Summer Edition | June 2021

A note from Kristin

Hello and welcome to summer in Oregon! As the weather has improved and the pandemic restrictions have eased, I’ve continued my walks around Salem. I am heartened to see many new and interesting trees planted in under-canopied neighborhoods and parks in this city. Recently I’ve noticed Kentucky coffeetrees, tupelos, elm cultivars, and Chinese fringe trees, along with some young Oregon white oaks and even baldcypress. Like several cities, Salem is diversifying its tree palette and focusing on areas that need trees. One important use of a tree inventory and tree map is to be able to track the health and success of new tree cultivars in your town, and to see how well trees are distributed throughout your city. Speaking of noticing trees, please start noting where you see tree-of-heaven (ToH), Ailanthus altissima, in your city. Many urban tree and park managers already know ToH for the invasive scourge that it is. Not only is this tree invasive, but it is also a host to Spotted Lantern Fly and possibly other invasive insects. Plans are afoot for a widespread eradication effort of this tree but have yet to gel. This is just a heads up to notice this tree and keep track of where it is in your city. For identification and control information, view this Penn State Extension Tree of Heaven fact sheet. This issue of Community Tree Connections focuses on tree inventory and mapping, specifically Oregon TreePlotterTM Inventory (TPI). That said, I want to share with you Metro’s amazing project mapping native white oaks throughout the region. This is not a project using Oregon TPI, but it is still noteworthy and inspirational. Please read Mapping One Oak at a Time by Cory Eldridge. All the best, Kristin Ramstad, Manager ODF Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program Summer rose 2021. Photo by Kristin Ramstad.

Calendar June 22, 2021, 10 a.m., PT Why do some trees transplant better than others? A look at some new research on water uptake (TREE Fund) Register for webinar Every fourth Tuesday, June – Dec., 2:30-3:30 p.m., PT Oregon TPI Zoom meetings (See article below.) Registration deadline: July 15, 2021 Municipal Forestry Institute – an urban forestry leadership course (Society of Municipal Arborists)  Bowling Green, Ohio Sept. 26 - Oct. 1, 2021 Website July 27, 2021, noon CT A three-pronged approach to understanding the defensive mechanisms in Green Ash resistant to EAB (TREE Fund) Register for webinar Grant deadline: July 30, 2021 USDA Agriculture grants (See article below.) Apply for grants Sept. 14 & 15, 2021 ODF & OCT present Oregon Urban & Community Forestry Conference, Water Wise Community Forests: Strategies for our Future (See article below.) Register for conference Noteworthy online Completely Arbortrary Entertaining discussions about trees and other related topics Listen to past podcasts Being resourceful Monthly, Second Wednesdays, 1:00-2:15 p.m. ET Urban Forest Connections Webinar Series (USDA Forest Service) Website TREE Fund webinars Website

Summer focus

Reintroducing Oregon’s TreePlotterTM Inventory

The pandemic restrictions need not get in the way of inventorying your city’s trees! Introduced over a year ago by the Oregon Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program, The Oregon TreePlotterTM  Inventory (TPI), allows communities to inventory their trees easily and quickly. Oregon TPI is specially designed, using TreePlotterTM INVENTORY software developed by PlanIT Geo. It’s not too late to get involved! With Oregon TPI, along with training and guidance by the urban forestry staff, your city can:  - Monitor and plan to manage higher-risk trees - Prepare your urban forest for invasive insects and diseases - Identify the number and size of locations to plant trees in the future - Track the history of work on individual trees - Create walking or driving tours of interesting or heritage trees

Monitor and manage the health of your town’s street trees with Oregon TPI.

Check out Oregon’s TreePlotterTM Inventory landing page We want to welcome everyone interested to the new Oregon TPI landing page. From this page, registered cities and volunteers will be able to add trees to their inventories, view (but not change) the trees in other cities, and find out more about the project, in general… In addition to the landing page, please check out the additional Oregon TPI FAQ document (PDF).

