San Bernardino, California, Sun, October 15, 2019: Joshua trees should be protected by state endangered species act, group says

Environmentalists are calling on the state to protect Joshua trees, as climate change and habitat destruction threaten the iconic Mojave Desert plant. The Center for Biological Diversity on Tuesday, Oct. 15, petitioned the state Fish and Game Commission to list the Western Joshua tree as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act, which would go beyond existing laws aimed at protecting the plants on public and private lands, said Brian Cummings, the center’s conservation director and Joshua Tree resident. “The Joshua tree, particularly with the exponential growth of attendance at Joshua Tree National park, has become an international icon,” Cummings said. “It’s unfortunately becoming a symbol of our failure to address climate change…”

Washington, D.C. Times, October 15, 2019: Montana city pays $23K for tree damage caused by heavy snow

Heavy snow in Montana has cost a city tens of thousands of dollars in cleanup work after widespread tree damage. Great Falls Tribune reported Monday that a record-setting September snowstorm brought more than 19 inches of snow to Great Falls causing trees to bend and break. City officials say the 16-day cleanup effort cost more than $23,000 after eight forestry workers accumulated 130 hours in overtime on top of 557 regular hours. Foresters say that doesn’t include hours and costs of Park and Recreation Division workers who cleaned up trees in city parks and a city-hired contractor who worked 13.5 hours. Foresters say cleanup of downed branches and the trimming of damaged limbs are expected to wrap up Monday, the same day foresters are scheduled to begin leaf pickup…

Idaho Falls, Idaho, East Idaho News, October 15, 2019: Now is the time to prevent sunscald damage on trees

Sometimes known as “southwest injury”, sunscald on trees is damage to the bark on the side of the tree facing the sun, which in our area is the southwest. Sunscald can occur in both the summer and winter time and be caused by many environmental factors. Sunscald is identified by the bark on the trunk and lower limbs cracking and the bark dying, with dead brown wood being exposed after the damage occurs. This sunscald damage can be an opening into the tree for fungal diseases and insects to start to infest and hurt your tree. Sunscald damage happens in a few different ways. In our area, the damage is primarily done in late winter (February to March) when the south side of trees will warm up from the sun during the day, causing the fluid in the bark to start flowing, and then as evening arrives the temperatures drop dramatically and this fluid freezes and damages the bark. There may be several episodes of thawing and freezing within a winter that can create this damage, but ultimately the temperature fluctuations can have a negative impact on the tree. Most of the damage occurs on the trunk, while sometimes damage can occur on the lower branches as well. Sunscald can also occur during the summertime when trees are topped or heavily pruned exposing bark that had previously been shaded from direct intense sunlight. Planting trees that had been in a semi-shaded nursery into a full sun scenario can induce sunscald, as well as planting trees next to a light-colored pavement which reflects both heat and light onto their bark can cause this problem…

Knoxville, Tennessee, WBIR-TV, October 15, 2019: How to predict peak fall foliage in the Smokies

It definitely feels like fall and some of you may be ready to see some fall foliage. The prolonged heat and drought from August through early-October has things looking green and summer-like in much of East Tennessee but experts are not giving up on a shot at decent fall colors. The end of September is when East Tennessee historically starts enjoying its fall colors before they peak in mid-October. The vibrancy of the colors depends on how much sugar is in the leaves. Here’s how it works: During the spring and summer, leaves act as a factory making the food necessary for the growth and survival of the tree. Chlorophyll is the main player in that process, and chlorophyll makes the leaf look green. In fact, there is so much chlorophyll that it hides the other colors present. Inside of a leaf are other pigments that look yellow and orange but a couple of things need to happen for these colors to be revealed. The first is day length. In the fall, shorter days trigger the tree to stop making food. Leaves are sealed off from the branches, and any extra sugars are left behind…

Washington, D.C., Times, October 14, 2019: California’s environmentalism comes under fire after blackouts

California prides itself on being a global leader on climate change, but last week’s unprecedented power outages have raised questions about how progressive environmental practices contributed to putting two million residents in the dark. The lights were back on Monday in Northern California even as Pacific Gas & Electric acknowledged that more power outages are likely to avoid sparking the disastrous wildfires that torched the state in 2017 and 2018, a stunning turn of events in the world’s fifth-largest economy. “What’s the most important commodity in the world? It’s electricity,” said Max Fuentes, a utility consultant in Sacramento. “Without it, you’re a Third World country. Well, right now, California is starting to act like a Third World country.” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom heaped blame for the rolling blackouts on PG&E, the beleaguered electrical utility that filed for bankruptcy in January, citing its failure to maintain and improve transmission lines on its 70,000-mile service area. “This is not from my perspective a climate change story as much as it is a story about greed and mismanagement over the course of decades,” Mr. Newsom said at a Thursday press conference. “[It’s about] neglect, and a desire to protect not public safety but profits.” PG&E faces as much as $30 billion in legal claims after its lines were found to have ignited 2017 and 2018 wildfires, including the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in state history, but critics like Rep. Tom McClintock, California Republican, said that focusing on the utility doesn’t tell the whole story. PG&E lines may have provided the spark, but decades of mismanagement on state and federal forests left millions of dead and dying trees ready to erupt, thanks in part to environmental policies and legal challenges aimed at curtailing tree-cutting…

