This newsletter is sent electronically via email or fax 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 always find it on-line and archived at www.treelink.org

Submissions to this newsletter are welcome and requested. Items suitable for inclusion are state and national urban forestry information, products or innovations, and notices of regional and national urban forestry events. Please submit a maximum of two paragraphs to Paul Ries by the 20th of the month for inclusion in the following month's edition.

NEXT DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSION: January 20, 2003

Compiled and Edited by:

Paul D. Ries, Oregon Department of Forestry
pries@odf.state.or.us phone 503-945-7391

Phillip D. Rodbell, USDA Forest Service - Northeastern Area
(prodbell@fs.fed.us) phone (610) 557-4133

Pepper Provenzano, TreeLink.org
(pepper@treelink.org)

State Coordinators News

Words for thought

-- Steven Handel, professor of Evolutionary Biology, Rutgers University,
on the emerging interest in urban ecology and his efforts to re-introduce
native plant species to Fresh Kills, America's largest garbage dump.

-The New York Times, 11/23/2002.

-- George W. Bush, Nov 18
on occasion of National Tree Trust planting its 10 millionth tree.

AROUND THE STATES  [back to top]

Asian Beetle May Threaten Wisconsin
Wisconsin is now posting its celebrated newsletter on its Department of Natural Resources website: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/forestry/uf/resources/UFnwsltr.htm The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the following item: White and green ash trees that were picked to fill urban forests in the wake of Dutch elm disease in the 1960s because they were tough enough to withstand road salt and grow in the compacted soil next to city streets have met their match in a small exotic pest, known as the emerald ash borer. The Asian beetle is killing millions of ash trees in Detroit and other southeastern Michigan communities. Millions more could succumb to the beetle's voracious appetite in the next several years. Should that wood-boring beetle make its way to Wisconsin, it will find millions of additional ash to chew on in rural forests and in cities, such as Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, that have been planting ash along streets for many years. "Ash, primarily green and white, is a major component of urban forests in the southern two-thirds of the state," said Richard Rideout, urban forestry coordinator with the state Department of Natural Resources. For more information, contact rideor@dnr.state.wi.us

Ohio Updates Urban Forestry Website
The Ohio DNR website, Ohio Trees, has just been updated and offers information on history, potential problems, cultural requirements and many, many excellent photos of the trees native to Ohio. Ohio Trees is based on a popular brochure printed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources which has been out of print for a number of years. Approximately 60% of all hits to this web site are targeted at this resource. Ohio Trees also links directly to the state based seedling sales, so you can learn about any tree before you buy it. Click on Ohio Trees and it will send you to the index where you can search by common name. There are many great photos for each tree.

See http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/Education/ohiotrees/ohiotreesintro.htm For more information contact drew.todd@dnr.state.oh.us

State Coordinators Share Ideas
A casual get together of state coordinators was held in conjunction with the "Community Forestry at Its Best" conference in Nebraska City on Sept. 26. Coordinators from 17 states participated. Being at the home of Arbor Day, the group focused on Tree City USA standards, including discussion on per capita requirements, tree boards and volunteers, anti-topping and ANSI standards as part of ordinances and management guidelines, and combining Tree City and Growth in one application. Additional discussion highlighted the tree maintenance components and requirements of State grant programs; and program ideas from around the country. For a full report contact Dave Mooter at dmooter@unl.edu

National Coordinators to Meet in Texas
The National Urban Forestry Conference will be held next September in San Antonio and the Texas Forest Service will host the national meeting of State Coordinators on Tuesday, Sept. 16. San Antonio is a major convention town (the 10th largest city in America!). To help us plan, please take a moment and reply to the following three questions:

1. Will you or anyone else from your agency be in attendance?
2. What three issues would you like to see addressed at our meeting?
3. Is there anyone that you would especially like to hear from at this meeting?

ON THE NATIONAL FRONT

Congress Plans to Pass Spending Bills Before End of January  [back to top]

The House approved a Continuing Resolution (H.J. Res 2) that would last until Jan. 31, 2003 and continue to fund most of the government at FY 2002 ("current services") levels. OMB Director Mitch Daniels indicated that the Administration wants to hold the line on spending to the levels included in the House budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 355.

Although there is some support in Congress for the inclusion of funds to reimburse fire borrowing, the House did not address the issue. Absent Senate action to add those funds, the issue is unlikely to be resolved before Jan. 31.

