PROJECT CANOPY FORGES A NEW PARTNERSHIP

The Maine Forest Service has formed a new partnership to help achieve the goals of Project Canopy. As of July 1, 2011, Project Canopy’s Community Outreach function will be provided by GrowSmart Maine. GrowSmart Maine (GSM) is a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to promoting sustainable prosperity for all Mainers by integrating working and natural landscape conservation, economic growth and community revitalization. GSM promotes quality of place by convening and engaging in public conversations about Maine’s future, contributing common sense policy analysis, educating the public, and supporting model practices. GSM’s work to promote Maine’s Quality of Place fits well with Project Canopy’s mission. The urban and community forests of Maine’s cities and towns contribute greatly to that Quality of Place that makes Maine special. Kimberly Ballard, GrowSmart’s office manager, will take on the role of Outreach Director. Kim will provide increased communications and outreach for Project Canopy, including development and delivery of training programs for municipal staff and volunteers. Initially, Kim will be focusing on specific training programs, including program development, tree care and management. We are looking forward to this next step in advancing urban and community forestry and Project Canopy in the state of Maine. Please join us in welcoming GrowSmart Maine and Kimberly Ballard!

2011 PROJECT CANOPY ASSISTANCE GRANTS UPDATE

Project Canopy, a cooperative partnership between the Department of Conservation’s Maine Forest Service and GrowSmart Maine, encourages communities to develop project proposals that support sustainable community forestry management, increase awareness of the benefits of trees and forests, and increase the health and livability of communities through sound tree planting and maintenance. In mid-July, Project Canopy will announce the availability of grants to local municipal units of government, educational institutions and non-profit organizations that support community efforts to develop and maintain long-term community forestry programs. Look for full details on the web, or call the Maine Forest Service at: 1-800-367-0223 or the Project Canopy office at: 207-287-4987.

2011 ARBOR WEEK SCHOOL PLANTING GRANTS

Project Canopy awarded 22 Maine schools a total of $17,494 in grants for tree-planting projects as part of the 2011 Arbor Week planting grant program. Individual grants ranging from $1,000 to $227 were awarded to schools statewide. The Arbor week tree planting program is funded by grants from the USDA Forest Service- Urban and Community Forestry Program, with corporate sponsorship from Evergreen Credit Union, Portland; Androscoggin Bank, Lewiston; and Central Maine Power Company, Augusta. The complete list of grant recipients can be found here.

MAINE INITIATIVES FLANNEL SHIRT FUND

Maine Initiatives, a fund for change, cultivates social, economic, and environmental justice through grants and other support to grassroots organizations in Maine communities. The mission of the Flannel Shirt fund is to connect farms to schools and children to gardens by giving money to groups that support the development of gardens and greenhouses at schools, development of cafeteria programs that buy local produce and engaging students in growing and preparing their food. The fund will award grants of up to $400 to classrooms or small groups, or up to $1,200 to several classrooms or groups working collaboratively. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and October 1 annually.  

EASTERN WHITE PINE SUFFERING NEEDLE LOSS

Maine residents are reporting that they are seeing more and more damage throughout the state to Eastern white pine trees, particularly with the yellowing, browning and loss of needles. According to MFS Health and Monitoring staff, homeowners, landowners, arborists and foresters should expect to see unusual and excessive shedding of infected, one-year-old tree needles over the next few weeks as needle diseases, caused specifically by three fungi, have reached epidemic proportions around the state.,. While the needle loss has not yet caused any widespread mortality, it is a stressor and does weaken the pine, making them more vulnerable to other conditions, such as drought or insects. Unfortunately, not much can be done to halt the needle loss, though good forest management can protect the trees. In coming weeks, Maine residents may notice more needle loss, with the lower two-thirds of tree crowns affected. After the needles drop by mid-July, the crowns of many trees will appear thin, and tree vigor will be reduced. The newly emerging, current-season needles will appear undamaged, however, and will allow trees to survive. Visit the MFS Forest Health and Monitoring Division website for information