Kansas City, Missouri, WDAF-TV, October 14, 2019: Companies help 83-year-old duped by local tree service, removing mess from her yard

When one local company failed to complete a job right for an elderly woman, several others stepped up to get it done. The roar of chainsaws and a wood chipper were about all you could hear Monday afternoon in 83-year-old Esther Buzard’s backyard. “I just seen an old woman in need, and we just figured we’d come out and take care of it for her,” said Bobby Wilson, the owner of National Tree Care LLC, based in Higginsville, Missouri. On Friday, FOX4 told viewers how Esther paid Lexington-based United General Contracting $1,150 to cut up a downed tree and haul it off. The company never finished the job. “It does make us all look bad and we’re seeing it more and more, and we’re kind of getting fed up with it,” Wilson said. Wilson saw the story and wanted to help Esther. He brought nine of his employees, equipped with the tools needed to the do the job right — and did just that. “We just wanted to come in here and take charge of this and get it done,” he said…

Dallas, Texas, Morning News, October 14, 2019: No, it is not time to thin out your trees and it never will be

Is it time to thin out my trees and cut off the lower limbs? No, and it never will be. It is a good time to prune, but pruning too much is the most common pruning mistake I see. Few landscape trees need major pruning or “thinning” every year. Trees can be severely damaged by over-pruning. Plus, it looks bad. Landscape trees can be pruned any time of the year, but the best time is from fall to late winter. Pruning is part science and part art. Don’t try to change the character of a tree and don’t remove lower limbs to raise the canopy for more light to turf. Low-growing limbs exist for a reason. It’s very unnatural to strip tree trunks bare. Remove dead, diseased or damaged limbs and the weakest of crossing limbs. Remove limbs growing toward the center of the tree and limbs that are dangerous or physically interfering with buildings or activities…

Salt Lake City, Utah, KSTU-TV, Ovtober 14, 2019: Dangerous, quick-spreading tree disease introduced to Utah

A fungal tree disease, which has destroyed millions of trees in the United States, has been detected in Utah for the first time. “We were sick to our stomachs thinking about what it might be,” arborist Jerry Auble said as he stood along the banks of the river in Ogden Canyon. It’s something he never thought he would see in Utah. “I wanted to cry,” Auble continued as he stared up into the trees. A few months ago, he was standing in this same spot, but he had a different view. “There’s a good 50 to 70 trees right there that have been… they’re done, they’re dead,” Auble said. “This is a slow-moving forest fire.” Auble is an International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborist who specializes in tree diseases and diagnosis. His day-to-day is spent handling landscaping related calls for a local lawn, tree and pest control company in Layton called Harmon and Sons. But his expertise was called into play in mid-July when he was called out to a home in Ogden Canyon to give a second opinion on a patch of dead and dying American Elm Trees along the riverbank. “There was kind of a concern that the vines were strangling the tree, but as we looked more and more, it was like… no, that’s an insect issue,” Auble said…

Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch, October 10, 2019: Two teen boys arrested in death of woman hit by tree branch at Hocking Hills State Park

Two teenage boys have been arrested and charged with causing the Sept. 2 death of Chillicothe woman by dislodging a tree branch that fell on top of her at Hocking Hills State Park, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said. The boys, who are 16 and 17 and both from Logan in Hocking County, were taken into custody by the ODNR on Thursday. Both are charged with delinquency counts of reckless homicide and are being held in a juvenile detention facility in Lancaster. ODNR was not releasing the juveniles’ names. Victoria Schafer, 44, was on the stairs near Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills State Park around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 when she was struck by a falling section of a tree branch that came from a cliff above. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators soon found evidence indicating that the incident was not a natural occurrence. “I appreciate the public’s valuable contributions to this case and the perseverance and determination of the investigators,” said ODNR Director Mary Mertz…

Sacramento, California, Bee, October 10, 2019: How Sacramento’s urban forest divides the city — and some neighborhoods are left behind

