The Nature Conservancy, March 12, 2021: New Study: U.S. Needs to Double Nursery Production

In order to realize the potential of reforestation in the United States, the nation’s tree nurseries need to increase seedling production by an additional 1.7 billion each year, a 2.3-fold increase over current nursery production. Currently the nation produces 1.3 billion seedlings per year. These numbers, taken from a new study, show the promise of increased nursery output as a way to fight climate change, create jobs, and recover from uncharacteristically severe wildfires. With more than 200,000 square miles in the United States suitable for reforestation, ramping up nursery production could offer big benefits for the climate. Restoring forests is an important nature-based solution to climate change and a complement to the critical work of reducing fossil fuel emissions. “To meet the need for reforestation, we’ll need to invest in more trees, more nurseries, more seed collection, and a bigger workforce,” said the study’s lead author, Joe Fargione of The Nature Conservancy. “In return we’ll get carbon storage, clean water, clean air, and habitat for wildlife.” The new study, published in the science journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, was co-authored by 18 scientists from universities, nonprofits, businesses, and state and federal agencies…

Atlanta, Georgia, WSB-TV, March 1, 2021: Forest fires out West cause lumber prices to skyrocket here in Georgia

The cost of building a new home has spiked and it’s all because of forest fires. Last year’s wildfires out West destroyed millions of acres of trees that were supposed to become 2-by-4s. Now, there has been a huge increase in the price of lumber. Gwinnett County lumber yard owner Michael Johnsa told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen when he saw what was happening, he knew it would turn the lumber industry upside down. “Most of the people who sell that building supply material have had a hard time getting it because of that. When you see something like that, it does strike you as a problem,” Johnsa said. Last year’s wildfires out West burned through millions of acres of trees that were supposed to end up in the form of lumber for new homes. Prices have skyrocketed. Even a do-it-yourselfer like Ray Phillips told Petersen that wood costs more everywhere. “Most of the retail stores like Home Depot and Lowes,” Phillips said. The pandemic also had a hand in this by forcing the sawmills to shut down. While many are back in business, socially distanced operations can’t cut nearly as much lumber…

Santa Rosa, California, Press Democrat, March 1, 2021: 224-acre logging plan above Russian River near Guerneville awaiting approval

A plan to log 224 acres of steep land above the Russian River, on the outskirts of Guerneville and Monte Rio, is expected to win approval in the coming days despite heavy opposition from residents and activists alarmed by the project’s proximity to rural communities and the natural landscape that draws tourists there. Representatives for the Roger Burch family, which owns the property and the Redwood Empire Sawmill in Cloverdale — where logs from the Silver Estates timber harvest would be milled — said the forest is overstocked and badly in need of thinning to promote the growth of larger trees and reduce excess fuels. But opponents say they remain unsatisfied by the planning process and have myriad outstanding concerns — everything from effects on wildlife habitat to soil stability, wildfire risks and visual impacts. They say the plan is governed by “outdated” forest practice rules that fail to account for climate change and heightened wildfire risks where wildland abuts or mixes with settled areas. “I still feel like we’re living with the legacy of Stumptown, and we still have to make amends,” said John Dunlap, a leader of the local Guerneville Forest Coalition. Stumptown was the nickname acquired by the community during the logging boom at the turn of the 20th century, when timber from the area helped rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fires. “It’s sort of like we’re not really listening to what the environment is telling us…”

Better Homes and Gardens, March 1, 2021: Money Almost Grows on Trees—When You Plant Them in Your Yard

Money may not actually grow on trees. But every leaf on every branch not only boosts curb appeal; it increases the value of your home in plenty of ways, including those you might not expect. Healthy, mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property’s value, according to the USDA Forest Service. They reduce heating and cooling costs, increase privacy, soften noise, attract birds and pollinators, and create priceless memories. Like money, though, trees perform best when viewed as a long-term investment. To ensure your tree thrives, consider these tips based on a tried-and-true arborist rule: Plant the right tree in the right place at the right time. One tree can serve a variety of purposes. It can screen out a neighbor’s yard, add spring or fall color, create wildlife habitat, cut strong winds, and even cool a house with its shade. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. Aside from aesthetics and practicality, consider the easy outdoor recreation possibilities, from bird-watching to picnicking beneath the boughs. Fifteen years ago, I planted two river birches. In addition to shading the sunny front lawn in summer, softening the wind that whips down the street from the north, and hosting a variety of birds, they sport a much-used hammock tied between them…

