Cedarburg Green celebrates Year of the Tree despite Covid-19

Posted on by patricialindquist

By Jeanne Mueller, Cedarburg Green

“2020 is the year to focus on trees” read the headline in Cedarburg’s local newspaper. In January, a proclamation signed by Cedarburg’s mayor kicked off Cedarburg Green’s yearlong, multi-faceted promotion of trees. Cedarburg Green’s first success, a community talk on “Selecting the Right Trees for your Yard”, exceeded attendance expectations by over 225%. Interest in trees at this standing-room-only, inaugural event, held on February 24, seemed to be setting the stage for great things to come. Another hopeful sign was the mounting orders for trees being received as part of the organization’s annual bare-root tree sale.

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Upcoming webinars

Posted on by patricialindquist

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.

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Outdoor Hazards in Wisconsin: A Guide to Insects, Plants, and Wildlife

Posted on by patricialindquist

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:

  • Amphibians (salamanders, toads)
  • Reptiles (turtles, snakes)
  • Birds (defending territory, handling birds)
  • Mammals (short-tailed shrews, bats, skunks, porcupines, coyotes, gray wolves, deer, black bears)
  • Stinging insects (bees and wasps)
  • Blood-feeding insects (mosquitoes, deerflies and horseflies, blackflies, biting midges, ticks, chiggers)

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DNR hosting June 16th wood products webinar

Posted on by Kirsten Held

The DNR Forest Products Service Team will host a webinar titled “Wood: Sustainably Grown, Locally Available“ on June 16, 2020. This webinar is intended to promote the diverse application of Wisconsin’s oldest grown, locally available, and environmentally friendly material—wood. Architects, designers, consumers and anyone interested in learning about Wisconsin wood products should consider attending.

Following these two presentations, there will be time for questions with the presenters:

  • A New Age of Wood: New Products Create New Opportunities by Jim Bowyer, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, and a specialist in wood-based bio-products and environmental life-cycle assessment.
  • Wisconsin Wood Resources and Wood Products by Scott Bowe, Professor and Wood Products Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

Event Date: June 16, 2020

Time: 10:30 a.m. Central Time (US and Canada)

Registration: Please register in advance for this meeting using following link:
https://uwextension.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwkfuqtrToqH9T3xTpRI8qg1jGc7BsShW0H 

 

Pandemic relief grant for small Wisconsin businesses

Posted on by Kirsten Held

If you are a small business owner in Wisconsin looking for some financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, the “We’re All In Small Business” grant might be a good fit. The grant program—funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act—can provide $2,500 in grant money to assist in covering the costs of business interruption or for health and safety improvements, wages and salaries, rent, mortgages and inventory. The grant is available for up to 30,000 small businesses in Wisconsin.

To learn more about the program, please check out the “We’re All In” Small Business Grant webpage on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) website. Here’s a link to frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the grant program. The WEDC has representatives available to provide guidance to small business owners whose questions are not answered on the FAQ page.

Updated emerald ash borer silviculture guidelines now available

Posted on by margueriterapp

By Bill McNee, forest health specialist, Oshkosh, bill.mcnee@wisconsin.gov, 920-360-0942

The Division of Forestry has completed a revision of the emerald ash borer silviculture guidelines to help foresters prepare for and respond to the arrival of emerald ash borer (EAB) in a forest stand.

Cover page of new guidelines. Continue reading “Updated emerald ash borer silviculture guidelines now available” →

New insect and disease factsheets available

Posted on by margueriterapp

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.

The Tick App! ‘Your Tick Expert On-The-Go!’

Posted on by margueriterapp

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.

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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 in Wisconsin, including cherry, apple and crabapple trees. Landowners and homeowners may notice the white silken tents forming in branch forks. Although the tents are unsightly, ETC is a native insect and rarely causes damage. Even completely defoliated trees will put out new leaves within a few weeks.

A cluster of eastern tent caterpillars on white silk tent.

Eastern tent caterpillars preparing for a day of feeding on a black cherry tree.

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Larch casebearer and eastern larch beetle: two problems for tamarack

Posted on by margueriterapp

By Linda Williams, forest health specialist, Woodruff, Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov, 920-360-0665 

Tamarack trees are sending out their needles this spring, and larch casebearer caterpillars are feeding on them. In northern Wisconsin, where the trees didn’t push needles out until the end of May, the caterpillars were impatiently waiting to begin feeding and in some counties the damage is now severe. 

A horizon of tamarack trees defoliated by larch casebearer appear straw-colored or tan from a distance.

Tamarack trees defoliated by larch casebearer will appear straw-colored or tan from a distance. Photo taken May 28 in Oneida County.

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