The tree canopy of Land Park is a marvel by most measures. Like a crown, London plane trees and even occasional redwoods rise well above rooftops to shade the well-tended streets and houses during Sacramento’s scorching summers. More trees can be found in Land Park than in almost any other neighborhood. And it affords benefits both seen and unseen by the naked eye — better health, for one, and quality of life. But there aren’t many Land Parks in Sacramento. In fact, only about a dozen neighborhoods have tree canopies that come close to the neighborhood south of downtown, according to a city-wide assessment. Critics say the line that divides those places often comes down to wealth. Communities with a higher-than-average number of trees are places like Land Park, East Sacramento and the Pocket also have the largest concentrations of high-income households, data shows. Meanwhile, low- to moderate-income areas like Meadowview, Del Paso Heights, Parkway and Valley Hi have fewer trees and less shade…

Bonn, Germany, General Anzeiger, October 11, 2019: Damaged trees on the river shore in Mehlem will not survive

Nobody knows exactly when it happened – probably it was a nighttime operation in the cover of darkness. Culprits damaged two stately old trees on the riverbank in Mehlem. The damage is so severe that the trees cannot be rescued. As reader Peter Stünkel and another man reported separately to the GA, these are two large trees near the Senior Center Steinbach – at the end of Rüdigerstraße. Both had been cut into all the way around the circumference with chainsaws. “It is simply unbelievable that people do something like this,” said Stünkel. Dieter Fuchs, head of the Office for Urban Parks, is astonished because the loud chainsaw must have been clearly audible. Indeed, the city was informed of the incident. “We were made aware of it by a citizen who sent an e-mail on September 30,” said Kristina Buchmiller of the city press office in response to an inquiry. An American oak with a trunk circumference of 2.23 meters and a honey locust tree with a trunk circumference of 2.03 meters were affected. After a look at the tree register of the city, Fuchs found out that the oak is estimated to be 85 years old. The tree, also called red oak, is native to North America. When harvested, the hard wood is used in the furniture industry, in boat building and for ties in railway construction. The honey locust tree on the Rhine is around 60 years old. It originated in eastern North America and grows to a height of 20 meters. The bark was cut up to a width of about three centimeters, deep into the sapwood, with a chain saw. “Both trees were completely cut through. As a rule, (a tree) with such damage can no longer recover,” said Buchmiller…

Tallahassee, Florida, Democrat, October 10, 2019: Dead trees part of healthy forests and backyard habitats

My earliest experience with a snag happened when I was a college student rambling through a longleaf pine-turkey oak sandhill forest. I discovered a Brown-headed Nuthatch coming and going from a small cavity in a dead turkey oak tree that stood no taller than me. It was easy to watch and photograph at that height. That experience sold me on the value of snags. Next week’s Apalachee Audubon Society program on Oct. 17 will feature storyteller extraordinaire Jim Stevenson on “Life in a Dead Tree.” Snags, either standing dead trees or partially dead trees, provide cavities for nesting birds such as woodpeckers, owls, chickadees, bluebirds, titmice, wrens, nuthatches, wood ducks and others. In addition, snags provide habitat and food for all sorts of other creatures from beetles to frogs to denning mammals like raccoons and opossums. They also serve as perching and roosting sites. When snags fall to the ground, they are called logs and further provide habitat for fungi, spiders, beetles, termites, ants, grubs, worms and snails, not to mention the reptiles and amphibians, birds, mice and other mammals that feed on them. Decaying logs are essential to the health of our forest and backyard soils and nutrient cycling…

Outside, October 9, 2019: Hikers: Beware of Falling Trees

It’s the kind of freak accident that nobody thinks could happen to them. In late August, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office in Washington State received a broken cell-phone call. A tree had fallen and struck Finn Bastian, a 28-year-old from Germany, while he was hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail. As emergency responders rushed to the scene, Bastian’s condition deteriorated. Search and rescue managed to bring Bastian to the trailhead, but he died there after CPR failed to revive him. The tragedy happened two weeks after another tree stuck and killed Beth Skelley, 56, as she slept in her tent on the Colorado Trail. Falling timber killed a hiker on the Appalachian Trail in 2015 and again in 2018. And two kids died in Yosemite Valley, California, when a limb from an oak tree fell onto their tent, also in 2015. There are no exact statistics kept on the number of Americans killed by falling trees, so it’s difficult to know for sure if the problem has gotten worse, and if so, how much worse. You’re still far more likely to die driving to the trailhead than you are from a falling tree, says Wesley Trimble of the American Hiking Society. But it turns out, these tragedies may not be isolated incidents. “A lot of forests are suffering, whether it’s from pine beetles, other invasive species, or diseases that are causing trees to die off,” says Trimble. “The likelihood of trees falling down is a much lower possibility when there is a forest full of healthy trees, and there are a lot of unhealthy forests, especially along the Colorado Trail and Pacific Crest Trail…”

