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September, 2000 Vol.5 No.9 ARCHIVE This newsletter is sent
electronically (via email or fax) around the first of each month to state urban
forestry program coordinators and Forest Service urban forestry staff. Please print or copy this newsletter and
distribute it to volunteer
coordinators, state council chairs, and other interested individuals within
your state. You can also find it
on-line at www.treelink.org Submissions to this newsletter are
welcomed, and in fact, requested. Items
suitable for inclusion are regional and national urban forestry information,
state events, products, or innovations that can be replicated by other states,
personnel notes, and notices of regional and national urban forestry
events. Please submit a maximum of two
paragraphs by the 28th of the month for inclusion in the following month's
edition. NEXT DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSION:
September 28, 2000 Compiled and Edited by: Paula Rosenthal,
Montana Dept. of Natural Resources (prosenthal@state.mt.us)
phone 406/542-4284 Phillip D. Rodbell, USDA Forest
Service - Northeastern Area (prodbell@fs.fed.us) phone (610) 975-4133 Special thanks in this edition to
Anne Cumming, USDA Forest Service *************************************************** Kevin LeClair
Details to Cooperative Forestry
9/5 -- Kevin LeClair, Urban
Forestry Coordinator for the State of Washington, started a detail today for
the month of September at the USDA Forest Service Washington DC Office. Kevin will be assisting the Urban and
Community Forestry Program staff with 2001 field allocations, performance
measures, and other related tasks. Kevin can be reached kevin.leclair@wadnr.gov or (202)
205-1389. Action on the 2002
Farm Bill
The 1990 and 1996 Farm
Bills affected Forest Service programs across the country, and amended existing
legislation to authorize the current Urban and Community Forestry Program. The agency anticipates the 2002 Farm Bill
will do the same through new programs and/or new authorities, or revisions to
existing authorities. The Forest
Service has begun preparation by forming an inter-deputy team to identify issues
and facilitate the development of legislative proposals that the agency can put
forward for inclusion in the Bill. Mit
Parsons, Staff Assistant, State and Private Forestry, has been
assigned to lead the team. Core members
will represent the Programs and Legislation, State and Private Forestry,
National Forest System, and Research and Development Deputy Areas with
assistance from Business Operations and the Chief Financial Officer. The team will work to develop legislative
proposals and provide focus and direction for Forest Service personnel and
partners to participate more effectively in the development of policy proposals
that will address the interests of the agency and its stakeholders. It is expected that final
draft proposals will be submitted by October 2000. Any questions, please contact Mit Parsons at (303) 275-5737,
Walter Dunn, Cooperative Forestry, at (202) 205-1380, or Steve Hart,
Legislative Affairs, at (202) 205-0844 CARA Hopes and
Dreams
If all goes
well, CARA will be voted on in the Senate when Congress reconvenes this
month. Advocates for CARA estimate
support from 60 to 70 or more Senators is needed to prevent a filibuster of the
bill. As you know, the US Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee met in July and voted to pass the Conservation
and Reinvestment Act (CARA) compromise bill created by Senator Frank Murkowski,
Chair (R-AK) and Senator Jeff Bingaman, Ranking Member (D-NM). CARA fully
funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), at its $900 million authorized
level, half of which goes to states and local communities. Since its creation
in 1965, LWCF has been responsible for the acquisition of nearly seven million
acres of protected land and open space, and the development of more than 37,000
state and local parks and recreation areas. CARA also fully funds the Urban
Park and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR), utilizing matching grants for
recreation projects in economically distressed areas. This compromise Bill includes $50 million per year for the USDA
Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program. If it passes
the full Senate the next action would be a House/Senate Conference Committee to
work out the differences. Conferees
will be the members of the House Committee on Resources and Senate Committee on
Energy and Environment. Given the scope
and complexity of the bill, conferees may be assigned to those portions of the
bill that fall within the jurisdiction of their respective subcommittees. In May, the
House of Representatives overwhelming passed a similar bipartisan proposal, 315
to 102, with a majority of both parties supporting the bill. For more
information contact: Tom Gilbert, Appalachian Mountain Club, tgilbert@igc.org Or http://www.outdoors.org/Conservation/caraoverview.html Strategic Growth
in the Forest service
The
federal government has reduced by about 340,000 employees in the past
decade. The Forest Service has done its
share and is nearly 10,000 employees smaller.
