( QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER: SPRING 2001 )

SOUTHWEST OHIO URBAN FORESTRY COLLABORATIVE

Southwest Ohio Urban Forestry Collaborative

http://www.springdale.org/forest/forest.htm

MISSION STATEMENT: Establish a communication forum that would provide municipalities, shade tree commissions, park boards, state forestry agencies and utilities, all the latest information concerning urban forestry.

Conference Recap

Board Members:

Jennifer Gulick

Davey Resource Group

962 Summit Avenue

Cincinnati, Ohio 45246

513-772.3159 office

513-772-1297 fax

jgulick@davey.com

Alan Bunker

ODNR-Division of Forestry

777 Columbus Ave., 5A

Lebanon, Ohio 45036

513-932-6836 office

513-932-6144 fax

alan.bunker@dnr.state.oh.us

David Butsch

City of Springdale Ohio

335 Northland Blvd.

Springdale, Ohio

513-771-7305

513-771-4771

inspector@eos.net

Joe Boggs

Ohio State University Extension

11100 Winton Rd.

Cincinnati, Ohio 45218-1199

513-825-6000, ext-14 office

513-825-6276 fax

jboggs@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu

Ray Bengel

CG&E (Cinergy) Vegetation Mgt.

7200 Industrial Road

Florence, Kentucky 41042

513-287-5472 office

513-287-5434 fax

rbengel@cinergy.com

Bob Vuotto

District Manager, Davey Tree Co.

6065 Guinea Pike

Milford, Ohio 45150-2219

513-575-1733

Judging from the evaluations, the fall 2000 Southwest Ohio Urban Forestry Collaborative conference at the Hartwell Recreation Center was a success. The Anatomy of An Urban Forestry Program took an in-depth look into the elements that make up a comprehensive community forestry program. The fast-paced program was presented in a panel style that was favored by the attendees. The panelists, representing small, medium and large communities, provided information and insights into the elements that made their programs run. Also described were the challenges to their programs and how they were overcome. Valuable supportive handout materials were available. The registrations revealed that the attendees represented the greatest number of communities since the conferences were held.

Thanks to all of you who attended. Your participation through questions and statements helped to make it a worthwhile program. A special thanks goes to

Davey Tree and Cinergy for the contributions of the door prizes. Plans are being made for this year's program. The date has been set for Friday, October 12, 2001. Please mark your calendars.

Three communities in our area received the first of the Governor Taft's Bicentennial Tree Planting Grant. They are Cincinnati, Glendale and Springboro. They have until the end of 2001 to complete their tree planting projects. Communities that have been awarded these grants are ineligible to apply for grants the following year. A new round of these matching-grants will be announced in spring 2001 through a letter to each Ohio mayor and through articles in Ohio newspapers. Refer to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry website for the announcement and other useful information. Be sure to contact your mayor's office and tell him or her to be on the lookout for the announcement this spring. Grant applications will be available from the ODNR through a request from your mayor's office. Specific questions about the grants should be directed to Drew Todd, ODNR, Division of Forestry, 614-265-6707.

WE MADE IT! 2000 TREES IN 2000!

At the beginning of 2000, the Fairfield Forest Commission set a goal for the year of having 2000 trees planted in Fairfield during the year. As the planting season wound down, officials took a tally and discovered that they had attained their goal, in fact, had exceeded it by 800 trees. That did not even count the additional trees planted by private homeowners. Although the trees may not have much of an immediate impact, the benefits will be quite evident in 20 to 30 years. Remember: the best time to plant a tree was 50 years ago. The next best time to plant trees is now!

(IF YOU HAVE A NEWSWORTHY ITEM, SEND IT ALONG TO ANY OF THE BOARD

MEMBERS. WE WOULD LIKE TO PUT IT IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER!)

