Tree Board

Tree  Board  Meeting     November  1,  2012         Attending:  John  Snell  (co-­‐chair),  Carole  Naquin,  John  Van  Deren,  Wendy  Blakeman,   Bob  Troester  (volunteer),  Geoff  Beyer,  Tree  Warden   Apologies:  Sarah  Hoffmeier  (co-­‐chair),  John  Akielaszek       Meeting  called  to  order  at  5:30pm     Review  and  approval  of  October  minutes       Old  business:   •  Update  on  50/50  raffle:  Carole  indicated  we  took  in  $26.50  total;  there  were  two   winners  (leaf  fall  date  was  10/13)  both  of  whom  donated  their  winnings  back  to  the   Tree  Board.  Carole  said  she  would  like  to  start  earlier  next  year   •  Update  on  Barre  Street  plantings:  John  S  said  we’d  planted  17  trees  to  date  and  he   and  Geoff  hope  to  get  a  few  more  in     •  Update  on  American  Forests  grant:  Geoff  said  between  the  trees  planted   downtown  and  those  planted  on  Barre  Street  and  at  Union  School,  he  believes  we   are  close  to  completing  the  work  proposed  in  the  grant.  John  S  had  before/after   photos  of  all  planting  to  date  that  are  required  for  documentation;  he’ll  get  that   ready  in  December.   •  Annual  report  to  City  Council:  John  S  presented  the  Tree  Board’s  Annual  Report  to   the  Council  on  10/10/12.  It  was  well  received  and  appreciated.   •  Capital  improvements:  Geoff  asked  for  input  about  this  and  indicated  he  would   pursue  with  the  City  Manager   •  Inventory  software:  Bob  has  been  investigating  inventory  software   (OpenTreeMap);  it  is  free  but  requires  $24K  to  have  the  company  set  it  up.  It  could   be  used  by  the  whole  state.  Also  they  will  have  an  iPhone  version  coming.  He  also   used  Google  Fusion  (see  notes  below  for  several  links).  Bob  said  Burlington  uses   DaveyTree  software.  iTree  programs  are  another  group  of  programs  from  the  USDA;   Wash,  DC  use  Casey  Trees;  John  S  will  be  in  touch  with  Urban  Forestry  to  see  what   they  know  about  what  programs  are  being  used  by  other  communities   •  Vermont  Tree  Steward  Conference:  John  A  attended  the  conference  and  sent  his   report  which  is  included  below.       New  business:   •  Budget  for  2013/14,  Geoff  will  update  at  December  meeting   •  Nursery:  Geoff  will  have  his  crew  rototill  several  rows;  he  and  John  will  look  for   sources  for  trees  to  plant  either  this  fall  or  next  spring   •  November/December  work  days:  final  planting,  grates  &  guards,  beaver  guards     John  V  and  Carole  will  lead  a  workday  on  11/4  10:30-­‐noon  to  install  beaver   guards  by  MHS  track     John  S  will  lead  on  another  on  11/10  10-­‐noon  (cancelled  due  to  weather)     Meeting  adjourned  6:30;  next  meeting  December  6th  at  5:30  City  Hall   Additional  documents:     LINKS  REGARDING  INVENTORY  SOFTWARE,  courtesy  Bob  Troester:     Google  Fusion  map  of  Montpelier  street  tree  inventory  -­‐  click  on  little  circles  to  see   details.  Very  easy  (and  free)  to  load  to  web  using  an  exported  CSV  file  from  the   original  Microsoft  Access  database  created  originally  by  MCTI  (see  below).   https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=1qyq4vyrV_Vva45MzoO VDPliz9ZDyNk40zKt5Tsw  -­‐  map:id=3     Examples  of  tree  inventory  programs  used  in  other  cities:     OpenTreeMap  (OTM)  open  source  tree  inventory  and  mapping,  web  based,  no  extra   software  needed  by  users,  except  iPhone  app  if  using  phone  to  display/update,  may   be  difficult  to  install.   http://opentreemap.github.com/     Hour-­‐long  video  on  Exploring  Collaborative  Tree  Inventory  with  OpenTreeMap     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayb0-­‐T8ORrA&feature=relmfu     PhillyTreeMap,  Philadelphia  map  built  from  OTM.   http://phillytreemap.org/   MCTI  used  by  Montpelier,  a  free  program  from  USDA  around  2000,  not  updated   since  2004,  uses  Palm  Pilots  for  data  entry.   http://www.umass.edu/urbantree/mcti/ls.org/applications.php     Burlington  tree  management  plan  from  2002  -­‐  see  page  8  of  the  report  for  inventory   software  used.   http://www.arborday.org/shopping/conferences/brochures/ufm/2008/Burlingto nMgmtPlan.pdf     Description  of  newest  release  of  the  Burlington  software,  the  commercial  product   Davey  TreeKeeper.   http://www.davey.com/business/davey-­‐resource-­‐group/natural-­‐resource-­‐ consulting/innovative-­‐software-­‐solutions/tree-­‐keeper.aspx     DC  Street  Trees  uses  Google  maps  for  display,  supported  by  non-­‐profit  Casey  Trees.   http://caseytrees.org/resources/maps/dc-­‐street-­‐trees/     Ann  Arbor,  MI  tree  map,  example  of  ArcGIS,  needs  free  Microsoft  Silverlight  on  your   PC  or  Mac,  click  on  link  to  see  map   http://www.a2gov.org/GOVERNMENT/PUBLICSERVICES/FIELDOPERATIONS/FOR ESTRY/Pages/TreeInventory.aspx         Seattle  city  tree  map  -­‐  Nice  map  but  data  not  updated  in  20  years!  This  shows  the   problem  of  not  involving  the  public  in  mapping.   http://web1.seattle.gov/SDOT/StreetTrees/     -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐   iTree:  NOT  an  inventory  program,  but  rather  one  to  analyze  economic  benefits  and   problems  of  urban  forest,  free  from  USDA,  in  separate  modules,  the  Street  module   most  oriented  toward  street  trees.  