Oregon TPI is free! Access to Oregon TPI is free to communities and urban forestry-aligned groups after completing an information-gathering form about your project. For city tree inventories, at least one city staff person must sign off on the project. For more information on how to get started on using Oregon TPI, contact Kristin. The free Oregon TPI platform through ODF-UCF includes an invasive insect cost calculator, a tree walk application, offline data collection capacity, tree inspection history, and various report, graph, and environmental benefit viewing options. This statewide software will meet the needs of MOST Oregon cities. If, after starting with Oregon TPI your city would like to add on other TreePlotterTM INVENTORY capacities, such as generating work orders or recording professional tree risk assessment data (by arborists with the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)), then creating a contract with PlanIT Geo is recommended. When contracting with PlanIT Geo, TreePlotterTM INVENTORY is a “subscription for service” model based on the number of trees in your city’s inventory. For more information, visit planitgeo.com.

Join the monthly conversation on TPI Tuesdays For anyone interested in learning more about Oregon TPI, the ODF-UCF staff will be hosting monthly Zoom discussions every 4th Tuesday of the month, June – Dec., 2:30-3:30 p.m. Each meeting will focus on a specific TPI topic/use/skill and there will be time for TPI users to share their successes and ask questions. To receive updates and registration links for these meetings, answer question #3 in this newsletter’s Quick poll, “Yes, add me to the Oregon TPI mailing list.” You can also email the ODF-UCF staff.

Does your city already have a tree inventory?

Bronze birch borer exit holes. Oregon TPI can help you plan for and manage invasive insect outbreaks.

If your city’s tree inventory was done using different software than Oregon TPI, it can still share tree data to help ODF-UCF build a statewide tree database! Why build a statewide tree database? A statewide tree database would allow us to monitor our vulnerabilities to invasive insect attacks, such as emerald ash borer and many others that may be on our doorstep; analyze distribution and canopy health in underserved areas of cities; understand urban tree survival and adaptation in different areas of Oregon; and help nurseries develop cultivars better suited for urban conditions. We realize it may take several years to grow the tree database we envision. Your city’s shared data can make the Oregon TPI become

a resource for city planners, decision and policy makers, green industry businesses, and much more . . . Your city’s shared data would include, at a minimum: - Tree botanical name, - Tree condition, - DBH, and - Tree location (street address, latitude and longitude) Other helpful, but not essential, fields to include are land use, data collector information, and maintenance priority. This data would be shared with ODF-UCF as a .CSV file with lat & long coordinates, or as a shape file, and ODF staff will upload it into Oregon TPI. Once this task is complete, your city decision makers will be able to not only view a map of your city’s trees, but also learn the value of the environmental benefits your city’s trees provide. Your city may opt to use Oregon TPI once its tree data is uploaded.

A tree inventory can count towards a Tree City USA Growth Award

In the Oregon Arbor Month Edition of Community Tree Connections Newsletter, we told you about cities earning a Tree City USA (TCUSA) Growth Award for their urban forestry activities. To recap, each TCUSA Growth Award activity is worth from 1 to 10 points. To be eligible to apply for a TCUSA Growth Award, a city must score at least 10 points. Cities recognized as a Tree City USA for one year or longer that are using Oregon TPI or another inventory software are encouraged to consider applying for a TCUSA Growth Award. Need inspiration? Below is a summary of activities worth 5 to 10 points that involve inventorying your trees. For specifics on these and all the TCUSA Growth Award activities, visit the Tree City USA page. Are you wondering if your city’s project meets the requirements of a Growth Award activity? Contact Katie for answers.

. . Top: Tree City USA Growth Award logo. Bottom: Inventoried top 10 tree species.

