Jay Weiss created the Cambridge Tree Project to supply affordable and interesting trees and shrubs to homeowners to help fund landscaping in Cambridge and Rockdale schools, street and parks. The program was founded over ten years ago with a couple of simple goals: (1) add 1,000 living trees to Cambridge Village forest by 2020, and (2) increase species diversity of the community forest. Cambridge is working towards these goals by consistently offering a variety of tree species for purchase. The trees are available to anyone, regardless of where they live, but the trees must be purchased at the spring sale. Continue reading “Providing affordable trees to homeowners in Cambridge”
Urban Forestry News
Figure out when your trees will bloom
The Morton Arboretum is releasing information monthly on growing degree days. Plants, insects and fungi all develop at various times depending on temperature. Development will speed up or slow down depending on the rise and fall of temperature. Several studies have worked to understand the relationship between heat and development. These studies and information from them help anticipate flowering of trees and shrubs and the emergence of insects based on how many growing days have accumulated. Continue reading “Figure out when your trees will bloom”
EAB biocontrol releases continue in 2018
By Mike Hillstrom, forest health specialist (Fitchburg). Michael.Hillstron@wisconsin.gov; 608-513-7690
In 2018, the Wisconsin DNR will complete its eighth year of releasing tiny, stingless wasps as biocontrol agents to help manage emerald ash borer. Columbia, Dane and Grant counties are slated for first-time releases this year, and there will be new release sites in Brown, Door and Sheboygan counties. The wasps will be released for a second year at established sites in Brown, Green, Jefferson, Milwaukee and Sheboygan counties. The same wasps that were released in 2017 will be used this year: Tetra sticus planipennisi, Spathius galinae and Oobius agrili.
Adult Spathius galinae wasps venture out to find some tasty EAB larvae to parasitize.
Biological control sites for emerald ash borer in Wisconsin 2011-2018. Figure by Bill McNee.
Phomopsis galls
By Linda Williams, forest health specialist (Woodruff). Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov; 715-356-5211, x232
Large swellings on the branches of this oak are caused by the fungus Phomopsis.
Winter and early spring are great times to look for galls on trees. Some galls, including phomopsis galls, can get very large and, because there are often many galls on a single tree, they are easily spotted from a distance. Phomopsis galls are woody swellings caused by a fungus which range in size from very small to larger than a person’s head. They occur on hickory, northern red oak, maple, and a few other tree species. Infections are usually localized to a single tree with neighboring trees being completely unaffected, or a small group of trees may be infected. Occasionally, larger infection centers can be found.
It is suspected that genetic variability plays a role in the susceptibility of individual trees, but a lot is still unknown about this fungus. There is no known treatment for Phompsis galls other than to prune them out and dispose of them; many people choose to simply live with them. If left on a tree, galls may eventually cause dieback or girdling of infested branches, but some trees live for many decades with galls on their main stems. The presence of galls does not necessarily mean the rapid death of a tree, which is especially true for oak trees: they seem to survive for decades with very large galls present on the branches.
Forest health zones restructured
by Jodie Ellis, communications specialist, Forest Health team (Madison)
Jodie.Ellis@Wisconsin.gov; 608-266-2172
The number of Forest Health (FH) specialist positions in the state was recently reduced by one, going from seven fulltime positions to six. To reflect this change, the forest health zonal map was restructured to spread coverage between five forest health specialists (the FH specialist position for the Central zone, while not eliminated, remains vacant). The new assignments went into effect on April 3, 2018.
To contact a forest health specialist, please refer to the revised map below:
- Northwest zone: Paul Cigan (Hayward), 715-416-4920, paul.cigan@wisconsin.gov
- Northeast zone: Linda Williams (Woodruff), 715-356-5211 x232, Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov. Also covering Lincoln, Shawano, Menominee, Waupaca and Oconto counties in the Central zone
- West Central zone: Todd Lanigan (Eau Claire), 715-839-1632, todd.lanigan@wisconsin.gov. Also covering Taylor County in the Central zone.
- Southeast zone: Bill McNee (Oshkosh), 920-360-0942, bill.mcnee@wisconsin.gov
- South Central zone: Michael Hillstrom (Fitchburg, WI), 608-513-7690, michael.hillstrom@wisconsin.gov. Also covering Marathon, Wood, Portage, Adams, Waushara, Marquette and Green Lake counties in the Central zone.
- Central zone: vacant
Restructured Forest Health zones
A fulltime FH specialist position, which had been vacant, was eliminated as part of the reduction of six positions from the Division of Forestry in the recent state budget. Because of the increased work load on the five remaining FH specialists, the FH program has permanently reduced or eliminated some of its services to customers to keep the staff’s work load at manageable levels.