Oakland, California, KTVU-TV, October 9, 2019: Latest court documents show PG&E ineffective in completing tree trimming and vegetation management projects

The response to the PG&E public safety power shut off from customers and elected officials has been swift and full of frustration. “It’s not fair to make everyone else pay the price of PG&E’s long term and chronic negligence,” said Mark Toney, the executive director of The Utility Reform Network or TURN. Toney is echoing the frustrations of many PG&E customers who are finding themselves in the dark during the PSPS. “If PG&E had spent the money we gave them on trimming the trees and maintaining the power lines safely, we wouldn’t be in this position,” said Toney. Toney says the shut off should be a last resort according to the public utilities commission. PG&E continues to say they don’t take this decision lightly and community safety is the priority. A spokesperson also said the company’s been working on improvements. “Vegetation management, making sure our wires are clear of vegetation, also includes hardening our system for the future,” said Ari Venrenen, a spokesperson for the utility. But, in its latest filing to a federal judge, PG&E says it’s completed less than a third of its tree trimming work this season…”

Yellow Springs, Ohio, News, October 10, 2019: Invasive of the month— Tree-of-heaven’s devilish dispersal

Elegant. Graceful. Prized in traditional Chinese medicine. In its native China, home to a productive silk moth. Yet tree-of-heaven … isn’t. Brought to this country in the 1700s as a horticultural specimen and shade tree, tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is one of North America’s most invasive tree species. It grows incredibly fast, seeds prolifically and even releases a toxin into the soil that inhibits the growth of other plants. Tree-of-heaven, also called ailanthus, is one of 38 species on Ohio’s invasive plant list. But while you won’t find it for sale at your local nursery, the tree is abundant in and around Yellow Springs. “There is a lot of tree-of-heaven around town, and it especially likes to grow beside buildings and in open areas,” according to Macy Reynolds, president of the YS Tree Committee. Often planted as an urban tree, ailanthus is famous, or infamous, for its ability to grow anywhere — up through the merest cement cracks. That hardiness is celebrated as a metaphor for human resilience in the 1943 novel, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” The tree in question? Tree-of-heaven, pervasive across New York City. But ecologists aren’t quite so enamored of ailanthus’ toughness. Most common in urban areas, disturbed soils and forest edges, tree-of-heaven can also take advantage of gaps in mature forests, displacing native tree species. And because it’s a prolific seeder, the tree growing in your yard could end up, borne by wind and water, in one of our local woods…

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Citizen Voice, October 9, 2019: Wilkes-Barre shade tree panel seeks statute

Members of a newly revamped shade tree commission have asked city council to pass a controversial ordinance that would require property owners to get commission approval before cutting down any tree on a tree lawn or along a roadway. Commission Chairman Sam Troy at council’s work session Tuesday began a presentation by expounding on the virtues of planting trees in a community, citing a litany of health, environmental and economic benefits. Troy said council can help by taking an inventory of trees on the streets in their districts and approving funding for the city to buy trees for planting. Just as important, Troy said, is passing a shade tree ordinance similar to those in Kingston and Forty Fort. Troy said a previous shade tree commission “did succeed in planting a lot of trees” but “foundered and failed because they got frustrated” when council members at the time refused to pass a shade tree ordinance proposed in 2005…

San Francisco, California, Chronicle, October 8, 2019: Shut-offs begin: PG&E imposes mass blackouts on California

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. began shutting off power to parts of California on Wednesday in its biggest preemptive action to avert another destructive wildfire like those which took dozens of lives and destroyed thousands of homes over the past two years. The utility said it would shut off power to 800,000 customers in Northern and Central California in waves, beginning with the northernmost areas and moving south. The blackout was not expected to strike the Bay Area until around noon but more than 5,000 customers in Solano County were shut down just after midnight, and nearly 600 customers in Marin County were shut down as well. Other areas where electricity was shut off included parts of Glen County, Tehama County, Yuba County and Nevada County. For PG&E, the shut-offs will mark a high-stakes test of a program the now-bankrupt company developed after being implicated in two years of catastrophic infernos. The crisis has raised fundamental questions about whether PG&E can deliver power safely to its customers amid a warming climate…

Denver, Colorado, KMGH-TV, October 8, 2019: Tree damage on property line causes concern for homeowner in Wash Park

