Care for your woods

Cedarburg Green celebrates Year of the Tree despite Covid-19

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.

Continue reading “Cedarburg Green celebrates Year of the Tree despite Covid-19”

Updated emerald ash borer silviculture guidelines now available

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

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.

Apply now for the 5th Wisconsin Community Tree Management Institute

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”

Educational HRD video now available

By Kyoko Scanlon, forest pathologist, Kyoko.Scanlon@wisconsin.gov, 608-235-7532

The Wisconsin DNR recently created a short video on Heterobasidion root disease (HRD) to compliment the updated guidelines that were released in 2019. The 5-minute educational video covers HRD biology, its significance as a tree disease, signs and symptoms, as well as preventative measures that landowners can take to reduce its introduction and spread. This is a great video for forestry professionals, landowners and the general public to learn more about HRD. Continue reading “Educational HRD video now available”

Celebrate Arbor Day – plant a tree from your couch!

Happy Arbor Day! Join us in celebrating from home today. Post a photo of your favorite tree on social media, tag @arborday, and use the hashtag #arbordayathome. The Arbor Day Foundation will plant a tree on your behalf.

Learn more at celebratearborday.com.

For more tips on how to honor Arbor Day using social media, check out this recent DNR newsletter post.

 

Protect oak trees by pruning after July, not before

By Don Kissinger, urban forester, 715-348-5746, Don.Kissinger@wisconsin.gov or Paul Cigan, plant pest and disease specialist, 715-416-4920, Paul.Cigan@wisconsin.gov

Anyone with oak trees in their yards or on forested lands should avoid pruning or cutting them from April through July to protect them from oak wilt.

Sap-feeding beetle on diseased oak tree in Sawyer County.

Sap-feeding beetle on diseased oak tree in Sawyer County.

Continue reading “Protect oak trees by pruning after July, not before”

Upcoming webinars: EAB University, Urban Wood Network and more

As winter melts into spring, two new webinar series are getting underway.

The schedule for the spring semester of EAB University can be found here. Topics include beech leaf disease, the future of North American ash, hemlock wooly adelgid management, and more. CEU credits will be offered, and all webinars are recorded and posted online after the talks.

The Urban Wood Network kicks off its 2020 webinar series this month. This “Future Visioning” series is held on the second Wednesday of each month at noon and includes topics such as urban lumber standards, urban lumber business, and what to do with the rest of the tree.

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Fighting invasives together through responsible firewood practices

By Marguerite Rapp, forest health communications specialist, marguerite.rapp@wisconsin.gov, Andrea Diss Torrance, invasive insects program coordinator, andrea.disstorrance@wisconsin.gov, and Tim Allen, DATCP forest pest program coordinator and nursery inspector, timothy.allen@wisconsin.gov, 715-891-8158

This time of year, many Wisconsinites warm up with firewood, whether that’s in a wood stove for the home or a bonfire with family and friends. While firewood is one of the most sustainable heat sources available, the forests that produce it are threatened when firewood infested by invasive species is moved long distances. Fortunately, we can reduce this threat together through responsible use, movement and sale of firewood and wood products.

Man loads firewood into arms from back of truck. Continue reading “Fighting invasives together through responsible firewood practices”

Check your trees for EAB and plan for spring

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

The cold winter months are a great time to think about emerald ash borer and whether ash trees in your yard are suitable for treatment. The pest is currently the most damaging threat to trees in Wisconsin, killing more than 99 percent of the ash trees it infests.

Two side-by-side images depicting different stages of flecking on ash trees - on left side is light flecking in the upper canopy of a tree, on the right side is more severe flecking that extends down the trunk of the tree

Woodpecker flecking is an early sign of EAB infestation when it appears in the tops of trees (left). As the infestation progresses, flecking continues down the trunk and into lower parts of the crown (right).

Continue reading “Check your trees for EAB and plan for spring”