Program services that have been reduced or eliminated include:
- The DNR’s gypsy moth suppression program, which addressed population surges in areas of the state where gypsy moth is already established. This program was already in the process of being deactivated when the FH specialist position was cut. (NOTE: The Slow The Spread program, which is managed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), remains active. It targets gypsy moth populations in the western part of the state where gypsy moth has not yet established.)
- Site visits to confirm EAB at the township level (digital images will be used for identification instead)
- Site visits and digital diagnostics of small acreage (less than 10 acres) for private landowners
Forest Health team members must also reduce the number of outreach presentations provided to the public.
Please contact Rebecca Gray, Forest Health team leader, with any questions at Rebecca.Gray@wisconsin.gov or by phone at 608-275-3273.
Celebrate Arbor Day: give back to your community
Recently, I came across a beautiful, full evergreen. After a while, I realized I had planted this gorgeous monument when I was five years old, as part of a community project and Arbor Day celebration.
Continue reading “Celebrate Arbor Day: give back to your community”
How are communities handling EAB across Wisconsin?
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has recently issued a statewide quarantine for emerald ash borer (EAB), regulating the pest in Wisconsin. Since the menace has already affected 48 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, many municipalities have been acting on EAB management plans they set into place, including the City of Racine and Ozaukee county have been managing the pest.
Continue reading “How are communities handling EAB across Wisconsin?”
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding available
The U.S. Forest Service anticipates approximately $3.7 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding will be available for tree planting and restoring native vegetation in the Great Lakes Basin. Continue reading “Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding available”
Communities encourage planting through tree lists
Communities across the state are reaching out to their citizens and encouraging them to plant trees in their own yards, greening the community with both yard and street trees. The Village of Bayside and the Village of Greenfield are accomplishing this through “Adopt-A-Tree” programs and species lists.
Continue reading “Communities encourage planting through tree lists”
Protect oak trees from oak wilt by waiting until after July to prune
By Don Kissinger, DNR urban forester (Wausau), Don.Kissinger@wisconsin.gov, 715-359-5793 and Paul Cigan, DNR forest health specialist (Hayward), Paul.Cigan@wisconsin.gov, 715-416-4920
To protect oak trees and help prevent oak wilt, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources advises people to avoid pruning oaks on their property from April through July.
Spring and early summer pruning makes oak trees vulnerable to oak wilt, a fatal fungal disease that rapidly kills trees in the red oak group and weakens those in the white oak group. Any tree damage during this time creates an opening that exposes live tree tissue and provides an opportunity for the oak wilt fungus to infect the tree.
The red oak group includes northern pin oak, northern red oak, red oak and black oak; the white oak group includes bur oak, swamp white oak, white oak and English oak.
Pin oak (Quercus palustris)
Photo: Gary Fewless, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
“It takes only a few minutes for beetles that carry oak wilt spores to land on a fresh wound and infect your tree,” said Paul Cigan, DNR forest health specialist in Hayward.
Property owners with oak trees are encouraged to check with their municipality to find out if there are local oak wilt ordinances which may have different pruning restrictions.
The use of tree paint or a wound dressing is not normally recommended on pruning cuts or wounded surfaces on most trees. But for damaged oaks, the use of such products are suggested from April through July. An immediate light painting of wounds or cuts on oak trees during this time helps protect against the spread of oak wilt by beetles.
Don Kissinger, a DNR urban forester in Wausau, said there are also other important reasons to avoid pruning many kinds of deciduous trees in spring beyond concerns about oak wilt.
“Spring is the time when tree buds and leaves are growing, leaving the tree’s food reserves low,” Kissinger said. In general, the best time to prune trees is in winter.
Oak wilt and other diseases move easily on or in firewood logs year-round. To protect trees in general, don’t move firewood long distances, or only use firewood labeled as Wisconsin-certified.
As of January 31, 2018, oak wilt has been found in all Wisconsin counties except Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, Forest, Taylor, Door, Kewaunee, Calumet, and Manitowoc counties. Several of these counties contain the highest abundance of healthy and productive oak forests in the state. Taking recommended precautions with living oak trees and keeping firewood local to prevent the spread of oak wilt will help keep them that way for years to come.
More information is available online at the WI DNR website, including a recently released video on oak wilt. Visit the DNR website, https://dnr.wi.gov/, and search for “oak wilt” or “firewood.” Additional information about proper pruning techniques is available from community foresters or by searching for “tree pruning.”