INVASIVE PLANT WORKSHOPS CONTINUE IN POPULARITY

Upland invasive plants are impacting woodland properties throughout Maine, along with the woodland owners and foresters managing them. In order for a plant to be considered invasive, it must be non-native and have a negative affect on human health or the ecosystem in which it occurs. Some invasive plants are negatively impacting the productivity and biodiversity of Maine’s forests by slowing growth and regeneration of native trees and shrubs, and by occupying rare and sensitive habitats. The Maine Forest Service has been holding invasive plant trainings since 2006. Workshops cover three main topics – identifications and ecology of upland invasive plants; mechanical control of invasive plants; and chemical control of invasive plants. Materials presented are geared towards forest landowners and forestland managers. The next workshop will be held June 13, 10 AM – 2 PM, in York, on the property of Joey Donnelly. Experts will follow indoor presentations with an outdoor tour of the site where the various types of mechanical and chemical treatments can be observed taking effect. Contact Dennis Brennan for more information at 592-1251 or view the full announcement.

2011 US FOREST SERVICE COMPETITIVE ALLOCATION GRANTS AWARDED

2011 US FOREST SERVICE COMPETITIVE ALLOCATION GRANTS AWARDED The Maine Forest Service was recently awarded two grants for Project Canopy related work. These grants will benefit communities throughout Maine. The following summarizes the two grants:

the two grants: The Emerald Ash Borer Planning and Response project will bring the MFS Urban & Community Forestry Program and the MFS Forest Health and Monitoring Division together to work with the Town of Brunswick on a demonstration project to raise sensitivity, incorporate EAB risk into street tree censuses and the planning and execution of replacement planting efforts.

Since its discovery in 2002, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has had a dramatic impact on urban and community forests throughout the Northeastern Area (NA). EAB is expected to appear in Maine; ignoring the problem will not make it go away. As evidenced by municipalities in the Midwest, the longer a community waits to prepare, the greater the burden on local budgets and staff. With proper preparation, communities will be able to anticipate and minimize the environmental and economic impact of losing their ash trees.

Through the Landscape Planning and Comprehensive Resource Assessment project, the Maine Forest Service will partner with the Town of Oxford to address forest land conversion before it becomes too late. Together with the Maine State Planning Office, we will work closely with the Town to address forest land conversion and parcelization at the landscape level. We will dovetail this effort with street tree management planning, Community Wildfire Protection Planning and subsequent fuel reduction programming, community education on the conservation of forests as forests, citizen training and monitoring efforts for invasive exotic pests, Stewardship planning for private woodland owners, and a demonstration forest to showcase good woodland stewardship.

MAINE PARTNERS RECEIVE NUCFAC GRANT

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and its partners a $93,000 grant to use urban and community forests to help towns adapt to increasing temperatures and rainfall associated with climate change. Only one award is given each year from the USDA National Urban Community Forestry Cost Share Grant Program for urban forestry projects, making it an honor for Maine organizations to receive this grant.

Partners on the project include: City of Bath, Brunswick and Topsham land Trust, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, New England Forestry Foundation, Maine Forest Service – Project Canopy, and USDA Forest Service.

This project will work together with the City of Bath and surrounding communities to develop a regional and national model for how urban trees and community forests can be used to make towns resilient to the effects of climate change. Without adapting to recent and future changes in weather, towns and communities increase their risk of paying for costly repairs. Learn more about this and other projects at the Manomet website.

HEMLOCK MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

The Maine Forest Service Forest Health and Monitoring and Forest Policy and Management Divisions are partnering with Unity College to present a workshop on hemlock woolly adelgid and hemlock management planning. The workshop is planned for July 9, 8:30 through 12:30, and will meet at Unity College, with a field session nearby. Look for registration information and more details in our next bulletin or contact MFS District Forester Morten Moesswilde: morten.moesswilde@maine.gov, or (207) 441-2895.

UP & COMING

USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area event calendar: www.na.fs.fed.us/urban/index.shtm

July

9
Hemlock management workshop, 8:30-12:30, Unity College. See above FMI.

13
Invasive Plant Workshop, York, 10 AM – 2 PM. See above FMI.

28
Tree Establishment in Urban and Difficult Sites, Rutland, VT. Information and registration online.

August

12-13
Forest Heritage Days, Greenville, info@forestheritagedays.org

24 -25
Maine Farm Days, Misty Meadows Farm, Clinton. 207-622-7847 x3

September

10
Maine Tree Farm/SWOAM Forestry field day, 9 AM – 3 PM. Higmo’s Inc., Brunswick. 207-626-0005.

23-25
Common Ground Fair, Unity

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.