For the past five years, Lauren Collins and her family have lived in the same house in South Wash Park. “We’ve put a lot into this house, it was a fixer upper,” she said. Last year, the lot next door was bought and new neighbors began to build. “They excavated right on the property line and these are 100 year old trees,” she added. Pictures show the construction was done by the builder, but Collins is worried about her trees. “Then in January is when they started showing this. The bark started coming off, the sap started dripping down from parts of the tree so we called an arborist,” she said. The arborist told them the tree is structurally damaged. “My family, we feel like we’re stuck,” Collins said. The law says any roots or branches that cross the property line are available to be trimmed. Collins is worried about liability from her tree if it dies and falls on her house or somewhere else. “We have lost a lot of sleep over this issue,” she added…

Washington, D.C., The Washingtonian, October 8, 2019: Inside Takoma Park’s Ongoing Tree War

A leafy DC suburb has recently found itself in a kerfuffle about its trees. At the root of the tension: Takoma Park’s strict foliage ordinance, which it enacted in 1983. According to the rules, residents must obtain a permit from the city’s urban forest manager (yes, that’s a real position) before cutting down any tree, even on private property. If a hard-to-win permit is granted, the homeowner must, in the case of a live tree, either replant it or pay a fee that’s used to plant replacement saplings elsewhere in Takoma Park. Such is life in this tree-hugging community, long a bastion of progressive values and general crunchiness. But lately, some residents have been chafing at the rules. Now the city council is in the process of revising the ordinance so that it will be “more user-friendly, less bureaucratic, and feel a little less punitive,” says council member Kacy Kostiuk. The man tasked with enforcing the city’s complex processes is urban forest manager Jan van Zutphen, who arrived in 2017. Something of a local Lorax, van Zutphen speaks for the trees—to a greater extent than previous holders of the position, some residents say. To others, however, he’s just doing his job. “People tend to be in favor of certain environmental regulations,” says van Zutphen, who thinks more education and outreach might help locals better understand what he does. “[But people find it] a little harder when it applies to themselves—myself included…”

Victoria, British Columbia, The Canadian Press, October 8, 2019: Outbreak of tree-killing, allergy-inducing moths prompts warnings from B.C. government

An infestation of insects that have the ability to quickly kill healthy Douglas fir trees is on the move in British Columbia and the Ministry of Forests says it has now been found further north than ever before. A statement from the ministry Tuesday said an infestation of tussock moth has been found in trees in the western Cariboo, just south of the community of Alkali Lake. The pest is usually found in more southern parts of the province, such as Kamloops and the Okanagan. They can kill a large Douglas fir in just one to two years during a severe infestation, according to the ministry. Tussock moth caterpillars feed on the needles of the Douglas fir, stripping limbs, which appear scorched as they die. Trees weakened by the moth are more susceptible to beetle attacks…

Los Angeles, California, KABC-TV, October 7, 2019: Thousands of Long Beach trees threatened by plague of beetles

Thousands of magnolia trees in Long Beach are in danger because of beetles that have invaded the area. Walking or driving down Magnolia Avenue in Long Beach, you’re sure to notice that something is a little off. “Sometimes when you’re just walking, it kind of sticks to your shoe, and it’s really like gooey,” said homeowner Melissa Roxas. The magnolia trees are dying. They’re drying up and turning black. More than 1,000 magnolias across the city of Long Beach are infested with a pest, known as the Tuliptree Scale. The pests suck up the trees sap, and in some cases, kill the trees. Long Beach City Council members are now working to find a fix. In a meeting Tuesday, they are expected to discuss the cost to remove and replant all infected trees, what further treatment options exist, and a cost estimate for water blasting all affected sidewalks. Neighbors say the problem has been going on for a few years. “My husband has looked into it. He’s called the city,” said Roxas…

Biloxi, Mississippi, Sun Herald, October 5, 2019: Ocean Springs woman arrested after objecting to oak tree trimming in city park

Diane Stevenson questioned why an Ocean Springs employee was cutting tree branches and it escalated to where she was arrested and handcuffed. Stevenson, 73, was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly harassing a public works employee for trimming the trees at Fort Maurepas Park. The arrest happened around 11:30 a.m. Thursday after the public works’ employee called his supervisor to tell him someone was upset and screaming about him trimming the trees at the park. The report the police filed and the version of what Stevenson said happened are decidedly different. According to the police report, a public works employee was in the middle of doing the job when Stevenson walked up and started “screaming and telling him he needs to stop cutting trees…”

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WPVI-TV, October 7, 2019: Building a more beautiful, green Philly one tree at a time

