By Paul Cigan, plant pest and disease specialist, Paul.Cigan@wisconsin.gov, 715-416-4920
One of the most amazing aspects of living in Wisconsin, with its four seasons of ever-changing natural beauty, is the re-awakening of plant life every spring. Whether you’re a gardener, sportsperson or casual observer on a walk, it’s hard to overlook the floral sea of white trilliums, the bee-frenzied blooms of a crabapple, or even the mere greening up of turf grass. These spring advances usher in a sense of re-awakening of a sleepy plant world and assure us that summer will once again come.
While recently out on a spring hike in northern Wisconsin, my eyes were drawn to the bright green glow of emerging understory plants. Making my way closer, my initial excitement was offset by the disappointment of seeing what I quickly realized was in fact garlic mustard—an increasingly common and problematic exotic, invasive understory plant. Although garlic mustard is perhaps the “poster” plant for invasive plant awareness, the unfortunate reality is that it is just one of hundreds of invasive species that continue to spread into our forests.
The spring green-up of garlic mustard may look pretty but this invasive species is not good news for Wisconsin forests or the people who manage them. Credit: Duluth CISMA.
Continue reading ““Spring” into action with invasives in focus”
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.
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.)
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:
“What is it about this place?” I wondered. “Why does this city feel so harsh, so disheartening?”