Used  internally  to  calculate  benefits  by   OpenTreeMap.   http://www.itreetools.org/streets/index.php     -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐   Lists  of  other  inventory  programs,  not  entirely  up-­‐to-­‐date:   http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Tree_Inventory_Software_287284_7.pdf   U.  Florida,  Comparison  of  Urban  Forest  Tree  Inventory  and  Management  Software   Systems   http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr288   U.  Florida,  A  Community  Guide  to  Urban  Forest  Inventories:   http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr232       SUMMARY  OF  THE  VERMONT  TREE  STEWARD  CONFERENCE  (VTC  October  20,   2012),  courtesy  John  Akielaszek     Steve  Sinclair,  Vermont  State  Forester,  gave  the  introductory  remarks.    Takeaway:   With  volunteers  we  are  Vermont  Strong!     Mark  Whitmore  of  Cornell  University  gave  a  talk  entitled  “Stories  of  Emerald  Ash   Borer  (EAB)  Community  Preparation  and  Response  in  New  York.    He  was  a  wealth   of  information  on  EAB.    Some  factoids:    EAB  infestation  linked  to  the  importation  of   auto  parts  from  China  in  the  mid-­‐1990s.    There  have  been  6000  detections  in  the   U.S.    The  potential  costs  for  power  companies  to  remove  dead  ash  trees  along   R.O.Ws    is  $1.54  billion.    To  slow  ash  mortality  you  must  remove  infested  trees.     Typically  you  will  not  detect  EAB  on  one  tree;  by  the  time  you  can  detect  it  EAB  has   infested  multiple  trees.    The  larvae  need  cracks  in  the  bark  to  access  phloem.    One   detection  technique  is  to  girdle  ash  trees  that  have  rough  bark  and  look  for  EAB  in   these  trees;  something  about  a  weakened  tree  attracts  EAB  preferentially.    Early   infestation  characterized  by  bark  splitting  and  hairy  woodpecker  foraging.    The   infestation  will  also  lead  to  a  smaller  leaflet  size.         http://www.nyis.info/?action=eab          is  website  for  NY  information  on  invasive   species.      Mark’s  e-­‐mail:    mcw42@cornell.edu        He  also  mentioned  that  there  is  a   EAB  cost  calculator  available  online  from  Purdue  U.       Caitlin  Cusack    of  UVM  Extension    presented  the  results  of  EAB  Risk  Rankings  by   Vermont  Towns.    The  Risk  Model  used  takes  into  account  spatial  locations  of   introductory  pathways,  for  example  sawmills  and  campgrounds,  major  roads,  log   truck  transport  routes  and  nurseries.    These  locations  are  expanded  (buffered)   based  on  the  natural  dispersal  distance  of  EAB  adults  taken  from  the  literature  (800   meters).    The  maximum  number  for  overlapping  risk  factors  in  Vermont  is  seven  (7)   and  four  towns  share  that  maximum  risk  factor:    St  Johnsbury,  Newport,  Bennington   and  Montpelier.          For  high-­‐risk  towns  there  is  some  limited  ($500.00)  funding   available  that  could  be  used  towards  a  preparedness  plan  or  inventory.    The  catch  is   that  a  plan  must  be  prepared.    Other  (good)  news  was  that  no  EAB  were  detected  in   any  of  the  2200+  purple  traps  set  out  across  VT  this  year.     Michael  Willard,  a  certified  Landscape  Architect,  gave  a  presentation  on  “Developing   Your  Tree  Palette,”  basically  planting  the  right  trees  in  the  right  places  and   providing  for  diversity.    Some  trees  mentioned  included  crabapples  (under   powerlines),  Callery  Pear,  Princeton  Elm,  Freeman  Maple,  Gingko,  Common   Hackberry,  Honey  locust,  Kentucky  Coffee  Tree,  Linden,  Pin  Oak  (requires  specific   pH),  single  stem  Service  Berry,  Zelkova  (similar  to  elm  for  Zone  5  only)  and   Japanese  Tree  lilac.     Rick  Harper  from  UMASS  Extension  talked  about  the  Urban  Tree  Risk  Management   Guide  (available  free  from  the  Forest  Service)  in  a  talk  entitled  “Should  It  Stay  or   Should  It  Go.”    Courts  have  determined  that  municipalities  are  responsible  for   identifying  hazard  trees.      Factors  to  consider  when  determining  whether  a  tree   represents  a  significant  risk  or  not  include  whether  or  not  it  is  dead,  has  a  dead   canopy  area,  has  dead  branches,  has  a  canker  which  equals  or  exceeds  40%  of  the   tree  circumference,  has  decayed  wood  inside  (common  in  beech),  has  poor   architecture  (example  40%  lean),  has  cracks  in  trunk,  especially  near  base,  has  root   problems  such  as  girdling  and  whether  or  not  it  has  weak  branch  unions  which  is   the  #1  cause  of  failure.    Rick  supplied  the  following  link:     www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/uf/utrmm      and  his  e-­‐mail  rharper@eco.umass.edu  .           Later  in  the  day  Rick  lead  groups  in  a  practicing  tree  health  evaluations  using  some   of  the  less  than  healthy  trees  right  next  to  the  Red  Schoolhouse.    One  interesting   technique  was  to  knock  on  the  tree  using  a  rubber  mallet  and  listen  for  differences   in  the  wood  in  different  areas  of  the  trunk.