San Francisco, California, KPIX-TV, February 28, 2021: Young Graduate Beginning His Career Killed by Falling Tree in Burlingame

The family of a young physics researcher at a Bay Area COVID-19 testing lab was in mourning Sunday after he was killed by a falling tree near the facility in Burlingame. Kahlil Gay had just graduated from Cal State East Bay in December and started working at the company. “At a very early age, he knew that he wanted to be in the physics or engineering field. He knew actually where he was going in life,” said the victim’s aunt, who declined to provide her first name. Family members said Gay was excited about his new job — working for Color, a health tech company that provides COVID-19 testing for several San Francisco city-run sites. “Kahlil had just called his parents to check in (before the tragedy,)” said the victim’s aunt. But that excitement quickly turned into a tragedy on his third day at the Color campus located on Mitten Road. “He was walking with a co-worker of his,” said Kahlil’s older brother, Darryl Gay, when the accident happened. Authorities told the family that around 4 p.m. Friday afternoon, Kahlil was walking with a co-worker on campus when he was struck by the tree. His injuries proved to be fatal. There’s no word on whether or not the co-worker was injured…

Davenport, Iowa, Quad City Times, February 28, 2021: It’s time to stop pruning oaks

The recent warm weather has given Midwesterners a taste of spring, which means it’s time to finish pruning oak trees for the year to prevent the spread of oak wilt. “The best way to prevent the spread of oak wilt is to not prune any oak tree between the end of March and the start of October,” said Tivon Feeley, forest health program leader with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “However, the warm weather conditions indicate that spring might be a bit early this year and for that reason, we recommend finishing your oak pruning by the end of the second week in March.” Oak wilt is caused by a fungus and has been present in the Midwest for many years. It most commonly impacts red, black and pin oaks, but can also infect white and bur oaks. If black, pin, or red oak are infected by the fungus they usually die within the same summer they are infected. White oak and bur oak can often take a number of years before they succumb. “A healthy tree can be infected by this fungus two different ways. The first is through open wounds during the growing season where the fungus is carried from a diseased tree to a healthy tree by a small beetle,” Feeley said. “The second is through root grafts between oak trees of the same species. For example, if a red oak is infected and there is another red oak within 50 to 100 feet there is a good chance that the roots of these trees are grafted and the fungus can move from the diseased tree to the healthy tree…”

Cleveland, Ohio, Plain Dealer, February 25, 2021: Holden Arboretum launches People for Trees campaign to green up balding patches of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio

Government can only do so much to solve the tree-cover crisis that’s spreading bald patches across Northeast Ohio, making communities uglier, less livable, more polluted, and more vulnerable to flooding, erosion and heat waves. That’s why the nonprofit Holden Forests & Gardens is launching a “People for Trees,’’ a campaign to enlist volunteers to plant 15,000 trees across the region by 2025. Holden, which operates a 3,500-acre arboretum in Kirtland and the 11-acre Cleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle, hopes to enlist some of its 17,000 members, 1,500 volunteers and 380,000 annual visitors to buy, plant, and care for the trees on private property, in yards or businesses. logic behind the campaign is that private property accounts for 85 percent of land within the region. If the public sector is responsible for only 15 percent, the private sector needs to step up, said Jill Koski, the president and CEO of Holden Forests and Gardens.That’s why the organization, which operates America’s 14th largest public garden, is reaching out to members and visitors two months ahead of Arbor Day, April 30. “We know who these people are,’’ Koski said. “We want to do more than a campaign. We want to start a movement. Long term, it’s not about a single organization. We need to bring more people into the fold…”

Anaheim, California, Orange County Register, February 26, 2021: Tustin homeowners association: ‘Repaint that $23K garage door!’