Committees in the 108th Congress  [back to top]

As a result of the change in Senate majority and several retirements, plans are under way for the shifting of committee chairs. The final makeup of committee rosters may not be complete until February (and committees may reorganize their subcommittees in any Congress), but some vacancies are already certain. Here is what we know (and can speculate) so far:

House
--Rep. Jim Hansen (R-UT) is retiring, and will leave vacant the Chair of the House Resources Committee. Several Members have indicated a desire to succeed Hansen.

--Rep. Larry Combest, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, announced that he is resigning effective May 31, 2003, due to family health issues. One possible successor is Rep. Bob Goodlate (R-VA), who will be second in seniority on the Committee. The senior member, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), already chairs the Education Committee, and has endorsed Goodlatte. Goodlatte represents the Shenandoah Valley, which includes forests, poultry interests and dairy farms. He currently chairs the forestry subcommittee.

--The retirement of Rep. Joe Skeen (R-NM) has left the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee's Interior Subcommittee vacant. The next senior Republicans on the panel are Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH), the former Interior Subcommittee chairman who now chairs the Labor Subcommittee, Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), who currently chairs the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC), who currently chairs the Legislative Appropriations Subcommittee, and Rep. George Nethercutt (R-WA). Adding to the uncertainty on this position, House majority leaders are reportedly considering changes in the rules on the selection process for appropriations subcommittee chairs.

Senate
--Sen. Frank Murkowski, currently the senior Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, was elected Governor of Alaska. News reports indicate that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) will move from the senior slot on the Budget Committee to chair the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK) will chair the Budget Committee.

--Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has been appointed chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. The senior Republican and potential successor is Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS). Sen. Cochran is also the senior Republican on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.

GRANTS $$$$  [back to top]

Ford Foundation Community Forestry Research Scholarships
Deadline: Feb 3, 2003.
Eligible applicants (1) are planning to conduct field work which will Actively engage local community members, (2) are (or want to be) graduate students, and (3) need a stipend to conduct research. Check out this website for more information: http://nature.berkeley.edu/community_forestry/

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Active Living By Design Grants
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2003
Provides up to $200,000 over five years to support local active living partnerships and planning activities. See www.activelivingbydesign.org

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Active Living Policy and Environmental Studies (ALPES)
Deadline: Jan. 17
ALPES will provide funding to stimulate and support research that will identify environmental factors and policies that influence physical activity. Findings are expected to inform environmental and policy changes that will promote active living among Americans. Program will provide $150,000 to $600,000 for up to 3 years; or up to $150,000 for up to 2 years. http://alpes.ws

McKnight Foundation
Rolling Deadlines: Jan. 15, April 15
Funds are available to improve the Mississippi River corridor and their surrounding environment. Grants are available for projects located in the following states: MI, WS, IA, IL, MO, KY, TN, AR, LA, MS. The types of projects include controlling runoff, protecting wetlands and other sensitive areas, improving watershed mgmt. policies, riverside greenways, and environmental education. The Foundation encourages applicants to work with federal agencies. Funding levels depend on the scope of the project. Full proposals are invited after foundation officials have reviewed the letters four times a year. For more information contact the McKnight Foundation 612-333-4220 or online http://www.mcknight.org/environment/guidelines.asp.

PUBLICATIONS & WEBSITES  [back to top]

University of Minnesota Library Resources Online

Urban Forestry
http://forestry.lib.umn.edu/bib/urban.phtml

Social Sciences in Forestry
http://forestry.lib.umn.edu/bib/SSiF.phtml

Tropical Forest Conservation & Development
http://forestry.lib.umn.edu/bib/trps.phtml

Trail Planning, Construction and Maintenance
http://forestry.lib.umn.edu/bib/trls.phtml

Model Inventory and Mapping project in Portland, OR
Visit the following site for Inventory and Mapping of Urban Forest Canopy, Land Cover and Natural Areas: http://www.ecotrust.org/programs/metro.pdf

Community Tree Planting Guide
The following URL links to a USDA Forest Service publications in the Northeast. The 10th item on the list is from the Tree Trust in Minnesota -- The Community Tree Planting Guide. It's a wonderful resource for communities. http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/misc.htm. Just scroll down to "Community Tree Planting Guide - Tree Trust"

A Guide to Invasive Control of Buckthorn
Minnesota Tree Trust has put together a guidebook on the private and public steps to control common buckthorn. The buckthorn guidebook is at the following URL - www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/depts/parks/environment/buckthorn/buckthorn_index.htm.