The agency absorbed these reductions primarily through attrition tools
such as early retirement and buyout authority.
What’s different today is that over the next five years about 40 percent
of its workforce, generally the agency’s most experienced and seasoned
employees, will be eligible for retirement.
This anticipated loss of knowledge and know-how is of great concern. The Forest
Service has developed a succession plan to bring in new people, new skills, and
new talent. The plan’s objectives include hiring approximately 1,500 new
employees each year. This will include
entry, journey and mid-management levels of which the majority will be entry
level and located in the field. We will
be working with colleges and other partners to recruit top-notch candidates;
better utilizing the agencies temporary, student, and intern candidate pools
towards permanent hiring; and improving orientation, mentoring and career
management for all employees. Asian Longhorned
Beetle Busters
The Forest
Service is preparing to reprint the ALB business card-size ID cards and Wanted
posters. If anyone is interested in
getting either of these items personalized for their state, please let us know
right away. It is much cheaper to print
a large order all at the same time. The
minimum order is around 10,000 for each item.
For more information, contact Margaret Skinner, email: mskinner@zoo.uvm.edu NE PENNSYLVANIA
URBAN FORESTRY PROJECT NAMED WINNER OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
The national environmental nonprofit Renew America has
announced that the USDA Forest Service’s Northeastern Pennsylvania Urban
Forestry Project has been selected for a National Award for Environmental
Sustainability in the “Lands” category.
The prestigious awards were given by Renew America to 16 programs
throughout the nation. The National Awards for Environmental Sustainability honor verified
examples of companies, communities and individuals that are leading the change
to sustainability through their programs.
Award winners were selected from a pool of nearly 200 programs that have
been recognized by Renew America and the National Awards Council for
Environmental Sustainability, a coalition of 60 leading businesses and
environmental and community groups.
“These awards winners represent some of “best of the best” of this
country’s environmental programs. They
are shining examples of how citizens across America can support our nation’s
environmental and economic goals every day,” said Anna Slafer, Executive
Director of Renew America. http://solstice.crest.org/sustainable/renew_america/applicant2.htm University of
Maryland Urban Forestry Program
Drs. Richard Weismiller and Christopher Walsh recently
announced that the University of Maryland Senate and the Maryland Higher
Education Commission approved a new curriculum in Urban Forestry at the
University of Maryland in College Park.
The program will be associated with the Department of Natural Resource
Sciences and Landscape Architecture and will be officially launched in the fall
of 2000. Jim Mallow, MD State Forester
chaired the Urban Forestry Steering Committee.
The Committee consisted of members from private industry, MD DNR Forest
Service, other public foresters and faculty of the University of Maryland. For more information, contact Mike Galvin, mgalvin@dnr.state.md.us. Norm Lacasse Wins
Prestigious Jefferson Award
On June 14th,
retired Pennsylvania forester Norman Lacasse was honored at the National Press
Club in Washington, DC. Senator Rick
Santorum of Pennsylvania presented the Jefferson Award to Dr. Lacasse, a
special medallion minted by the Franklin Mint in Philadelphia. Norm won the award for his community service
to the Capital Area Greenbelt Association and his work with minority youths in
the Harrisburg area. Dr. Lacasse was in
good company. Five national awards were given, including one to former Senator
John Glenn. Dr. Lacasse has worked a number of years with State and Private
Forestry in areas of urban and community forestry, rural development, and
forest steward. The Jefferson Award was
started by the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the late Senator Taft of
Ohio, to honor those special people involved in community service. Norm’s address is 2415 Patton Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112. Tour des Trees
2000 Bike Ride for Tree Research
The International Society
of Arboriculture (ISA) Research Trust just completed their annual fundraising
event. Tour des Trees publicizes the importance of urban trees and the need for
research and education. Since 1992, Tour des Trees has raised over $1.1 million
dollars. This year’s event raised over $300,000 – a fitting celebration of ISA
Research Trust’s 25th Anniversary. Beginning in Williamsburg, VA on
July 30, the bicyclists rode over 500 miles through the Mid-Atlantic Region to
Baltimore, MD for the ISA Conference August 6-9. Millennium Green was a partner
in the events, and representatives made presentations at several events during