The fate of garage doors – any garage doors – does not exactly rate high on the list of world problems. But for Julie Good, her new garage doors are a triumph, a piece de resistance, a tour de force. Less hyperbolic, they improve her house’s curb appeal. “I’m very sad at the prospect of having to remove them,” Good, 62, said. When she bought the North Tustin house a decade ago, it featured a long garage with three narrow egresses. Good kept banging up her car getting in and out. “I lost two mirrors and scraped a side panel,” Good said. Last year, after one repair bill too many, she decided a garage remodel was well past due. Completed in mid-January, the face lift merged two of the garage doors into one larger entrance for easier maneuvering. Aside from the pragmatics, Good is thrilled with the aesthetics – Southwestern-style metal doors bearing a weathered, patina look. “They’re even more gorgeous than I had imagined.” But that feeling isn’t universal. Soon after the grand unveiling, Good learned that her homeowners association is not so impressed. Retroactively, the board denied approval…

New York City, Wall Street Journal, February 24, 2021: Lumber Prices Are Soaring. Why Are Tree Growers Miserable?

The pandemic delivered an unexpected boon to the lumber industry. Hunkered-down homeowners remodeled en masse and low mortgage rates drove demand for suburban housing. Lumber supplies tightened up and prices smashed records.
“You must be making a lot of money,” an Ace Hardware store manager told timber grower Joe Hopkins, whose family business has about 70,000 acres of slash pine near the Okefenokee Swamp. “I’m not making anything,” Mr. Hopkins replied. Timber growers across the U.S. South, where much of the nation’s logs are harvested, have gained nothing from the run-up in prices for finished lumber. It is the region’s sawmills, including many that have been bought up by Canadian firms, that are harvesting the profits. Sawmills are running as close to capacity as pandemic precautions will allow and are unable to keep up with lumber demand. The problem for timber growers is that so many trees have been planted between the Carolinas and Texas that mills are paying the lowest prices in decades for logs. The log-lumber divergence has been painful for thousands of Southerners who are counting on pine trees for income and as a way to hold on to family land. And it has been incredibly profitable for forest-products companies that have been buying mills in the South. Three Canadian firms— Canfor Corp, Interfor Corp. and West Fraser Timber Co. —control about one-third of the South’s lumber-making capacity. Since bottoming out last March, shares of the Canadian sawyers have risen more than 300%, compared with a 75% climb of the S&P 500 index….

Anaheim, California, Orange County Register, February 25, 2021: Edison’s aggressive tree trimming rankles Mission Viejo neighbors

Neighbors in Mission Viejo’s Aegean Heights weren’t too concerned when Southern California Edison went door-to-door at the beginning of the month, letting them know that they’d be trimming trees along nearby power lines — “light trimming,” as one resident recalled. But after hearing the chainsaws, several went out and were stunned to see more than two dozen trees stripped of all branches and leaves, some cut well below the power lines and others 30 feet or more away from those lines. ”Trees that were 100 feet tall are being reduced to five-foot stumps,” said resident Beth Berman said Feb. 17, the week the work was performed. Her husband, Dan Berman, said the trees — mostly eucalyptus — provided welcome shade to their condos, a noise buffer for the railroad in the ravine below, and visual beauty for the neighborhood. “They’re absolutely gorgeous,” he said. In addition to the complaints from neighbors, the contractor — Utility Tree Service — heard from the city Maintenance Operations Manager Jerry Hill. “He encouraged them to work more with the residents and not leave it all hacked up,” said Mark Chagnon, Mission Viejo’s director of public works. “We just want them to leave it decent for the residents. Nobody wants to look at a hack job.” Edison didn’t acknowledge wrongdoing…

Miami, Florida, Herald, February 25, 2021: Due to climate change, Miami Beach moving away from palm trees to create more shade

Whether swaying in the background of a Super Bowl glamour shot or printed on Art Deco-themed postcards, palm trees are synonymous with the sun-and-fun allure of Miami Beach. In a city with nearly 50,000 trees, more than half have fronds. But due to rising temperatures, that’s about to change. Guided by an urban forestry master plan, which the Miami Beach City Commission unanimously approved in October, city officials are working to reduce the concentration of palms to 25% of the total canopy by 2050. The city says the cutback— intended to help reduce urban warming, improve air quality and absorb more carbon and rainwater — will be accomplished during upcoming construction projects that already require the removal of trees, partly by removing some palms but mostly by adding new shade trees. “Palms, while an iconic part of Miami Beach’s landscape, have moved from being an accent plant to a major component of the city’s urban forest,” the urban forestry master plan reads. To help address the consequences of climate change, city leaders will cut back on the number of new palms in the city and add more eco-friendly shade trees to the Beach’s canopy…

Charlotte, North Carolina, Observer, February 25, 2021: One of nation’s most iconic trees was destroyed by ice storm, Tennessee park says