With just 20 percent of the city’s land covered by trees, Philadelphia has one of the smallest tree canopies of any of the major cities in the Northeast. This is troubling when you factor in the fact that, according to NASA GISS and the NOAA, the average global temperature has steadily risen since 1998 with the last five years being the hottest on record. One way to combat rising temperatures and environmental shifts is to plant more trees, a mission that the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has undertaken with their Tree Tenders program. Additional trees and plant life not only have obvious aesthetic benefits but improve air quality, shelter wildlife, prevent stormwater runoff, and keep city streets cooler. Research also shows that trees have additional health benefits such as reducing mental fatigue, reducing anxiety, and combating obesity by promoting more outdoor play time for children. To help restore the region’s tree canopy, PHS’s Tree Tenders planted just over 1,600 trees in Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania in 2018. This year, the team has already planted 771 trees and will be adding another estimated 857 trees during their fall seasonal tree planting weekend on November 16th and November 17th…

Macon, Georgia, WMAZ-TV, October 7, 2019: Power company spraying chemicals near power lines concerns Jones County homeowners

Some folks in Jones County say they have concerns about a power company spraying chemicals on plants near power lines on their property. Tri-County EMC says they maintain a 30-foot-wide right of way by mowing, trimming, and spraying near the power lines to control vegetation that grows there. Jasen McCall has lived in his home in Gray for about six years. “I love the fact that my wife and I can take walks with our dog down our driveway and just be able to enjoy the nature that it is,” McCall said. In the last few months though, he says the nature he grew to love has died. “I noticed that there were several dead spots along our driveway here mainly underneath the power lines,” McCall said. Greg Mullis with Tri-County EMC says the company works with another company called NaturChem to spray the herbicides to keep trees, brush, and other growth from interfering with electric service in the county. “We encourage them to never plant or try to put landscaping under those power lines because of safety and reliability,” Mullis said…

Quatz, October 6, 2019: Tree thieves are the scourge of national forests

The name “Maple Fire” doesn’t quite do it justice. In August 2018, a wildfire razed 3,300 acres of ancient forest in Washington state—burying Seattle in smoke and costing taxpayers $4.5 million before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. But the cause of this devastating blaze is even more bewildering: Two bungling criminals who were allegedly attempting to steal a big, beautiful old tree. According to a recent indictment by the US justice department, the duo had planned to illegally fell a bigleaf maple in Olympic National Forest, only to find themselves thwarted by a huge bee nest in its branches. After failing to wipe out the pesky bees with wasp killer, they doused the nest in gasoline and lit it on fire. Though they tried to extinguish them with water bottles, the flames quickly spread. The charges highlight the increasingly expensive problem for national forests posed by tree thieves. Wood from bigleaf maples fetches a handsome price. Thanks to the aesthetic appeal of its unusually wavy grain, this “figured wood” is coveted by mills that use it to make guitars. Though essential parts of local ecosystems, these high-value trees are thinly guarded by overstretched national forest law enforcement officials. That makes them easy prey for chainsaw-wielding poachers…

Dallas, Texas, WFAA-TV, October 4, 2019: orth Texas forester fears ‘big outbreak’ of invasive beetles that feed on and kill ash trees

They’re big. They’re beautiful. And they’re in danger. There is a mad dash right now to save our region’s ash trees, no thanks to a shiny, tiny bug. “People from the Midwest are certainly familiar with emerald ash borer,” said the city of Fort Worth’s forester Rustin Stephens. “It’s new to us.” The emerald ash borer, a beetle with a vibrant green shell, has killed millions of ash trees since 2002, when the bug was discovered in Michigan. In 2018, WFAA profiled an 11-year-old boy named Sam Hunt, a nature lover who found the green beetle in Fort Worth. “I just thought it was crazy,” he told us then. “I never thought I could find anything like that.” The state forest service confirmed it was the first proof of the borer in North Texas. Stephens said he and others are grateful the boy made the discovery; he assumes the bug had been here for years before. Stephens said since the discovery, Fort Worth has worked to proactively treat its ash trees, but because it can take years for the symptoms to show up, he fears the worst…

Bloomberg, October 6, 2019: Cutting 2,700 Trees for Mumbai Metro Project Ignites Protests

India’s Supreme Court ordered a halt to the felling of trees in an area frequented by leopards and vulnerable birds, after the plan to clear the area and build a depot for Mumbai Metro Rail Corp. ignited protests and triggered an outcry from the main ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party days before state elections. No more trees must be cut until a special bench hears the matter on Oct. 21, the Supreme Court said after an emergency hearing on Monday. Authorities began chopping down about 2,700 trees marked for clearance late on Friday, within a few hours of a Bombay High Court ruling that the area, known as Aarey in suburban Mumbai, wasn’t a forest. Activists alleged the action violated rules that stipulate a 15-day window — which MMRC denies — and rushed to the spot only to be evicted by police. “This is sheer arrogance. They think they can run the city the way they want,” said Zoru Bhathena, a petitioner in the case. The tussle underscores the difficulties Mumbai faces as one of the world’s most densely populated cities tries to upgrade critical infrastructure for citizens. Built mostly on land reclaimed from the sea, its colonial-era drainage system is increasingly insufficient to prevent flooding, eight people die on average each day on its overcrowded trains, and the few surviving patches of mangroves or forests like Aarey are losing out to shantytowns or developers…

