruce Allison, in his wonderful book Every Root an Anchor, Wisconsin’s Famous and Historic Trees.
Wisconsin is abundant with rich forests, many of them urban, and as Allison notes, we develop deep connections with individual trees, some of which are the largest of their species in the state.
Here at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), we’ve been relying on community members to help us find and measure these giants since 1941 as we celebrate and recognize our largest trees through our Champion Tree Program.
This is an ongoing search, and we are actively seeking additional nominations – to document the winners and share them on our website via a recently launched interactive map that provides photos, information, and locations of the champs.
Champion Black Tupelo (located in the UW-Madison arboretum)
Some have been discovered deep in the Northwoods, such as our prize-winning, 108-foot sugar maple located in Forest County on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The sugar maple has been a Wisconsinite favorite dating back to 1893 when school children first selected it as our state tree, loved for its brilliant orange and red autumn colors and the delicious maple syrup derived from its sap.
You can find other champions in people’s yards or beautifying city streets. So loved is Wisconsin’s champion, 92-foot tall Northern Catalpa on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville campus that faculty and students banded together with tree experts to save it following summer storm damage last year. With its white, trumpet-shaped flowers, giant heart-shaped leaves and dangling bean-like seed pods, the Northern Catalpa is a showy beauty of mammoth proportions.
Several grandiose winners have borne witness to colorful histories, like our 108-foot Eastern Cottonwood Champion which sits next to Door County’s reportedly haunted Interstate Saloon, built in 1895.
More record-holders were planted in cemeteries in memory of loved ones, some of whom served in the Civil War. In Waukesha County, a massive, majestic burr oak dates to pre-Revolutionary War times.
No doubt, champs are all over the Wisconsin landscape. It would take quite the road trip to visit them all, and we firmly believe there are more out there, like buried treasure, undiscovered, each with a story to tell. We would love to find and document each one, even if it means dethroning a current champion.
We can’t do it alone. The program has endured because everyday people have been keeping an eye out for more than 80 years, ever since the program launched. So, without further ado, we invite you to honor and preserve Wisconsin’s natural resources heritage. Good luck finding the next champ, and remember, the search can be very relaxing and fun!
By Paul Cigan, DNR Forest Health Specialist
Paul.Cigan@wisconsin.gov or 715-416-4920
Emerald ash borer (EAB) has been discovered in Bayfield County for the first time in both the city of Bayfield and Bayview township to the south. This marks the 63rd out of Wisconsin’s 72 counties to have an EAB discovery since its initial detection in 2008.
Figure 1: First known infested ash tree in Bayfield County with characteristic woodpecker damage (i.e., flecking).
Photo: Wisconsin DNR
Several white ash trees (Fig 1.) were observed in and around a roadside park in the city of Bayfield, and larval specimens were subsequently lab-confirmed. In Bayview, a black ash swamp had several infested black ash (Fig 2).
After introduction, EAB populations remain low for at least several years as most larvae in newly infested, healthy ash require two years to complete their life cycle. The abundance of healthy ash at each site suggests EAB populations have remained low since their introduction at least three years ago. However, EAB will kill ash more quickly as beetle numbers mount and more larvae transform from egg to adult in a single year. Unfortunately, many ash in the area are expected to die within four to seven years based on detection-to-impact timeframes observed from the Superior and Duluth area and research conducted in midwestern states. Continue reading “Emerald Ash Borer Found In Bayfield County”
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hiring a Limited-Term Employment position – Urban Forestry Council Liaison and Outreach Specialist located at our central office in Madison, Wisconsin.
This dual LTE appointment is made of two 20-hour positions for an expected work schedule of 40 hours per week. The intention is to hire one candidate for both positions.
Applications are due April 27, 2022. Keep reading for more information on the positions and how to apply.
By Josh Lancette, Entomological Society of America and Andrea Diss-Torrance, Wisconsin DNR Forest Health
The Entomological Society of America (ESA) has approved “spongy moth” as the new common name for the moth species Lymantria dispar, formerly known as “gypsy moth.”
The ESA gathered a working group of entomologists and forestry professionals to help propose the new name. The name spongy moth—derived from the common name used in France and French-speaking Canada, “spongieuse”—refers to the sponge-like appearance of the egg masses.
The name replaces “gypsy moth” in ESA’s Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List. The society removed the name in July 2021 for its use as a derogatory term for Romani people.
By Sara Minkoff, DNR Urban Forestry Council Liaison, Sara.Minkoff@wisconsin.gov or 608-669-5447
The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council recently announced their annual awards honoring those dedicated to protecting, preserving and increasing the number of trees that line city streets, fill community parks and enhance neighborhoods throughout the state.
The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council advises the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the best ways to preserve, protect, expand and improve Wisconsin’s urban and community forest resources.
Continue reading “Wisconsin Tree Champions Lauded For Outstanding Community Service”
During its second round of 2022 funding, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban Forestry Grant program awarded a total of $90,000 to five Wisconsin communities for urban forestry projects. These funds were made available through a United States Forest Service grant.
The Village of Grafton received $25,000, the City of Greenfield received $17,238.62, the City of Monroe received $7,917.67, the Ozaukee County Planning & Parks Department received $14,843.71 and the City of West Bend received $25,000. The communities that received these must match them dollar-for-dollar.
The DNR Urban Forestry Grant program funds projects consistent with state and national goals to increase the urban forest canopy and its benefits. The urban forest encompasses trees on both public and private property.
Continue reading “Five Applicants Receive DNR Urban Forestry Grants In Second Round Of Funding”
By Tim Bull, City of Sheboygan Forester, Timothy.Bull@sheboyganwi.gov and
Olivia Witthun, DNR Urban Forestry Coordinator, olivia.witthun@wisconsin.gov or 414-750-8744
The City of Sheboygan has done it again. Not only do they hold the honor of being Wisconsin’s first Tree City USA back in 1976, but they are now also Wisconsin’s first community earning Tree Cities of the WORLD status! They are one of only 120 cities currently recognized, sharing the stage with San Francisco, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Brussels and Milan, to name a few.
Continue reading “Sheboygan: Wisconsin’s First Tree City Of The World”
By Dan Buckler, DNR Urban Forest Assessment Specialist, Madison, daniel.buckler@wisconsin.gov or 608-445-4578
Whenever you hear about the benefits that trees provide to a home, community or region, there is a good chance that that information came from i-Tree, a suite of software from the USDA Forest Service and the Davey Tree Expert Company that quantifies forest structure and estimates trees’ benefits to the ecosystem. Within i-Tree, for example, a user can convert easy to-collect tree data, such as species and diameter, into estimates of the tree’s carbon storage, air pollution reduction or ability to prevent rainwater from entering the sewer system.
While i-Tree has been a foundational tool for telling the urban forest story from the local to global levels, the i-Tree program needs your help to adapt to tomorrow’s management challenges. They are urging current and future i-Tree users to attend one of three Town Hall sessions where you can share your thoughts on what i-Tree has meant to your work and how you think it should change for the future. The sessions are organized by experience level, but if you cannot make your preferred time, select any that might work for you. Additionally, if you cannot attend but are interested in providing feedback, please register as comments can be captured during the registration process.