A twisted cliff-top pine that ranked among the South’s most iconic trees met its demise during an ice storm last week, according to Tennessee State Parks officials. “The lone pine at Buzzard’s Roost,” as it was known, was believed to be nearly 150 years old, predating the popular state park that has surrounded it since 1937. It eventually became a landmark in its own right, sought out not just by tourists, but by photographers and artists. “This tree had a very distinct shape, almost like a bonsai tree, and the view behind it is breathtaking,” Fall Creek Falls State Park Manager Jacob Young told McClatchy News. “Fall Creek Falls is getting anywhere from 1.5 to 2 million visitors a year, and many have taken photos at this location. There have been countless weddings, proposals, dedications, spiritual events, anniversaries and celebrations for those who have passed, etc., there…

Mongabay, February 24, 2021: We’re killing those tropical trees we’re counting on to absorb carbon dioxide

“If a tree lives 500 years, it carries the carbon assimilated and stocked for the last 500 years,” says Giuliano Locosselli, a researcher at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil. “If instead, the tree lives 300 years, it means the carbon will be stocked by 200 years less. So we are accelerating the carbon cycle, and the result is that we have more carbon in the atmosphere.” Trees have always been our main allies in the fight against global warming, thanks to their capacity to take the carbon dioxide out of the air and store it for dozens or even hundreds of years in their trunks, branches, leaves and roots. Our recklessness, however, has sabotaged this capacity. That’s the conclusion of two studies published at the end of last year, which show that rising temperatures, resulting from our runaway greenhouse gas emissions, are reducing the longevity of the trees in many forests worldwide, including in the Amazon, the largest tropical forest on the planet. The studies — one led by Locosselli and published in the , and the other by Roel Brienen of the University of Leeds in the U.K., published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) — look at the links between rising temperatures and tree growth and mortality rates. Locosselli and Brienen have worked together for many years and are co-authors on both studies, alongside 20 other researchers from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Finland. Both studies use data from the International Tree-Ring Data Bank, the world’s largest public archive of this type, maintained by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The rings that appear in cross-sections of tree trunks provide crucial information about the individual tree’s age, growth rate, and the prevailing environmental conditions…

Sacramento, California, KOVR-TV, February 24, 2021: Cause For Concern: Arborist Says Davis Tree That Killed Woman Looked To Have Multiple Failing Limbs

Many questions still surround what led to a tree limb in Davis breaking off and crushing a woman in a park Tuesday.CBS13 walked the area with an arborist Wednesday who said most of the trees in Slide Hill Park are in good condition, except for a couple of them. Among the two trees of concern is the one that lost a limb and killed a woman when it crushed her. “It breaks my heart knowing what happened here,” said Daniel Hovarter, an arborist with Tree Services Sacramento. “These two trees are gigantic red flags.” Neighbors are heartbroken, too. “Horrible – just horrible. We’re devastated,” said Mary Draffan, who lives around the corner. “The messages started flying – are you okay? Is everything okay? We still don’t know the name.” Davis’ Urban Forest Manager, Rob Cain, told CBS13 on Tuesday it was the first time something of this nature had ever happened. But others in the neighborhood say it may have only been the first time it turned deadly. “It’s been happening all over town,” said Sophia Gonzalez…

Better Homes & Gardens, February 24, 2021: Yes, Johnny Appleseed Trees Exist, and Now You Can Grow One of Your Own

Through children’s books, films, and television specials, the story of Johnny Appleseed has touched American hearts ever since the real hero, John Chapman, first planted apple seeds across the country in the 1800s. Now, you can literally bring the legend to life by growing a clone of a Johnny Appleseed tree in your own backyard. Jeff Meyer, the founder of Johnny Appleseed Organic, first found out about one of the last known Appleseed trees in the 1990s when the Harvey-Algeo family in Ohio sent him a letter revealing that they had been taking care of the tree on their farm for generations. After verifying the historic tree’s authenticity through independent entities, Meyer acquired exclusive genetic rights to it and started propagating identical copies of it. He planted the grafted saplings in his nursery and discovered that they have several desirable characteristics. “They’re very vigorous, healthy trees with very few problems at all in terms of diseases,” Meyer says. He notes that, compared to all the different varieties such as Delicious and Fuji in the nursery, the cloned Johnny Appleseed trees “will grow more than any of the other trees do in a 12-month time.” They also produce large crops of tasty green fruit, which ripen in late September. Meyer describes the flavor as “a little bit tart and a little bit sweet, but not overly either one…”

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Argus Leader, February 24, 2021: Tree farmers aren’t happy South Dakota lawmakers want to reclassify their land as non-agricultural

After more than two hours of debate, heavily amended legislation that would change the tax definition of agricultural land will head to the Senate floor. However, some in the agricultural industry still aren’t happy with the bill as it stands, particularly those in the foresting industry west of the Missouri River. House Bill 1085 would change the tax code so that land could be classified as agricultural — and receive any ensuing tax breaks — if its “principal use” is agricultural and, in three of the past five years, the landowner had received an annual gross income of at least $2,500 from the “pursuit of agriculture.” Under current statute, land is agricultural if the gross income derived from agriculture is “at least 10% of the taxable valuation of the bare land assessed as agricultural property.” Introduced by Rep. Kirk Chaffee, R-Whitewood, the bill is meant to simplify the tax code and “make sure that agriculture land is really classified as agricultural land for purposes of taxation,” as Sen. Mary Duvall, R-Pierre, said during proponent testimony…

Bradford, Pennsylvania, Era, February 24, 2021: National Invasive Species Awareness Week

Our forests and fields are full of many kinds of plants. Are plants just plants? In northcentral Pennsylvania, there are a number of plants invading natural areas. These plants not only affect the native food web for wildlife, but also impact the health of the forests today and many years into the future. Most of these plants have spread from gardens or other unintentional sources. Invasive plants in local forests suppress regeneration of the future forest. Young tree seedlings need sun and resources. Invasive plants monopolize these resources and prevent the survival of new trees. While a thick stand of Japanese stiltgrass beneath mature trees may look charming, the health of the forest far in the future will suffer. If healthy young trees do not have the potential to replace the mature forest, old trees eventually die and all that is left is a sea of invasive plants and shrubs, and a few unhealthy remaining trees. It is easy to overlook the effects invasive plants can have since tomorrow’s forest is often beyond our lifetimes…

Truckee, California, Sierra Sun Times, February 23, 2021: Center for Biological Diversity Reports Court Upholds Protection for California’s Western Joshua Trees

A Fresno County Superior Court judge has rejected an effort by construction and real estate interests, along with the city of Hesperia, to strip away legal protections that currently apply to the imperiled western Joshua tree. “This is a critical victory for these beautiful trees and their fragile desert ecosystem,” said Brendan Cummings, the Center for Biological Diversity’s conservation director and a Joshua Tree resident. “If Joshua trees are to survive the inhospitable climate we’re giving them, the most important thing we must do is protect their habitat, and this decision ensures recent protections will remain in place.” On September 22, 2020, the California Fish and Game Commission unanimously voted to grant western Joshua trees candidate status under the California Endangered Species Act, giving them legal protection during a yearlong review to determine whether the species should be formally protected. The commission’s protection decision came in response to a petition from the Center. On October 21, 2020, a coalition of interests opposed to protection of the Joshua tree filed a lawsuit in Fresno County Superior Court seeking to overturn the commission’s decision and moved to set aside the tree’s candidate status. In her ruling last week rejecting the stay request, Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan found that “it is clear to the court that a stay would be against the public interest…”

Sacramento, California, Bee, February 23, 2021: Woman killed by falling tree branch at Slide Hill Park in Davis, city officials say

A woman was killed by a falling tree branch at Slide Hill Park in Davis on Tuesday morning, city officials said. Police and fire authorities responded around 10:30 a.m. to the park to reports of a woman “critically injured by a falling tree limb,” the city said in a news release. “The woman was provided immediate medical attention and was transported to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento where she succumbed to injuries and passed away,” the news release continued. The victim’s identity has not been released. “The City of Davis extends its deepest sympathies to the surviving family and will work diligently to investigate this tragic accident,” Mayor Gloria Partida said in a prepared statement…

Huntington, West Virginia, WSAZ-TV, February 23, 2021: WVDOH makes progress removing frozen trees

West Virginia Division of Highways crews from all across the state are making progress in reopening hundreds of roads closed because of last week’s ice storms. A series of winter storms from Feb. 10 through Feb. 15 left ice-coated trees and power lines across roadways. The worst of the damage was in Cabell, Jackson, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam, and Wayne counties, where Gov. Jim Justice declared a State of Emergency on Feb. 16. In the six counties within the disaster area, more than 280 roads were left impassable in the aftermath of the ice storms. Many were blocked in dozens of places, with trees both falling across roads and getting tangled in power lines. Both WVDOH District 1 Engineer Travis Knighton and District 2 Manager Scott Eplin said the damage was “as bad or worse than the 2012 Derecho…”

Nature, February 23, 2021: Continent-wide tree fecundity driven by indirect climate effects

Indirect climate effects on tree fecundity that come through variation in size and growth (climate-condition interactions) are not currently part of models used to predict future forests. Trends in species abundances predicted from meta-analyses and species distribution models will be misleading if they depend on the conditions of individuals. Here we find from a synthesis of tree species in North America that climate-condition interactions dominate responses through two pathways, i) effects of growth that depend on climate, and ii) effects of climate that depend on tree size. Because tree fecundity first increases and then declines with size, climate change that stimulates growth promotes a shift of small trees to more fecund sizes, but the opposite can be true for large sizes. Change the depresses growth also affects fecundity. We find a biogeographic divide, with these interactions reducing fecundity in the West and increasing it in the East. Continental-scale responses of these forests are thus driven largely by indirect effects, recommending management for climate change that considers multiple demographic rates…

The Conversation, February 22, 2021: Keeping trees in the ground where they are already growing is an effective low-tech way to slow climate change

Protecting forests is an essential strategy in the fight against climate change that has not received the attention it deserves. Trees capture and store massive amounts of carbon. And unlike some strategies for cooling the climate, they don’t require costly and complicated technology. Yet although tree-planting initiatives are popular, protecting and restoring existing forests rarely attracts the same level of support. As an example, forest protection was notably missing from the US$447 million Energy Act of 2020, which the U.S. Congress passed in December 2020 to jump-start technological carbon capture and storage. In our work as forest carbon cycle and climate change scientists, we track carbon emissions from forests to wood products and all the way to landfills – and from forest fires. Our research shows that protecting carbon in forests is essential for meeting global climate goals. Ironically, we see the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a model. This program, which was created after the 1973 oil crisis to guard against future supply disruptions, stores nearly 800 million gallons of oil in huge underground salt caverns along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. We propose creating strategic forest carbon reserves to store carbon as a way of stabilizing the climate, much as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve helps to stabilize oil markets…

Fort Collins, Colorado, Coloradoan, February 20, 2021: Prime time to prune trees in Colorado is now, not in spring

Pruning your trees might be one of the last things on your mind after we just experienced our coldest weather in several years. But the temperature is climbing back to around 40 degrees by the weekend and the 50s by early next week, and now through early March is prime time to prune most trees in Colorado. Many people wait until spring to prune, but for most trees pruning when trees are still dormant ensures the wound will close more rapidly, which greatly reduces the chance for disease. That’s why you see city of Fort Collins Forestry Department staff pruning city trees this time of year. Pruning now also can alleviate some of the problems seen in the spring when we have heavy, wet snow that breaks branches. But before you get out the pruners, here are tips on what and how to prune, choosing the right tool for the job and what plants prefer to wait until later in the season…

Grist, February 22, 2021: Tackling tree equity

A new partnership between Tazo Tea and the nonprofit American Forests is tackling the lack of tree cover in low-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, which is linked to decades of racist housing policy. “If you look at a map of most American cities, you’ll find that tree canopy cover tracks along income lines,” Sarah Anderson of American Forests told Fast Company. “This is the result of decades of discriminatory housing and planning purposes.” The lack of tree cover has an impact: Neighborhoods formerly subject to the government policy of redlining can be 5 to 20 degrees F hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods in the same city. More trees can help keep neighborhoods cool, decrease air conditioning costs, and prevent flooding. The new partnership will work to build tree cover by selecting 25 full-time fellows in Detroit, Minneapolis, New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Richmond, Virginia, to plant and care for trees in their communities. The fellows will earn a “family-sustaining wage” along with childcare, transportation, health, and retirement benefits…

Associated Press, February 23, 2021: Gardening: How to protect or heal trees damaged by snow

The deadly winter storms that have wreaked havoc in large swaths of the country recently can also damage trees and shrubs. