Check out the six upcoming webinars/webinar series listed below. Especially during this time of social distancing, webinars are a great training opportunity. Some of them even offer ISA CEUs when watched live (recordings of past webinars are also available but do not offer CEUs).
Click on the links below to learn more and to register in advance. Space may be limited.
Published by UW-Madison, Division of Extension, this guide will help you recognize, avoid, and handle potential problems caused by wildlife, insects, or plants.
Contents:
Continue reading “Outdoor Hazards in Wisconsin: A Guide to Insects, Plants, and Wildlife”
By Mike Hillstrom, forest health specialist, Fitchburg, Michael.Hillstrom@wisconsin.gov, 608-513-7690
The forest health team has produced four new factsheets since the start of 2020. These resources are designed to be informative, 2-page documents for a wide audience that includes landowners, foresters and natural resource professionals, educators, and more. The new factsheets of 2020 are linked below, and more will be announced as they are finalized:
Please check them out and our other recently updated factsheets about Heterobasidion root disease, oak wilt, conifer bark beetles, and hickory decline and mortality. You can find all of these and more forest health publications in the publications catalogue and on the DNR forest health webpage.
By Bieneke Bron, Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases, UW-Madison
Do you ever wonder why you are always finding ticks on yourself or around you, but your friends never do? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin – Madison have developed a mobile application that allows users to share their experiences with ticks to help prevent future tick bites.
Continue reading “The Tick App! ‘Your Tick Expert On-The-Go!’”
By Mike Hillstrom, forest health specialist, Fitchburg, Michael.Hillstrom@wisconsin.gov, 608-513-7690
What’s the orange goo on that tree?!
Should I fight or should I flee?
I bet forest health staff can ID!
The spore-producing, slimy, orange gall caused by cedar apple rust fungus.
By Andrea Diss Torrance, invasive insects program coordinator, andrea.disstorrance@wisconsin.gov, 608-516-2223
Many people know that invasive species are a concern in Wisconsin’s natural communities both on land and in water. But fewer people are aware that invasive species are not a new threat and that over time, we have developed strategies to reduce their spread and limit their damage to a tolerable level.
As soon as people from other continents started arriving in Wisconsin, so did the non-native plants, insects and microorganisms that came with them. Most of these non-native species are either beneficial or cause no harm, including well-known examples like honeybees, daffodils and even the bacteria used in cheese production. In contrast, the non-native species that damage native and domestic plants are known as invasive species, and over the years people have developed policies and practices to limit their impacts to native plant communities.
Continue reading “The evolving landscape of invasive species and their control options in Wisconsin”
By Linda Williams, forest health specialist, Woodruff, Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov, 920-360-0665
Emerald ash borer (EAB) was first identified in Wisconsin in 2008, although it was likely present in the state for a few years prior to detection. Since EAB doesn’t travel far on its own, some experts think it was unknowingly brought into the state on infested firewood, which is a common introduction pathway for many insects and diseases. The Wisconsin DNR Firewood page has more info on firewood and the insects and diseases that can travel on it.
Since its arrival in Wisconsin, EAB has steadily killed ash trees wherever it has been found. As of the writing of this article, there has been much more ash tree mortality in the southern half of Wisconsin than the northern half of the state where known EAB infestations are still widely scattered.
Continue reading “Impacts and management of the invasive emerald ash borer”
Sponsored by the WI Department of Natural Resources in cooperation with partners
Wisconsin Community Tree Management Institute (CTMI) is a unique training experience designed for municipal staff with tree management responsibilities but without a strong background in urban forestry. The program is ideal for staff who spend just part of their time dealing with trees. Conversely, those with a background in urban forestry but new to management, will also find it useful. CTMI consists of approximately 38 instruction hours and requires students to complete an out-of-classroom project.
If you’re interested in applying, don’t wait – the 2020/21 class is filling quickly! The application deadline is June 12, 2020. See “How to Apply for CTMI” near the end of this article for instructions.
Continue reading “Apply now for the 5th Wisconsin Community Tree Management Institute”
By Patricia Lindquist, DNR urban forestry communications specialist, Madison, Patricia.Lindquist@wisconsin.gov, 608-843-6248
The history of the Wisconsin DNR Urban Forestry program is closely tied to the history of urban forestry in the United States. Although the term ‘urban forestry’ did not come into use until 1965, the concept of an integrated approach to the management of the urban forest ecosystem began to take shape as early as the 1930s. The devastation caused by diseases such Dutch elm disease, phloem necrosis, and oak wilt was a driving force in the development of the field of urban forestry. The term ‘urban forestry’ was first used in 1965 at the University of Toronto to describe a graduate student’s research on the successes and failures of municipal tree planting projects in Toronto. The term was quickly adopted in the United States, where urban forestry had already begun to grow into a national movement. (Source: Mark Johnston, “A Brief History of Urban Forestry in the United States,” Arboricultural Journal 1996, Vol. 20, pp. 257-278.)
Continue reading “History of the WDNR Urban Forestry program”
The Urban Forestry Team provides guidance, training, information, funding and professional connection opportunities to municipal foresters and other professionals to achieve sustainable urban forestry management. In a (hickory) nutshell, our work falls into the following five categories:
Continue reading “What does the DNR do to advance urban and community forestry in Wisconsin?”
