Urban wood

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grant Program request for applications

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The U.S. Forest Service anticipates that up to $4.2 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding will be available for tree planting and restoring native vegetation in the Great Lakes Basin. This funding will be competitively awarded to the best proposals received through the June 26, 2020 deadline at grants.gov. Search for Grant Opportunity Number USDA-FS-2020-GLRI. The funding is available to state agencies, Tribal communities, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and local governments that work within the Great Lakes Basin.

Funds will be distributed across the following four program areas:

  • Forest Insect and Disease Mitigation
  • Reduce Runoff from Degraded Sites through Green Infrastructure
  • Protect and Restore Coastal Wetlands through Healthy Tree Cover
  • Restore Resilient Riparian and Shoreline Forests

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Please complete the Wisconsin Urban Wood research survey

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Wisconsin Urban Wood is conducting a research project with support from the Forest Service to develop and demonstrate best practice standards for urban wood utilization in Wisconsin; including describing the:
      • Amount of urban wood generated in Wisconsin and its fate;
      • Incentives and barriers to furthering wood utilization in Wisconsin; and
      • Educational and technical needs associated with urban wood utilization.

Wisconsin Urban Wood sent out the survey via emails to tree service companies and municipalities.  If you haven’t yet, please complete the survey as requested.  While your response is critical to Wisconsin Urban Wood’s research, we also encourage you to participate for your own benefit. This research will help the Forest Service and Wisconsin Urban Wood develop and improve urban wood education and technical assistance in Wisconsin.

For more information about the survey or about Wisconsin Urban Wood, please contact 608-622-7212 or director@wisconsinurbanwood.org.

Learning at home

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Our thoughts are with the families who are grappling with school closures, while balancing work and facilitating their children’s school days. There have been many online sources for continued education for all levels of schooling and we encourage you to check them out in addition to those provided by your local schools.

We’ve recently become aware of The Forest Where Ashley Lives, a wonderful children’s book (free online), explaining various urban forestry concepts in a fun, engaging way. To find the story, go to https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/leaf/Documents/ForestWhereAshleyLives.pdf

Wisconsin tree champions lauded for outstanding community service

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Chuck Nass received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the WI Urban Forestry Council

By Sara Minkoff, DNR urban forestry specialist, Madison, Sara.Minkoff@wisconsin.gov, 608-669-5447

The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council recently announced award recipients honoring those dedicated to protecting, preserving and increasing the number of trees that line city streets, fill community parks and beautify neighborhoods throughout the state. The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council advises the Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry on the management of urban and community forest resources.

“Wisconsin plays a critical role in conservation, especially when it comes to trees! These awards honor individuals, organizations and communities for their hard work and dedication to trees and the benefits they provide,” said Kristin Gies, chair of the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council’s award committee. “Each year we review the nominations and learn about the incredible work happening around Wisconsin that supports healthy community forests.”

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Hope for the future: Barron’s storm story

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By Brad Johnson, DNR regional urban forestry coordinator, Spooner, BradleyDJohnson@wisconsin.gov, 715-410-8299

Within a short period of time, from the Jamie Closs tragedy to the violent wind storm of July 2019, the people of Barron, Wisconsin have had to endure unprecedented hardship. They are looking forward to better days ahead. Hope for the future is just what Barron is experiencing as they clean up from the storm and rebuild their urban tree resource. The DNR Urban Forestry team has contributed to these efforts with their expertise and financial support; in the past year, Barron has received a total of $55,000 in DNR Urban Forestry grants.

Barron inventoried all of its public trees in May 2019 with financial help from the DNR, who paid for a consultant as part of a pilot program. Unfortunately, a violent straight-line windstorm damaged and blew down 25% of Barron’s public trees on July 19, 2019.  Barron again had to pick itself up in the face of adversity and with the help of additional DNR funding, reinventoried its trees and wrote a plan of attack on how to rebuild its decimated urban tree canopy.

The updated tree inventory is a crucial component of Barron’s recovery plan. According to Liz Jacobson, Barron City Manager, “Accomplishing a tree inventory is helping us know where we are at, and where we need to go.”

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Extreme cold event challenges tree trials

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By Jay Weiss, Cambridge Tree Project, www.cambridgetreeproject.org

Red horse chestnut, Cambridge

It was a cold, still night January 31, 2019 when the air temperature dropped to -32 in Cambridge, Wisconsin. According to village elders, the last time it got that cold was the 1950s.

With this record setting event, we had a rigorous laboratory to assess hardiness among the wide variety of tree species under evaluation in our trials.

Immediately below is a written summary of some our findings. Detailed survival rates, along with annual growth rates of 98 species being evaluated locally, are recorded in an excel document that I am happy to share upon request (email me at info(at)cambridgetreeproject.org).

SURVIVORS:

  • Bald Cypress: all 26 of our street and park trees survived. No dieback was noted.
  • Dawn Redwood: 11 trees survived with no dieback. Two trees were killed outright.

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Common tree myths – and why you shouldn’t believe

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By Kim Sebastian, DNR urban forestry coordinator, Milwaukee, Kim.Sebastian@wisconsin.gov, 414-294-8675 

Click on “continue reading” or scroll down for the truth about these common myths:

Myth #1: A tree’s root system is a mirror image of what is above ground.

Myth #2: Tree roots are responsible for damaging and blocking sewer lines.

Myth #3: When removing a branch, cut as close (flush) to the trunk as possible.

Myth #4: The branches on a tree move up as the tree grows taller.

Myth #5: Topping is a necessary evil – otherwise the tree will get too big.

Myth #6: If a little fertilizer is good, a lot is better.

Myth #7: After a pruning cut, wound dressing (pruning paint) is necessary.

Myth #8: All newly planted trees must be staked.

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Wisconsin Waters 2020 – Focusing on Resilient Lakes and Rivers

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April 1 – 3, 2020 – Now an Online Learning Event only due to impacts from the coronavirus and associated public health protocols.  Attend from the comfort of your favorite chair! 

Find the connections between Urban Forestry and our Wisconsin Waters.  How can they benefit each other?  Take advantage of the synergies!

There are multiple concurrent sessions covering the themes below:

  • Basics of Lakes and Rivers
  • Building on 2019: Year of Clean Drinking Water and Water Quality
  • People and Policy: Action and Updates 
  • Ecology: Life In and Around Our Waters 
  • Lake and River Science
  • Addressing Climate Change Impacts on Lakes and Rivers
  • Monitoring to Actions: Stories from the Field

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Upcoming webinars: EAB University, Urban Wood Network and more

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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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WDNR/WAA Conference attracts record number of attendees

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By Sara Minkoff, DNR urban forestry specialist, Madison, Sara.Minkoff@wisconsin.gov, 608-669-5447; and Kim Sebastian, DNR urban forestry coordinator, Milwaukee, Kim.Sebastian@wisconsin.gov, 414-294-8675

The 2020 Annual Statewide WDNR/Wisconsin Arborist Association (WAA) Urban Forestry Conference, “Sustaining Urban Forests to Ensure a Healthy Future,” set another attendance record this past February 16-18 in Green Bay.

The 885 attendees included community foresters and administrators, professional arborists, green industry professionals, nonprofit staff, and students, who gathered to network, learn and discuss important concepts in urban forest management and practices in arboriculture.

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