the ride. http://www.tourdestrees.org/ Urban Forestry
Goes Global
On August 7, Greg
McPherson, PhD at the Western Center for Urban Forest Research in Davis, CA,
and Andy Lipkis of TreePeople in Los Angeles, CA gave a presentation on “Urban
Forestry: A Tool For Improving Lives Worldwide”. The presentation was
hosted by the Forest Service International Programs Seminar Series in Washington,
D.C. The presentation described ways that urban forestry can address important
environmental and social issues associated with urbanization. It identified
some of the ecological, economic, and political constraints to urban forestry
that must be overcome before the benefits of urban forestry programs can be
fully realized. For more information, contact Greg McPhearson at egmcpherson@ucdavis.edu
or Andy Lipkis at alipkis@treepeople.org WHAT’S GOING ON IN
YUMA
On October 28, 2000, the first phase of the 110 acre West
Wetlands Development in Yuma, Arizona begins with a public tree planting where
volunteers from all over the State will plant 300 15-gallon trees and establish
Arizona’s first millennium tree grove.
When the development is finished, over 240,000 trees will be
planted. This revegetation project will
restore an old landfill and plant native trees that were growing along the
Colorado River during pre-Western settlement times. The project will have mesquite and palo verde trees along the
upper terrace, cottonwoods and willows along the River, a bird watching area
and a hummingbird garden. The Arizona Community Tree Council, the largest tree
activist group in Arizona, with representatives across the state have also
volunteered their services to help spearhead this tree planting movement. For more information, contact Louise Wakem,
602-542-6191. Environmental
Leadership Program Fellowship Announcement
Application
deadline: October 2, 2000 ELP is a
non-profit organization dedicated to training and supporting a new generation
of environmental leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds, disciplines, and
sectors. Through the three-year ELP
Fellowship, ELP provides training, mentoring, funding for innovative projects,
and technical support to 30 emerging environmental leaders per year. The ELP
Fellowship is an innovative national program designed to build the leadership
capacity of the environmental movement’s most promising emerging
professionals. The three-year ELP
Fellowship offers unique networking opportunities, intensive leadership and
skills training, mentoring, project seed money and technical assistance. Fellows receive a $2,000 participation
stipend, travel and accommodations for four training retreats, access to
funding for capacity-building leadership activities, and national recognition
through the program. ELP provides
participants with the tools, support, and experience to spark public dialogue
about environmental issues and energize their home institutions and
communities. For more information and application see website at: http://www.elpnet.org/ Websites
Millennium
Green Kids Online There is now a link from
the national Cooperative Forestry website to the Millennium Green Kids website.
This just-for-kids website describes Millennium Green, a project of the White
House Millennium Council that asks all of us to protect and care for the
natural wonders and treasures of the Earth. This website provides a way to
register school and group projects. Kids can also find out about the National
Arbor Day Foundation, America the Beautiful Fund, Woodsy Owl, and more. To
visit the Millennium Green Kids website, start at the Cooperative Forestry
homepage at http://www.fs.fed.us/cooperativeforestry/,then
click on “Just for Kids”. You can also get there from the main Urban and
Community Forestry national homepage at http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/ucf_general.htm,
and then click on “Websites Related to Urban and Community Forestry Smart
Growth Activity Update 2000 - from the Southern Urban Forestry Technical Service
Center. The next Urban Forestry Udate
is now available on-line at http://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/pubs/updates/index.htm This is the
first of our newsletters that we have developed electronically for
distribution on the web. Please come
and take a look, and see what different activities ar going on throughout the
Southern Region. Green Infrastructure on the
Web: http://greeninfrastructure.net 1999 Forest Health Update
The
publication "America's Forests: 1999 Health Update" is now available
on-line. The publication is prepared by the Forest Service, Forest Health
Protection Staff and it provides a summary of forest ecosystem health issues in
America's forests. This publication has
been placed under two locations: 1) What's New http://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/new.htm land 2) Publications
(http://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/fh_update/index.htm). The brochure is still in the printing phase
and will not be available for several weeks.