10 Point Activities B4      Complete a detailed street or park tree inventory that includes GPS locations and planting spaces. C9       Complete for the first time, based on data from the city’s tree inventory, a detailed, multi-year budget and scope of work for the management of trees on public property. 6 Point Activities B6       Complete or update a portion of a detailed tree inventory and enter the data into the city’s management system. B7       Complete a sample-based survey of street trees and include tree DBH, species, and planting spaces. 5 Point Activities B11      Conduct a tree health threat assessment for a significant segment of the urban forest in preparation for an insect or disease outbreak. C10     Establish a management plan for a significant subset of public trees.

Quick poll

We would appreciate you taking a moment to answer three questions for a chance at a free tree tag (see the last edition of Community Tree Connections)! The poll will end on June 30, 2021.

1. Does your city have a tree inventory? Yes Select No Select I don't know Select

1a. If you answered yes to question #1, please tell us when the inventory was done? Inventory will occur in 2021 Select 2015 - 2019 Select 2010 - 2014 Select Before 2010 Select

2. Will you be sharing this newsletter with city staff?” Yes Select No Select

3. Would you like for us to contact you or add you to the Oregon TPI mailing list? Yes, please contact me and add me to the Oregon TPI mailing list Select Yes, please contact me Select Yes, please add me to the Oregon TPI mailing list Select No, thank you, but it is nice that you asked Select

Inventorying the iconic trees of Grants Pass

Ernesto volunteers to inventory trees in his hometown, the City of Grants Pass. By guest writer Tony Mecum, Urban Forester, City of Grants Pass   When most people picture a city’s skyline, high-rise buildings and distant landmarks come to mind. In the City of Grants Pass, trees, hills, and mountains dominate the horizon. It would be impossible to imagine Grants Pass without its iconic tree canopy. From its township beginnings, Grants Pass has been known for its natural resources. Sugar pines grace the landscape, along with Pacific madrones, bigleaf maples, Oregon white oaks, ponderosa pines, incense cedars, and other native trees. As the town grew, an urban forest began to take shape with an influx of non-local species. Elms, red maples, lindens, black locusts, mimosas, and many other “out-of-towners” moved in with the growing population. Today, the urban forest of Grants Pass contains tree species that hail from as far away as the Middle East, perhaps even further. Most residents and visitors have noticed the wide variety of trees across town, yet no one knows the number of different species or the total number of trees. Imagine a city not knowing where its water lines, traffic lights, or public parking spaces are located.

Why would we want to know the number of trees in our town? Why would we care to know the species composition of our urban forest? Knowing the attributes of our green infrastructure allows us to properly manage it for the wellbeing of our residents and guests. Inventorying our trees is the first step to knowing what we have.   In late 2020, the City of Grants Pass worked with the ODF Urban & Community Forestry Assistance Program to begin using Oregon TreePlotterTM Inventory. Next, the City partnered with Josephine County Master Gardeners to voluntarily collect tree data for this first-ever inventory of the city’s public trees. After learning how to use Oregon TPI, the Master Gardeners hit the streets recording data. Word spread about the project and residents volunteered to join the Master Gardeners measuring and identifying trees. After getting accustomed to Oregon TPI, volunteers logged data on over 400 trees.   With spring is in full bloom, the inventory project is coming back to life. In mid-June, the City will host a tree identification workshop for inventory volunteers. This will launch the 2021 revival of the inventory. Additional partnerships will be explored to grow the volunteer base. For example, Grants Pass High School has two courses on environmental studies. Engaging with students will be the next endeavor of the tree inventory.   Tony received a 2021 Oregon Urban & Community Forestry Award. The City of Grants Pass has been a Tree City USA for 33 years and was designated Oregon Tree City of the Year in 2020. You can contact Tony at tmecum@grantspassoregon.gov.

Program post

Save the date! The Annual Urban and Community Forestry Conference is returning VIRTUALLY in September

In 2020, before the pandemic lockdown and subsequent restrictions, plans were well underway for the annual Oregon Urban & Community Forestry Conference to occur at the World Forestry Center in June. As most of you know, we decided to postpone the 2020 conference until 2021. Well, we’re back and registration is open!  The conference will be held virtually on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 14 and the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 15, professionally produced by the Portland-based conferencing company, Social Enterprises. Our theme from 2020 will remain the same, Water Wise Community Forests: Strategies for our Future.

Presentations will focus on several aspects of water and water-use in urban forests – from drought to floods! By registering early, you will be able to take advantage of discounted pricing, and you will receive updates on the conference speakers and sponsorship opportunities. We hope you will join us!

How is your city’s green infrastructure doing? As most of you know, trees are not just beautiful, they play an integral part in keeping our cities livable. The concept of “green infrastructure,” captures the many environmental services, (stormwater and flooding mitigation, pollution reduction, etc.), trees provide, in addition to, or instead of the services provided by “grey infrastructure,” such as concrete catchment and below-surface pipes. The ODF-UCF program helps cities optimize their green infrastructure. Would your city like to learn more about taking steps to incorporate trees to improve water quality, mitigate stormwater, or provide other services? Is your city already taking steps to improve the benefits trees provide?  Please contact us. Green Infrastructure actions include: - Installing and maintaining porous pavement - Mapping the green infrastructure network - Removing invasive species - Assessing water/soil infiltration rates - Creating rain gardens, filtration strips - Improving tree rooting space, such as using suspended pavement or structural soil - Tree planting initiatives - Managing irrigation proactively - Developing retention areas - Writing low impact development manual, standards, or specifications - Providing staff training, using low impact development consultants - River and stream stabilization projects - Green roof/green wall development/planning - Retaining community green space - Other measures leading to positive impacts on stormwater runoff mitigation - Ordinance development/review leading to long-term stormwater runoff mitigation impacts 

USDA Urban Agriculture Grants Is there a Food Forest in your future? Or maybe you imagine encouraging honeybees and other pollinators into your community. Are there under-canopied areas in your city that could do “double-duty” by growing food producing trees (apples, pears, nuts) and providing shade and other urban forest benefits? The RFP for USDA’s Urban Agriculture Grants was released May 24. Total funding available is around $4 million. There are two project types: Planning Projects and Implementation Projects. All proposals are due July 30. Projects may range from $50,000 to $300,000 and do not require match. Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types: - Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) - Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized) - Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education - Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education - A unit of local government - Any school that serves any of the grades, kindergarten through grade 12 See examples of projects funded in the past and access the application, visit USDA's grant announcement page. Applications due July 30, 2021.

Spotlight on best management practices

Topping is still bad for trees “Pruning methods that promote a sound tree structure help trees resist failure, provide clearance, and improve aesthetics, while promoting long life.” – Ed Gilman Driving around many cities in the north Willamette Valley these days it is hard to ignore the number of trees that have been topped – many being subjected to remedial actions in response to trees having been split or broken by February’s extreme ice storm. In addition, other trees have been topped – “hat-racked,” or stubbed off – because of the fear they may fail in future storms. After storms and similar events, it is sometimes unavoidable to top trees because of the need to eliminate imminent risk. In most other circumstances, however, it is in everyone’s best interest to prune trees based on research-based techniques that take advantage of trees’ natural form, growth patterns, and injury responses. Why? Because proper pruning can help a tree fight decay and grow limbs that are strongly attached to the tree, calling upon its internal order to get things done. By contrast, topping a tree throws it into a sort of internal chaos, with poorly attached shoots vying with each other for dominance and becomingly increasingly prone to breaking as their weight increases. The late Cass Turnbull, founder of the Seattle nonprofit, PlantAmnesty, listed five reasons for why not to top trees, “(1) It won’t work (to keep them small); (2) it’s expensive (you have to spend time and/or money to keep them hacked back); (3) it’s ugly (the tree’s natural shape has been deformed); (4) it’s dangerous (because the regrowth is prone to breaking out of the tree when it becomes heavy); and (5) it makes you look bad (because you are reacting out of ignorance or fear). ODF-UCF has excellent pruning resources on its webpage (under tree care after a storm) and we can also send to you/your community our handy "An Oregon Homeowners Guide to Tree Care (PDF)." For the latter, please contact the ODF-UCF program and provide your name, mailing address, phone/email and the number of brochures you are requesting. Please put “Tree Care Brochure” in the subject line. Another great resource is Dr. Edward Gilman’s Pruning Shade Trees in Landscapes webpage. Dr. Gilman is a professor emeritus of Horticulture at the University of Florida. 

Use a bucket for watering trees A long string of sunny spring days are great for people but can leave your trees parched. With the forecast calling for continued dry weather across Oregon, watering urban trees is vital. Trees under three years should get 10-15 gallons a week. Even older trees benefit from a good soaking. Think 20-25 gallons once or twice a month for trees over 3 years.

Oregon Community Trees corner

Oregon Community Trees logo.

How do you run an urban forestry nonprofit during a pandemic?! By keeping quarterly zoom meetings fun and mercifully short, and by keeping your overall mission and goals in mind. Oregon Community Trees, like many organizations, had to adapt to the challenges of the last year. Now, as our lives are getting back to “normal,” so is the work of OCT. As described in the last issue of Community Tree Connections, OCT has kept its awards committee active and recognized several urban forestry leaders for their contributions this past year. Currently, OCT directors are working with Social Enterprises on planning the virtual state U&CF conference (in September, see related article), and will soon be helping to plan the 2022 state urban forestry conference.

Unfortunately, OCT has had to bid farewell to two directors this year. Central Point City Arborist, Mark Brindle, and the Eugene Water and Electric Board’s, Shane Tennison, have chosen to leave the Board due to other demands on their time. We wish them both well, thank them for their service, and hope to see them at future urban forestry conferences! The OCT board and ODF-UCF welcomes Stephen Baker, from the USDA Forest Service, as he starts his detail as the Region 6 and 10 (federal) Urban and Community Forestry program manager. Stephen follows Craig Anderson, who filled this detail from January into early May. At the risk of ending on a sad note, long time OCT directors and former directors mourn the passing of Dr. Joe Poracsky, who served on the OCT board in the late 90s and early 2000s. Joe was a professor at PSU’s Geography Department, and a huge champion of urban forestry, urban ecology, and the urban greenspaces movement. With his graduate students, he designed a simple and effective way to map street trees in cities – without the use of GPS/GIS technology we rely upon today. He and his students also mapped the canopy cover of Portland’s neighborhoods, both showing the inequities of tree canopy distribution through the city and demonstrating the increased tree canopy in underserved areas due to the work of Friends of Trees, Portland’s well-known tree planting nonprofit. Joe also served on and led the Portland Urban Forestry Commission for many years. Joe died on April 8, 2021. Oregon Community Trees is always interested in hearing from people willing to serve on its board. Director terms are for three years. You do not have to be an arborist or city forester to serve on OCT but interested candidates should have professional and personal interests that align with OCT’s urban forestry outreach, education, and advocacy goals. Past directors have included state representatives, landscape architects and urban planners, representatives of other non-profit organizations, utility foresters, Green Industry representatives, and leaders in public health. If you would like to learn more, please email with “OCT board interest” in the subject line.

Focus on Tree City USA

Will your city be applying or reapplying for Tree City USA (TCUSA) status this year? If yes, these five points are good to know as application season nears. 1. The deadline to apply for 2021 TCUSA recognition in Oregon is Wednesday, Dec. 15. The online application portal will open in early September. Within your city’s applications, you will report on how the city met the four TCUSA standards during the 2021 calendar year and describe work planned for 2022. 2. Contact Katie soon if your city will be applying for the first time or is returning to the program after taking a year or more off. The Oregon Department of Forestry administers the TCUSA program for the Arbor Day Foundation in Oregon. Katie wants you to understand the application process and would also like to share tips for submitting a successful application. 3. Be ready to respond to our end-of-year request (December 2021) for your best photo showing your city’s 2021 TCUSA spirit! See your 2020 photo and get to know all of Oregon’s TCUSA cities by visiting our interactive storymap! With your help, we plan to update each city’s page annually with a new photo, quote, and relevant urban forestry data.

Socially distanced volunteers in the City of Milwaukie planting trees. 4. Standard 4 in 2021: Arbor Day Proclamation required; celebration optional. The Arbor Day Foundation realizes cities are still dealing with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. For that reason, they have waived the Standard 4 requirement that cities celebrate Arbor Day, but the mayoral Arbor Day Proclamation remains a requirement. When the pandemic restrictions ease, please consider celebrating Arbor Day in ways that engage your community in appreciating trees. View the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Celebration Toolkit for fun ideas and socially distanced ways to get your community involved with its trees.  5. Has your city celebrated being a TCUSA for more than one year? If so, then it may apply for a 2021 TCUSA Growth Award. This award recognizes a city’s current year, tree-related activities that build upon the four TCUSA standards. To see if your city’s activities can count, print out a list of TCUSA Growth Award eligible activities (PDF) or visit the online interactive list. TCUSA Growth Award applications are due on the same date as TCUSA applications, Dec. 15.

News from ODF

Oregon Board of Forestry appoints acting state forester

SALEM, Ore. – The Board of Forestry voted unanimously to designate Nancy Hirsch as the acting state forester while the board conducts a nationwide open, competitive recruitment for Oregon’s next state forester. Hirsch will step into the interim role, which also serves as the chief executive officer for the Department of Forestry, on June 1. Hirsch served in a number of executive leadership roles at the department before retiring in 2019, including as chief of both the Protection and State Forests divisions and as the deputy state forester. Since her retirement, Hirsch has served as the administrator of the Emergency Fire Cost Committee, which supervises and controls the distribution of funds from the Oregon Forest Land Protection Fund. Read more about the new acting state forester. .

Tests show the sudden oak death strain found near Port Orford has not been seen before in the wild in Oregon

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Tests on tanoak trees found dying of sudden oak death near Port Orford show the particular variant they are infected with has not been seen before in the wild. For more than a decade the NA2 variant of sudden oak death has popped up from California to British Columbia as well as Oregon, but so far only in nursery stock. “The site near Port Orford appears to be the first on the West Coast where the variant has been identified in samples collected from wild trees,” according to Niklaus Grunwald, PhD, with USDA Agricultural Research. He collaborated with Jared LeBoldus, PhD, at Oregon State University’s Forest Pathology Lab in Corvallis to do the DNA testing which identified the variant in samples from the Port Orford tanoak trees. Learn more about the tests on tanoak trees. 

Coos Bay plants a Hiroshima peace tree

Coos Bay is the latest Oregon town to plant a Hiroshima peace tree. The ginkgo - grown from the seed of a tree that survived the atom bombing of Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 - was planted May 22 at Southwest Oregon Community College. A dedication ceremony is expected this fall. This and other seedlings like it were planted around Oregon in 2020 and early 2021 to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and encourage peace. Learn more about the Hiroshima peace trees and where the trees are planted throughout Oregon.  .

Your "Click of Trees" * Your "reward" for reading all the way down a lo-o-o-ng newsletter. Trees are good for human health in one strange, unexpected way. * Credit to OPB's online newsletter and "Click of Zen" feature.

Quick links TPI landing page Oregon Community Trees Oregon Heritage Trees PNW ISA Arbor Day Foundation

Contact us Kristin Ramstad  Urban & Community Forestry Program Manager 503-945-7390 Email Katie Lompa Community Assistance Forester 541-480-3790 Email

ODF's Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program is celebrating 30 years of service in 2021!

About the Community Tree Connections newsletter

Community Tree Connections (CTC) is a periodic publication by the Oregon Department of Forestry, Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program. Our mission is to help Oregonians improve their quality of life by promoting community investment in our urban forests. CTC is published in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Subscriptions to Community Tree Connections are free. Sign up to receive the newsletter.

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