Now that the leaves have dropped it’s a great time to evaluate your trees for pruning and maintenance needs. Winter is an ideal time to prune most trees. Deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves) are easier to prune when the leaves are off, as branch structure is clearly visible and you can better visualize the impact of removing a given branch. Pruning during the winter is especially important when addressing insect and disease problems that are active during the growing season. Flowering ornamentals that set bud on the current season's growth are also best pruned in the late winter/early spring before shoot growth begins. Winter is also an excellent time to examine large shade trees for signs of abnormal growth, cracks and mushrooms. If in doubt, call a licensed and insured arborist to conduct a thorough tree hazard evaluation. For more information please contact Project Canopy at (207)287-4987 or jan.santerre@maine.gov.
Trees on Maine Street going electronic
For some time now we have considered changing newsletter formats from print, to electronic. We are finally making the transition to an electronic bulletin. For what it costs us to produce and mail a print newsletter, we can instead support several more community grants every year. Major announcements such as grants and Project Canopy sponsored workshops will continue to be distributed through the print mailings, as well as electronically. Please sign up for the Trees on Maine Street bulletin at http://mailman.informe.org/mailman/listinfo/project_canopy.
Project Canopy hires Community Outreach Director
Please join me in welcoming Loretta “Rhetta” Huttman to Project Canopy! She comes to us with ten years of experience with grants administration, outdoor education, public relations and complex fundraising. Rhetta will be coordinating outreach efforts for Project Canopy including Tree Steward training, workshops and Arbor Week programs, as well as assisting with program management. Rhetta will continue in the partnership position with the Pine Tree State Arboretum. She can be reached at 153 Hospital Street, Augusta, ME 04330, 207-623-2371 and by email at projectcanopy@roadrunner.com.
THE MAINE FOREST SERVICE IS LOOKING FOR BIG TREES
The Maine Forest Service is seeking nominations for the 2009 edition of the Maine Register of Big Trees. Maine’s Register lists 160 of the largest trees, representing 150 species. In addition to 160 state champions, Maine boasts several national champions. Including the Eastern White Pine, located in Morrill and the bigtooth aspen, located in Appleton. Four champions were reported dead since the last edition, the national champion eastern larch (tamarack), located in T13 R8, the northern white cedar in T8 R10, the yellowwood, located in Portland and the co-champion striped maple, located on Monhegan Island. After examination, there are also several species notably missing from the Maine register including alternate leaf dogwood, nannyberry and jack pine. The next register will be printed in 2009, and the Maine Forest Service will accept nominations until December 31, 2008. To learn more about Maine’s Register of Big Trees, please contact Project Canopy at 1-800-367-0223. To nominate a tree or to view the 2007 Register, please visit the Project Canopy website – http://projectcanopy.maine.gov.
Maine Forest Service publishes 100th Anniversary Edition of “Forest Trees of Maine”
In 1908 the Maine Forest Service released a booklet titled Forest Trees of Maine. In his 1910 Commissioner’s report, Forest Commissioner Edgar Ring wrote of the popularity of the new publication: “For the Forest Trees of Maine there has been a large and constant demand which will very soon exhaust the edition. Possibly in order to meet the demands for this pamphlet it will be considered wise and money well spent to issue another edition.” Now, 100 years later and in its 14th edition, Forest Trees of Maine remains the Maine Forest Service’s most popular publication. Since 1908, all editions of Forest Trees of Maine have had the same objective: to relate accurate information and to keep pace with new findings. As those who are familiar with Forest Trees of Maine will immediately notice, we have departed from the traditional format for this edition. This has allowed us to include color photographs, which have long been requested. The new book is in full color and has over 250 color photographs of Maine’s trees in all four seasons as well as the traditional pen and ink line drawings from previous editions. The book also includes historic photographs from Maine Forest Service archives, illustrating Maine’s rich logging and forest products history. The book makes a great gift for those on your holiday list.
Single copies of the book can be obtained for $7 (including shipping) by contacting the Maine Forest Service at (207) 287-2791, or order online at www.state.me.us/doc/mfs/pubs/ftm/ftm_centennial.html.
Quick Guide for Community Forest Practitioners
Across the country, millions of acres of private forestland are changing hands. Much of this land is at risk of being developed for residential or commercial use, which can cause significant fragmentation of forests and wildlife habitat, close off local residents’ access to outdoor recreation opportunities, hunting, forestry and other traditional uses, and imperil economic development, employment and other community benefits. Increasingly, communities are acquiring some of these lands to protect forests from possible conversion and to manage them as community forests. In Maine, we have a long history of such community forests, more commonly known as “Town or City” forests. Many date back to the early 1700’s. More recently, cities and towns have begun to acquire land to create or add to their community forests, including Bangor and Orono, with the acquisition of land adjacent to the Penjajawoc and Caribou bogs. Funding for the project was financed in part through the Land For Maine’s Future program. The Communities Committee has put together an informative Quick Guide for Community Forestry Practitioners, available at www.communitiescommittee.org
National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) preproposal announcement
After more than a decade of successful grant-making, the National Urban and Community Advisory Council will overhaul their criteria for the U. S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry challenge cost share grant program for 2009. “The world of urban and community forestry grows and changes everyday, and our grant program must adapt too,” said Joe Wilson, chair of NUCFAC. “Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a trend toward increasing cooperation and partnerships among our stakeholders.”
The new Urban and Community Forestry challenge cost share grant program is designed to reflect this change, and implement new procedures that reduce the paperwork burden on potential grantees. Grants for 2009 will be solicited in two categories: Innovation grants, intended to address, on a national or regional level, the highest priority issues confronting the UC&F community with a maximum award of $500,000, and Best Practices Grants, smaller grants up to $50,000 for organizations that can implement, demonstrate, and disseminate replicable approaches to:
- Recruit advocates for urban forestry;
- Make best practices/latest science in urban forestry accessible to practitioners;
- Nurture networks of urban forestry practitioners within existing conservation; organizations, professional societies, social networks, and internet communities;
- Address other challenges to the U&CF community
The official announcement of the 2009 Challenge Grant Program is planned for late November, 2008. At that time, more details about application requirements, criteria for judging proposals, and priorities for Innovation Grants will be available at: www.grants.gov
"What Tree is That?" Tree Identification Guide Now Available for Smartphones Smartphone users can identify trees anywhere in the United States in just minutes thanks to the Arbor Day Foundation’s new "What Tree Is That?" mobile. This special version of the Foundation’s popular tree identification guidebook loads quickly on virtually any smartphone. "What Tree Is That?" mobile is available by going to www.arborday.org/whattree and clicking on the "Mobile Version" button.
November
13-15 Tree Care Industry Association Expo 2008, Milwaukee, WI. More information at www.tcia.org
17-20 Partners in Community Forestry Conference and Annual Alliance for Community Trees meeting, Atlanta, GA. Details at www.arborday.org/pcf
19 Webcast: Northern Research Station: Scientists at Work. 11 AM. Details at www.unri.org
19 Webcast: Strategy and public relations in community forestry. 1 PM. Details at http://actrees.org/site/stories/act_webcast_series.php
December
10 Maine Licensed Arborist Exam. Augusta. For details contact Debbie Davis at 207-287-3891 or Debbie.davis@maine.govDebbie.davis@maine.gov
17 Webcast: Economic Value of Trees. 11 AM. Details at www.unri.org
18 Webcast: Building and Positioning your brand. 1 PM. Details at http://actrees.org/site/stories/act_webcast_series.php
January
20 Maine Landscape and Nursery Association conference and trade show. Augusta Civic Center. Details at www.melna.org
February
4-6 New England Grows. Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, MA. Details at www.negrows.org
22-27 Municipal Forestry Institute, Ridgeland, South Carolina. Registration closes November 1, or when the class is full. Contact SMA (706) 769-7412 or apply online at www.urban-forestry.com
March
1 Maine Arborist Association conference and trade show. Verillos Conference Center, Portland, Maine. Details at www.mainearborist.org
12-15 Portland Flower Show. Portland Company Complex, Portland, ME. Details at www.portlandcompany.com/flower/
If you would like to put your community’s activity on the calendar, please let one of the editors know by the 15th of each month.