Bare Root Tree Planting Methods
Cornell Urban Horticulture Institute has done a lot of work looking at successful techniques for planting bare root trees. They have method, guidelines, training materials, etc, available online athttp://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/bassuk/uhi/BAREROOT.PDF.

Sprawl City Explained
Created by environmental authors Leon Kolankiewicz and Roy Beck, Sprawl City is a site dedicated to informing and assisting the general public about the issues of sprawl and rural land lost in the United States. With oversight from a variety of academic and practicing planners, the site contains a host of information about the growing rate of sprawl among urbanized and urbanizing areas across the country. Most helpful are a series of studies investigating sprawl in several different states and regions, including California, Florida, Minnesota, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Along with all of their reports and studies, a section of definitions offers a more concrete explanation of how "sprawl" and other terms are technically defined. http://www.sprawlcity.org/index.html

"How we live in Philadelphia"
The following link is a transcript of a segment on PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer that captures the objectives and challenges of Philadelphia's Neighborhood Transformation Program (or any city's program that is trying to rebuild its neighborhoods). It is part of Ray Suarez's "How We Live" series. Read script or view the video online at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec02/hwl_10-2.html.

Release of the State of the Nation's Ecosystems Report
The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment released the State of the Nation's Ecosystems Report. It was prepared in cooperation with many Federal agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations and lays out a blueprint for periodic reporting on the condition and use of ecosystems in the United States. The report is designed to provide policymakers and the general public with a succinct and comprehensive-yet scientifically sound and nonpartisan- view of "how we are doing." The report identifies the major characteristics of ecosystems that should be tracked through time to provide this view, and where possible, provides information on both current conditions and historic trends. The report also highlights key gaps-situations where data do not exist or have not been assembled to support national reporting. Separate chapters report on coasts and oceans, farmlands, forests, fresh waters, grasslands and shrub lands, and urban and suburban areas. These ecosystem-specific indicators are complemented by "core national indicators" that provide a highly aggregated view of overall conditions. The report can be downloaded at http://www.heinzctr.org/ecosystems.

Impact of Landcover Changes on Climate Change
While many scientists and policymakers have focused only on how heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide are altering our global climate, a new NASA-funded study points to the importance of also including human-caused land-use changes as a major factor contributing to climate change. See the complete article at http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020926landcover.html

Publications from The Brookings Institute
Several comprehensive publications from the Brookings Institute Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy should be of interest. They can be accessed at http://www.brookings.edu/urban

Living on the Edge: Decentralization within Cities in the 1990s
Most of the largest central cities grew during the 1990s, but population change at the neighborhood level was more uneven. This report uses 1990 and 2000 population data at the census tract level to analyze the spatial patterns of growth and decline within city borders during the 1990s. The authors find that while 72 of the 100 largest cities grew over the decade, only 55 percent of their neighborhoods did. The bulk of city growth occurred in "outer-ring" neighborhoods near the suburban border, while very little took place in "inner-core" neighborhoods around the downtown. The findings confirm that metropolitan decentralization is occurring even within cities, and that efforts to slow sprawl must be focused on reinvigorating areas of slow growth or decline in the very core of urban areas. Find out more at http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/urban/publications/berubeformanedgeexsum.htm

Smart Growth: The Future of the American Metropolis?
Widespread frustration with sprawling development patterns has precipitated an explosion in innovative "smart-growth" thinking and action across the United States in recent years. This approach contends that neither the current shape nor quality of metropolitan growth in America is sustainable. It also assumes that metropolitan areas could grow in radically different ways if major government policies on land use, infrastructure, and taxation were overhauled. This essay, published by the London School of Economics, reviews the current state of smart-growth and metropolitan thinking in the United States. It outlines the demographic, market, and development trends that are affecting metropolitan areas and the consequences of these trends for central cities, older suburbs, newer communities, and low-income and minority families. It describes how current government policies facilitate the excessive decentralization of people and jobs and how smart-growth reforms are being enacted, particularly at the state level, to shape new, more urban-friendly, growth patterns. It concludes by identifying the major challenges the smart growth cause needs to address if it is going to succeed in shaping sustainable metropolitan communities. See this comprehensive report at: http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/urban/publications/20021104katzlse2.htm