"MARK YOUR CALENDARS"

Ohio Tree Care

Conference & Trade Show

February 11-14, 2001

Columbus Marriott North

New Internet Resources

We're always on the lookout for new and interesting websites to help you stay informed about urban forestry issues. Here's a few that you should check out next time you're surfing:

www.urbanforestysouth.org _ Don't be fooled by the name, this site is from the USDA Forest Service and has lots of good information about urban forestry that we can use in our region. Check out their sections on Publications & Resources for technical articles on salt tolerance of trees and how to build sidewalks around trees. The Tree Ordinance section has examples of all kinds of tree and landscape ordinances to help you create or improve your existing ordinance. They even have an Urban Forestry Manual under construction, but several of the chapters are complete and have great stuff in them.

www.treelink.org _ We've clued you into this site before, but if you're not a regular visitor, check out the new things they have available. Take advantage of their Free Stuff links to get interesting and fun screen savers, nature-related desktop icons, and other computer tools. Of course, the technical information available on this site is always good.

2001 Southwest Ohio

Urban Forestry

Conference

Poster Session

We learn so much by sharing. This year at the conference we want to give you the opportunity to share the success and growth of your urban forestry program with others. It will also be a good opportunity to show off too!

We invite you to participate in our first Poster Session at our October 12th conference. Bring

a small tabletop or wall display of what your program is all about and what you've accomplished. You can make a collage of your tree planting or maintenance projects, display your latest ordinance, show off your Tree City USA awards, or create a poster highlighting an urban forestry special event, like Arbor Day.

It does not have to be fancy, it just has to be about what you and your community is most proud of regarding your program. We've got plenty of room, so get thinking about it now

and help us share the wealth of knowledge and experience we have right here at home.

WE WANT FEEDBACK !!

If your community has something special going on this year pertaining to urban forestry, and would like it to appear in the next newsletter, please send that information to one of us.

If you think someone else in your community should be receiving this newsletter, please pass it along to them and have them send us their address for our mailing list.

WORLD WIDE WEB

and

URBAN FORESTRY

The following are some useful sources of information in the area of Urban Forestry.

http://shade-trees.tripod.com - Online photos of street trees

http://www.treelink.org - Urban and community forestry networking site

www.planthealthcare.com - Information on products to increase urban tree vitality and longevity

Southwest Ohio Urban Forestry Collaborative

http://www.springdale.org/forest/forest.htm

ODNR Division of Forestry

http://hortwww-2.ag.ohio-state.edu/ODNR/ Forestry.htm

Ohio State University Forestry Resources Page http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~natres/ link2.html

A Guide to Natural Target Pruning,

by Alex Shigo

http://www.teleport.com/~pnwisa/shigo

.html

American Forests

http://www.amfor.org/

Cincinnati Park Board

http://www.cinci-parks.org/forestry/

Tree &

Shrub Care

Grass tells us when it's in trouble. But trees and shrubs often suffer in silence. So make regular inspection a habit, and act at the first sign of trouble.

Leaf color is the most noticeable indicator. Warning signs also include dead branches, rot, discolored bark, fungus growths, abnormal bud appearance and leaf size, heavy shedding of twigs, oozing sap and general decline that may be due to disease, insects, girdling roots, or inadequate nutrients and water. Trust your instincts_if something looks wrong, you may have a problem.

Many aspects of tree and shrub maintenance_mulching, fertilization, cabling, removal_can be handled during any season. But weather conditions, insect life cycles, plant growth cycles and climate make certain seasons better than others for activities including pruning, spraying and planting of trees or shrubs.

Ohio Tree Care Conference

Plan on attending one or all of the educational and training days at the Ohio Chapter, ISA 2001 Ohio Tree Care Conference and Trade Show. It will be held on February

11-14 at the Columbus Marriott North in Columbus.

Sunday is the Arborist Certification Workshop and Field Worker Training Program. Monday brings the opening of the Trade Show, Educational Sessions, and the Arborist Certification test. The educational sessions continue on Tuesday. Beside the knowledge that you'll gain, Continuing Education Units for Certified Arborists and Pesticide License Recertification credits are available.

For more information and registration, contact the Ohio Chapter at 216-381-1740 or on the website at www.ohiochapterisa.org

Spring is the right time for:

• Troubleshooting inspection.

• Dormant treatment to manage scale insects and mites.

• Foilage treatment for insect and disease control.

• Deep root feeding_esepecially if soil is poor and insect problems exist in your area.

• Cabling weak branch forks and heavy limbs.

• Pruning.

• Planting.

QUESTIONS

Contact any board member listed on the front.