Tampa, Florida, WFTS-TV, October 4, 2019: Fight over more than a dozen trees cut down on property along Bayshore Blvd.

Under a giant oak tree in front of her daughter’s Bayshore Boulevard home, Sandra Bates says more than a dozen trees were chopped down a week ago two lots over. “These trees are hundreds of years old,” said Bates, a volunteer for the Advocacy group Tree Something Say Something. “Once the trees are gone they’re gone. You can’t glue them back together,” said Chelsea Johnson, another volunteer for Tree Something Say Something. A new state law passed in July says a private property owner doesn’t need a permit if they have an arborist deem the trees “dangerous”. Johnson believes the law is being used by developers as a loophole to cut down whatever they want. She’s concerned about the environmental impact. “You can stop building projects that don’t have the proper permits but apparently you can’t stop trees from coming out that don’t have the proper permitting?” Johnson asked. “We’re seeing Tallahassee dictate what is precious to Tampa…”

London, UK, Daily Mail, October 3, 2019: Plant-destroying lanternflies native to China could spread across the UK, US and Europe and devour crops and trees, study warns

Plant-destroying spotted lanternflies are spreading around the globe, a study has warned. The insects, which are native to China, are a pest to dozens of plants and trees. They can trigger sap leakage, wilting, leaf curling and dieback and the US Government tells people to kill them on sight. And a map drawn up by the Department of Agriculture has revealed regions where the bugs are at risk of spreading to next. The UK has been designated a ‘medium risk’ area, along with much of Eastern Europe, while the eastern US and California are deemed to be high risk, along with parts of France, Portugal, Italy, Russia and Ukraine. As well as damaging garden plants the lanternflies can ruin farmers’ crops, too, such as almonds, apples, blueberries, cherries, peaches, grapes and hops. They also wreck hardwood trees including oaks, walnuts and poplars. And in addition to causing physical damage, they excrete a sugary substance called honeydew which encourages a mold which is harmful to plants.Lanternflies, which can lay 30 to 50 eggs each time they breed in the autumn, have already become a problem in some parts of the US. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Delaware have all reported growing numbers of the critters…

UPI, October 3, 2019: Tree, fruit growers beware: Spotted lanternfly has its pick of invadable territory

Tree and fruit growers won’t be happy to hear the findings of a new habitat-modeling study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture — the invasive spotted lanternfly still has plenty of suitable habitat, should it continue to spread. The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, has been reported to attack grapes, apples, cherries, and several other fruit and timber tree species. In its native habitat, the species is kept in check by natural predators. But in places like New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the invasive species can severely damage trees. To figure out where the spotted lanternfly might show up next, scientists built a model to compare its native habitat in Asia with the habitats the insect has invaded in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Scientists used the model to analyze the suitability of other habitats in the United States. According to the findings, published Thursday in the Journal of Economy Entomology, there are still plenty of places in North America for the invader to go. Simulations suggest the spotter lanternfly would find much to like about most of New England and the mid-Atlantic, as well as large swaths of the central U.S. and Pacific Northwest…

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Patriot News, October 3, 2019: Restaurant owner must replant sidewalk tree, even though he claims it’s bad for business: Pa. court

A central Pennsylvania restaurant owner must replant a sidewalk tree in front of his eatery even though he claims it would be bad for business, a Commonwealth Court panel has ruled. And, the judges decided, he must pay for the planting, too. That ruling, set in an opinion by Judge Patricia A. McCullough, marks Joseph Yannone’s third and perhaps final defeat in a legal battle with the Bloomsburg Shade Tree Commission. The fight began after the commission allowed Yannone to cut down a tree that was in front of his Tri Pi Pizzeria in the first block of East Main Street in April 2017. The deal called for Yannone to plant a new tree within six months. He didn’t. Yannone appealed to the state court after a Columbia County judge backed the shade tree commission’s order requiring him to replant. Yannone claimed a new tree would interfere with the outdoor dining facililties he installed after the old one was removed and would block the sign for his pizzeria. He argued that sidewalk trees are tripping hazards, damage the pavement and attract bugs. Also, he said, dog owners tend to let their pets relieve themselves on the trees…

