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| WEDNESDAY'S MOLTEN DAWN |
Wednesday, 8:30 AM. 29 degrees F the ferry dock, 27 on the back porch. Wind variable and calm . The sky is mostly clear, the humidity 84%. The barometer is steady for now. Temperatures should remain in the 30's to 40's range through the weekend, with increasing cloudiness and chances of rain showers, after which we may see a cooling trend and snow showers.
A number of Bayfield residents are readers of The Almanac, so I think it appropriate to post the following Tree Board Report. Additionally, it is good urban forestry information for the general reader.
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CITY OF BAYFIELD TREE BOARD
REPORT TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL
JANUARY 17, 2017
INTRODUCTION
The City of Bayfield traditionally makes an annual report to
the Mayor and Council. This will serve
both as a summary report of current conditions and as a recommendation for
future actions and policies.
The citizen Tree
Board is currently low on active members, and the Volunteer City Forester of
some years is retiring from duty, so the present provides a good opportunity
for change and revitalization.
The Tree Board has been hands-on, performing
not only a policy and guidance function but assisting with planting trees and
performing training pruning of young trees and similar activities.
Board members do
not need to be technically trained but must be active, attend meetings
regularly and be motivated by civic duty and a love of trees and the local
environment.
The
Forester should have or be willing to acquire some basic technical forestry skills. There are ample inexpensive opportunities provided
by the Wisconsin DNR and the US Forest Service for training and networking for
the Board and Forester, as well as interested city employees.
CURRENT STATUS OF THE CITY OF BAYFIELD URBAN FOREST
The City of
Bayfield street and park trees are in good shape from a health and diversity
standpoint, and were last professionally evaluated in a report done by Bluestem
Forestry in November, 2011, but a follow up professional report should be done
soon.
In general, the
city has kept up with replacing, pruning and monitoring city owned trees
removed due to disease, accident or age (trees within 30’ of a standard street
center-line) . Our tree population is diverse and beautiful.
Our current tree
planting policy counts on individual homeowners requesting either a shade or
ornamental tree for the boulevard in front of their property. Requests are routinely granted for spring
planting, and trees are seldom planted where they interfere with views or are
otherwise not wanted.
The Tree Board and
Forester monitor for insect, disease and safety problems (including Emerald Ash
Borer) along with directions and requests from the City Public Works
Director.
The Tree Board
plants an Arbor Day Tree and conducts a ceremony and school program
annually. It also maintains a spot on
the city web site.
The Tree Board has
been very successful in obtaining matching grants for tree inventories and
planting, and it is considered a leader in this regard by WDNR and the US Forest
Service.
GOING FORWARD
In addition to
continuing the current activities of the Tree Board, which serve the city well,
we recommend the city consider the following:
· .
Apply for matching grants for an updated Urban
Forestry Plan and Tree Inventory.
·
.Consider appointing a current or future city
employee as Forester. It does not have
to be a full time position, but would require some extra compensation and
training for an interested person. Most
cities, no matter how small, employ a city forester. This would improve computerized record
keeping and ongoing tree maintenance. It
would also ensure optimum coordination with contractors and nurseries.
·
.Bayfield needs to consider the entire city as
its urban forest, including trees on private property. Urban forestry is now
seen as being akin in many ways to traditional forestry. As unlikely as this may seem, it is the way
the state and federal government now look at the urban forest, and that mindset
will be the key to many major grant opportunities.
Bayfield
has few publicly owned ash trees, but the ash population on private property is
unknown, and a voluntary census would start the community thinking about a
public-private urban forest.
· .
Grant funds for city forestry will increasingly
be tied to partnerships with other
cities and communities, as well as with community nonprofit groups such as the
Chamber of Commerce and The Bayfield Regional Conservancy.
Bayfield was lead agency for a major
cooperative tree planting grant several years ago that included Bayfield, Red
Cliff, Washburn and Ashland, and it can be so again.
·
The city ravine conservancy areas function as
originally intended but are an ongoing maintenance and public relations
problem. Citizens complain about their
esthetic appearance and interference with prime lake views; conversely, they
also present a major potential for grant funding.
The
city should take full responsibility for these areas and seek grants and other
funding for a full study that leads to updated ordinances and problem solving
for these neglected resources.
·
.Thinking in the very broadest terms, it might be
wise to investigate the establishment of a non-profit entity for the long range
funding of the City of Bayfield Urban Forest.
CONCLUSION
The City of
Bayfield Tree Board has functioned well for many years and it has received many
major grants and updated and modernized the city tree ordinances and
inventory. The city street and park tree
population is diverse and healthy. The
Tree Board is now at a junction where its membership needs to be rejuvenated
and the volunteer forester replaced. It
is hoped that both will be done well and quickly.
It recommends that
a city employee be designated, trained and compensated as the Forester.
It is time to
think about city trees in broader terms than in the past.
Properly staffed
and led, the City of Bayfield Urban Forestry program should be on track to
sustain itself through grant funding and other non-tax revenue.
Art Ode, Volunteer City Forester