If you have any comments about the Update web site, please direct them
to Ellita Harrington @ (202) 205-1107.
Texas
on-line
Check out a new
website established regional urban forestry council in Texas http://www.trinityblacklands.org/ Runoff
Rundown!
The
Center for Watershed Protection is a cherished source of information on
watershed issues related to urban development.
The organization produces "Watershed Protection Techniques"
Quarterly and the Center has put out such publications as “Site Planning for
Urban Stream Protection". If
interested in urban watershed issues, get on the mail list for this news update
and visit their website at http://www.cwp.org./ A summary of
the Philadelphia’s evolving Neighborhood Transformation Initiative can
be viewed in the latest issue of PACDC News.
Read it online at their website:
http://www.pacdc.org/ CF Website
Has New Address There is now a more
descriptive address that is easier to remember when you want to visit the
national Cooperative Forestry website to get information to help you care for
private forests and sustain the communities where you live, work, and play. Go
to the new URL at http://www.fs.fed.us/cooperativeforestry/ Want to know about the latest on sprawl: http://www.sprawlwatch.org/ Conferences
Introductory
Green Infrastructure Course, March 26, 2001 at the National Conservation
Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. Through lecture, case studies, and class
exercises, this new 3 ½ day course provides practical “why” and “how-to” advice
on the planning and design of innovative interconnected green space systems and
on integrating green infrastructure into day-to-day land use decisions and
practices at the state, regional, and local scale. The course emphasizes that
green infrastructure – a strategically planned and locally managed,
interconnected network of green spaces that includes wilderness, wetlands,
public and private conservation areas, working lands, and other protected open
spaces such as greenways and parks – provides the ecological framework for a
sustainable future. The intended audiences are local and regional government
officials and agency staff, private citizens, developers and investors, staff
and volunteers from non-governmental organizations, and other community
partners, who want to learn how to integrate green infrastructure into local
and regional plans and community decisions. Contact: Peggy Harwood at pharwood@fs.fed.us or (202) 205-0877 September
2000 9-12 Grassroots Summit, “Building our
Urban and Community Forests: Greening the Next Millennium”, Nebraska City,
NE. Contact Kathy Sevebeck, Summit
Chair, 540/231-2411 18-20 Fragmentation
2000: A Conference on Sustaining Private Forests in the 21st Century 25-27 Fire Wise Communities Workshop, Northland
Inn, Brooklyn Park, MN. For more
information contact: http:// www.firewise.org/communities 26-27 Trees, People and the Law, National
Conference. Lied Conference Center,
Nebraska City, NE. Contact the National
Arbor Day Foundation at 420/474-5655 conferences@arborday.org. 28-30 Community Forestry at its Best, Tree
City USA National Conference. Lied
Conference Center, Nebraska City, NE.
Contact the National Arbor Day Foundation at 420/474-5655 http://www.arborday.org/programs/cfabNatlConfBrochure.html. October
2000
1-3
Greenways and Blueways Conference, Virginia
Beach, VA. http://www.state.va.us/~dcr/prr/trailcnf2.htm
1-4 Society of Municipal Arborists
Conference, Lansing, MI. Co-sponsored
by Michigan Forestry and Parks Association.
For more information, see: http://forestry.msu.edu/mfpa/index.htm 11-13 Brownfields
2000 Research & Regionalism: Revitalizing the American Community, Atlantic
City Convention Center. Brownfields
2000 will feature national and international research efforts as well as
regional strategies to help revitalize communities. Registration is FREE but space is limited so organizers request
that conference attendees register in advance.
Meals can be purchased.
Registration from and other information is online at www.brownfields2000.org
or call 1-877-343-5374. 17 Building with Trees Seminar,
Charlotte, NC. Sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with The
National Association of Home Builders.
Phone 402-474-5655. conferences@arborday.org. 18 Building with Trees Seminar,
Chicago, IL. Sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with The
National Association of Home Builders.