Labiotech.eu, October 4, 2019: This Biotech Genetically Engineers Trees to Produce Biofuels

The looming threat of climate change is increasing the pressure to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. New technologies to produce fuel from plants provide an alternative, but the shifting climate could also disrupt crop growth, compounding the problem. SweTree Technologies aims to tackle the issue by engineering trees to have higher yields of biomass and to resist temperature changes. “Genetic engineering is one powerful tool in solving the challenge to grow more biomass,” Christofer Rhén, SweTree’s CEO, told me. To find out which genes they want to target, SweTree first makes mutant strains of trees that lack a specific gene and observe the effect this has on traits such as wood formation and speed of growth. Since its founding in 1999, the company has studied over 1,500 genes. So far, Swetree has selected 25 candidate genes to modify in tree species such as spruce. To manufacture these modified trees, SweTree is now building a pilot facility aimed at producing 20 million plants annually by five years’ time. SweTree’s facility will be able to produce multiple types of trees, such as poplar and eucalyptus, depending on customers’ needs…

Greeley, Colorado, Tribune, October 2, 2019: Beetle that threatens to destroy 15,000 trees in Greeley detected in Larimer

A destructive beetle that is a threat to about 15% of Greeley’s trees has been confirmed in Larimer County, according to a news release from the Emerald Ash Borer Response Team. Officials found emerald ash borer near Berthoud in Larimer County, the first in the county and the third confirmation of the pest in Colorado outside a federal quarantine. The pest attacks ash trees, typically killing them within two to four years after infestation. There are about 15,000 ash trees in Greeley, and officials estimate ash trees make up about 15% of all urban and community trees in the state. The infested tree near Berthoud was located on private property, less than three miles southwest of the town, the release states. Foresters are inspecting nearby trees to determine the extent of the infestation…

Science Advances, October 2, 2019: Reduced tree growth in the semiarid United States due to asymmetric responses to intensifying precipitation extremes

Earth’s hydroclimatic variability is increasing, with changes in the frequency of extreme events that may negatively affect forest ecosystems. We examined possible consequences of changing precipitation variability using tree rings in the conterminous United States. While many growth records showed either little evidence of precipitation limitation or linear relationships to precipitation, growth of some species (particularly those in semiarid regions) responded asymmetrically to precipitation such that tree growth reductions during dry years were greater than, and not compensated by, increases during wet years. The U.S. Southwest, in particular, showed a large increase in precipitation variability, coupled with asymmetric responses of growth to precipitation. Simulations suggested roughly a twofold increase in the probability of large negative growth anomalies across the Southwest resulting solely from 20th century increases in variability of cool-season precipitation. Models project continued increases in precipitation variability, portending future growth reductions across semiarid forests of the western United States…

Urbana, Ohio, News-Gazette, October 2, 2019: Urbana seeking donations to replace trees lost in May tornado

The city of Urbana is looking to citizens to donate money to replace trees lost in a late spring tornado. A release Wednesday from the city said the F-1 tornado that hit southwest Urbana May 26 cost the city more than $131,000 to clean up. Another $22,000 will be needed to replace the 64 trees lost that Sunday morning. Vince Gustafson, a deputy director in public works, praised the efforts of city employees who quickly responded to the storm that severely impacted two residential areas. It’s estimated they put in about 1,543 hours on clean-up. “Now we are faced with replacing the damaged and destroyed trees in order to maintain our urban forest,” said Mayor Diane Marlin, whose own neighborhood was affected by downed trees, damaged fences and roofs. “We had made excellent progress addressing the tree-planting backlog following losses due to the emerald ash borer,” she said. “The tornado has set us back. Many community members benefitted from the city’s efforts to remove debris — even the substantial amount of debris that came from private property. Now we are asking the community to help…”

Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Southern Maryland Chronicle, Sept. 28, 2019: Maryland Forest Service Seeks Black Walnuts

Marylanders with black walnut trees on their property are asked to donate extra walnuts to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The Maryland Forest Service will use the walnuts to grow and plant trees along creeks, rivers, and streams as part of the state’s tree-planting program, aimed at enhancing habitat and water quality throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Citizens can drop off walnuts – in bags, boxes, or containers – at either Gambrill State Park in Frederick County or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service office in Washington County. Anyone with questions should contact those locations directly. Black walnut trees are easy to identify by the large round nuts that drop after the leaves fall in autumn. Black walnuts are fairly common in Maryland and may live for up to 250 years. They are the most commonly planted nut tree in North America, partly because most seedlings germinate from nuts buried by squirrels…