Best Management Practices

Cooperative Enlists Public To Make Tree Health A Snap

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg;
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Screenshot of the main page of the TreeSnap app as seen on a mobile phone.

The main page of the TreeSnap app as seen on a mobile phone. / Photo Credit: TreeSnap.org

It takes more than a village to foster healthy forests. More than a township, a city and a county, too. Sometimes, even more than a state.

That’s why the Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Cooperative (GLB FHC) was formed four years ago by Holden Arboretum in Ohio and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

Geographically, the group’s region encompasses an area from New Jersey to Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an active member.

Continue reading “Cooperative Enlists Public To Make Tree Health A Snap”

Forest Health and Climate Change Resources

By Carmen Hardin, Director, DNR Applied Forestry Bureau, Rhinelander;
Carmen.Hardin@wisconsin.gov

A graphic shows changing tornado risk trends in the United States from 1980 to 2020. All Wisconsin counties are showing an increase in tornado days.

A graphic shows changing tornado risk trends in the United States from 1980 to 2020. All Wisconsin counties are showing an increase in tornado days. / Map Credit: Inside Climate News, Stephen M. Strader et. al., Nature Magazine

We are often asked difficult questions about our forests, their health and how climate change is impacting them. Here is a curated collection of resources that may help you answer some of those questions. Continue reading “Forest Health and Climate Change Resources”

Sustainable Forestry Initiative Urban Forest Improvement Grant Application Now Open

The Urban Forest Improvement Program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, provides grants to help organizations benchmark their urban or community forests against the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard.

These grants support the assessment of current management practices, offering valuable insights into how sustainably these forests are managed and a roadmap of opportunities for improvement. Continue reading “Sustainable Forestry Initiative Urban Forest Improvement Grant Application Now Open”

Managing Veteran Trees In The Urban Environment

By Elton Rogers, DNR Urban Forestry Coordinator; Elton.Rogers@wisconsin.gov or 414-294-8675 and Dan Buckler, DNR Urban Forest Assessment Specialist; Daniel.Buckler@wisconsin.gov or 608-445-4578

Veteran trees, also known by some as heritage trees, loom large in our imagination. If you have an image of a large, gnarly oak in your head, you’re on the right track. These are the trees that, according to the International Society of Arboriculture, are of exceptional cultural, landscape or nature conservation value. They are vitally important and deserve management attention to keep them on the landscape whenever practical. Continue reading “Managing Veteran Trees In The Urban Environment”

Heterobasidion Root Disease Found In Door County

Two photos of the same spot on a tree in Door County, showing Heterobasidion root disease fruiting bodies (left) and the basal wound beneath them (right).

Two photos of the same spot on a tree in Door County, showing Heterobasidion root disease fruiting bodies (left) and the basal wound beneath them (right). / Photo Credits: Bill McNee, Wisconsin DNR

By Bill McNee, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh;
Bill.McNee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942

Heterobasidion root disease (HRD), formerly known as annosum root rot, was recently found in Door County for the first time.

In mid-September, several suspected HRD fruiting bodies were spotted in a white spruce plantation on privately owned land in the town of Sevastopol. One cluster of fruiting bodies located at the base of a dead spruce was confirmed as Heterobasidion irregulare, the fungal pathogen that causes HRD. The other fruiting bodies were identified as a native decay fungus that has a similar appearance.

Continue reading “Heterobasidion Root Disease Found In Door County”

Keep Watering In Fall To Protect Trees

By Lisa Johnson, Horticulture Outreach Specialist, Extension Dane County; Johnson.Lisa@danecounty.gov

‘Winter burn’ refers to a type of damage to evergreen foliage that typically occurs over winter. Common symptoms are browning and dying from the tips of the foliage inward. Several factors cause winter burn on evergreens, including winter ‘thaws’ while the ground is frozen, dry soil in autumn, a long period of very cold temperatures, winter sun on evergreen foliage or drying winter winds, poor siting of susceptible plants, recent planting/transplanting and the individual plant’s susceptibility. Frequently affected plants include yews, junipers, boxwood, arborvitae, rhododendrons, dwarf Alberta spruce and hemlock. Continue reading “Keep Watering In Fall To Protect Trees”

UW Madison Extension Urban Forestry Workshop: Bare Root Trees And Gravel Beds

Join us for a two-part workshop on the value and uses of bare root trees and how to use gravel beds to hold and maintain bare root stock before it is planted. Part one will be delivered via Zoom on Friday, Sept. 20. Part two will be an in-person field day visit to an operating gravel bed. You will select one of the six locations around the state during registration. ISA CEUs will be available for both parts.

The cost of the workshop is $30, and the registration deadline is Sept. 12. Continue reading “UW Madison Extension Urban Forestry Workshop: Bare Root Trees And Gravel Beds”

Upcoming Invasive Plant Management Workshops

Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium is teaming up again with Johnson’s Nursery, Inc.TM to offer Invasive Plant Management Workshops in 2024. Take this class to ensure that you are using the most appropriate, efficient, up-to-date and least environmentally damaging methods in those efforts. Continue reading “Upcoming Invasive Plant Management Workshops”