Strategies for Cities with Vacant Property
The Brookings Institution has released a report titled "Seizing City Assets: Ten Steps to Urban Land Reform," which highlights ten actions that urban leaders can take to turn empty and derelict properties into tax-generating assets. This study recognizes that successful urban land reform depends on local government mobilizing resources to respond to the vacant property problem and developing strategies that have a specific city and neighborhood vision. For more information, seee: http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/urban/publications/brophyveyvacantstepsexsum.htm

More News From Space
NASA Sprawl Images that live and breathe: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/11oct_sprawl.htm?list783672

Pennsylvania Growing Smart
Pennsylvania now has a Growing Smarter Program and Related Executive Order. Go to www.landuseinpa.com

Seeking Environmental Consultants
Search LGEAN's Consultants Directory to identify and contact consultants who perform work in the environmental and geographical area in which they are interested. For more information, visit: http://www.lgean.org/html/consult/

Pinchot Institute for Conservation Farm Bill Forum
The Pinchot Institute for Conservation hosted the "Farm Bill 2002 Forum: Review and Discussion of Forestry Opportunities," on Aug. 8,. The objectives of the forum were to highlight the forestry related provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill and the potential agency strategies for implementing them, as well as to provide opportunities for public input to agencies. The Farm Bill Forum Report is now up on the Pinchot Institute for Conservation website at: http://www.pinchot.org/pic/farmbill/forum.html

Prescribed Burning in Chicago
The CW burn communication project group conducted research to learn about public attitudes toward and understanding of controlled burns. The group then developed a variety of sample burn communication tools using research-based language that appeals to people's values. The research reports and communication tools are now available on the member Web site at: http://www.chicagowilderness.org/members/resources/burn/

Resources Available on ConserveOnline
ConserveOnline has expanded its existing library of documents on conservation science and practice to include discussion groups, maps and spatial data, and access to large repositories of conservation information housed at many organizations including Conservation International and NatureServe. ConserveOnline is a public library, created and maintained by The Nature Conservancy in partnership with NatureServe, The Society for Conservation Biology, US Forest Service, and the American Museum of Natural History. The library makes conservation tools, techniques, and experience available to a broad community of conservation practitioners. For more information, visit: www.conserveonline.org.

Protecting Riparian Corridors
Below is a link to an exceptional guide for establishing and maintaining riparian forest corridors. http://www.chesapeakebay.net/pubs/subcommittee/nsc/forest/handbook.htm

Porous Pavement Products
Below is product information and unique application and benefits of using products that allow for water infiltration.
http://www.gcpa.org/pervious_concrete_pavement.htm
http://www.djc.com/special/concrete00/special2.html

Hazard Tree Website
Based on recent feedback, the Northeast Center for U&CF has updated the Hazard Tree pages of our website. The page provides links to a few resources, including the Forest Service Hazard Tree website and provides a useful sample Hazard Assessment protocol for municipal, recreation and transportation settings. See http://www.umass.edu/urbantree/hazard/index.shtml.

Storm Damage Assessment
The "Storm Damage Assessment Protocol for Urban Areas", developed by the Northeast Center for U&CF in cooperation with Davey Resource Group, is currently available on the Northeast Center for U&CF website. Additionally, the complete Tree Emergency Manual for Public Officials can also be found at the site. The materials can be accessed under at the following address http://www.umass.edu/urbantree/assesindexpage.shtml .

Brownfields-to-Greenspace Redevelopment Efforts Profiled in New Report
ICMA has released a new report on greenspaces called "Growing Greener: Revitalizing Brownfields into Greenspace." The report provides information about different types of greenspaces, examples of successful projects from a variety of communities, and strategies for creative financing, leveraging resources, and open and active communications to address community issues. For more information, see: http://www.lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=506

The 2002 Winter Olympic Edition of the Natural Inquirer now available in Spanish!
This edition presents published Forest Service research from the Rocky Mountain Research Station to middle school science students and teachers. Topics include ecological restoration, mountain pine beetles, Flammulated owl behavior, riparian wildlife habitat, and more! The Spanish edition is available at no charge. Visit www.naturalinquirer.usda.gov for more information and to order, or email Babs McDonald at bmcdonald@fs.fed.us.

CONFERENCE CALENDAR  [back to top]

Announcing Tools and Techniques to Manage the Urban Forest
March 13, 14, 2003, Center for Urban Horticulture, Seattle, WA

This 2-day urban forestry symposium brings together land and resource managers, horticulturists, landscape architects, planners, urban foresters, researchers, elected officials and community activists to review how urban forestry, environmental horticulture, and social sciences create strategies to manage natural resources in the urban environment.

Featured speakers include: