Certification

CTMI V Session I Successfully Completed

By: Olivia Witthun, Urban Forestry Regional Coordinator

CTMI groups work together to develop marketing plans for scenarios. Source: Olivia Witthun

After being postponed twice due to the pandemic, the third time was a charm. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s Urban Forestry Team hosted the first of three Community Tree Management Institute (CTMI) V sessions. The CTMI session took place at the Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wis. and brought together DNR Urban Forestry staff and 28 students from across the state. CTMI students, community foresters, utility foresters, UW Extension staff and a tree board member served as instructors to help educate and led exercises for the 2-day event.

CTMI is an advanced training course designed specifically for people responsible for urban forest management who do not have a degree and/or experience in urban forestry – think of your typical small Wisconsin community’s Public Works Director. This CTMI class jumped right in from the get-go and were very involved in the conversations. The foundations of urban forestry were covered in this first session. The second session, February 2023, will cover planning, operations and biology. The third session, June 2023, will bring it all together. An applied project is also a requirement of attendees; each will work on something that will benefit their community’s urban forest. Continue reading “CTMI V Session I Successfully Completed”

Guidance recertification documents now posted online

As part of the review process for existing guidance from the WDNR Applied Forestry Bureau, 26 guidance recertification documents have been posted for public comment on the DNR Proposed Program Guidance webpage. Three of these documents pertain to the Urban Forestry program: the Wisconsin DNR Urban Forestry Grants 2020 Application Guide, the Urban Forestry Catastrophic Storm Grant Program, and the Wisconsin DNR Urban Forestry Grants 2020 Recordkeeping & Reimbursement Guide.

Per Act 369, agencies must post new or significantly revised guidance documents for public comment and certify their contents, prior to adoption. The act also requires existing guidance to be republished for public comment. Once finalized, guidance must be posted on the DNR website, contain a certification statement, and the department must permit continued public comment.

Continue reading “Guidance recertification documents now posted online”

Spring 2019 chainsaw safety training

Routinely, DNR North Central Urban Forestry Coordinator Don Kissinger puts a call out to his networking group regarding chainsaw safety training. This past winter he hit the jackpot and received a great response and a first ever request for an Advanced Training. Thus, two courses occurred this past April (Basic & Advanced). Continue reading “Spring 2019 chainsaw safety training”

Consider viewing the WAA job board

The Wisconsin Arborist Association recently created a job board, hosted on their website, to connect businesses and potential employees. These posts showcase available arboriculture positions in Wisconsin listed by region, company name, and are also grouped alphabetically. This webpage provides the opportunity for individuals to search for jobs as well as giving companies a venue for posting openings in their businesses. Continue reading “Consider viewing the WAA job board”

Certification audits praise DNR land management

Wisconsin’s forested lands are some of the state’s most valuable resources and the Department of Natural Resources is doing a good job caring for them according to audits conducted by SCS Global Services.  Independent, third-party certification means DNR management of its properties meets strict standards for ecological, social and economic sustainability. The words “exemplary” and “superb” were used in reporting 2016 audit findings on 1,551,440 acres of state-owned lands.  Department owned lands are certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  Read more in this DNR news release.

For more information, contact Mark Heyde at 608-267-0565.