Phone 402-474-5655. conferences@arborday.org. 18-19 Ninth Annual Community Forestry Conference,
State College, PA. For more information
contact Bill Elmendorf at 814/863-7941 18-20 Firewise Communities Workshop, Emory
Conference Center, Atlanta, GA. For
more information, contact: http://www.firewise.org/communities 19 Northwest Ohio Urban Forestry
Conference, Bluffton College, Bluffton, OH.
Contact Stephanie Miller at 419/424-5004 19-20 Pennsylvania Community Forestry
Conference, State College, PA. “Healthy
Growth of Trees and Communities.” http://4trees.cas.psu.edu/index.html
20-22 Tree Expo
New Jersey Shade Tree Federation annual meeting. Contact Bill Porter at
732/246-3210 24 Hazard
Tree Policy Development Workshop, Cleveland (Kirtland, OH). Offered by Natural
Path Forestry Consultants, Inc. For info call: 800/387-1242 or e-mail natpath@naturalpath.com 25 Hazard
Tree Policy Development Workshop, Detroit Metro-Area. Offered by Natural Path Forestry Consultants, Inc. For info call:
800/387-1242 or e-mail natpath@naturalpath.com 26 Northern
Virgina Plant Helath Care for Urban Trees, Front Royal. Contact www.fw.vt.edu/vufc
26 Hazard
Tree Policy Development Workshop, Philadelphia, PA. Offered by Natural Path
Forestry Consultants, Inc. For info call: 800/387-1242 or e-mail natpath@naturalpath.com 26-27 Baltimore
Ecosystem Studies Annual Meeting, Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles
Street, Baltimore, MD. For more
information, contact Chris Steele at 410/396-0730 27-31 American
Society of Landscape Architects Annual Meeting and EXPO; St. Louis, MO. http://www.asla.org/
28-Nov. 3 National Rural Community
Assistance Partnership Conference, Stoweflake Resort, Stowe, VT. Beyond Boundaries: Grassroots to Global. Exploring the Northern Forest, Rural
America, and the World. For
information contact Roxane Palone at 304/285-1531 31 Hazard
Tree Policy Development Workshop, Rockville, MD. Offered by Natural Path
Forestry Consultants, Inc. For info
call: 800/387-1242 or e-mail natpath@naturalpath.com November
2000 10-11 “Ecological
Cities” conference at Boston College Law School in Newton, MA. Hosted by The Watershed Institute and
Environmental Studies, community leaders and specialists in the fields of
ecosystem management, urban environments, and urban redevelopment will discuss
best practices/models for urban ecosystem restoration and protection using the
greater Boston area as a template. For
more information visit www.bc.edu/watershed
16-17 Society of
American Foresters National Meeting, Washington, DC February 2001 6-8 Trees and Utilities National Conference,
Arbor Day Farm Lied Conference Center, Nebraska City, NE. Contact the National Arbor Day Foundation at
402/474-5655 March 2001 26
Introductory Green
Infrastructure Course at the National Conservation Training Center in
Shepherdstown, WV. Contact: Peggy Harwood at pharwood@fs.fed.us
or (202) 205-0877 26-28
Building with Trees National Conference, Arbor Day Farm/Lied
Conference Center, Nebraska City, NE.
Contact the National Arbor Day Foundation at 402/474-5655 May 2001 6-8 "TREE
STRUCTURE & MECHANICS: How Trees Hold Together and Fall Apart." Savannah, GA. CALL FOR PAPERS:
Volunteered paper presentations are now being accepted for this
important meeting. Abstracts due by
October 6, 2001. Mail Abstracts to:
Dr. Kim D. Coder, 4-432 School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens,
GA, USA 30602 September
2001 5-8 National Urban Forestry Conference,
Washington, DC. “Investing Natural
Captial in Urban Places.” Seeking proposals for presentation for concurrent sessions
and workshops. Deadline for submittals: October 15, 2000. For more information and proposal forms,
check our website: http://www.americanforests.org
. Click on Trees, Cities, and Sprawl. Quote: “I wish I had despotic
power, for by no other means can I preserve the noble forest trees that are
still left growing in different parts of the city.” --Thomas Jefferson |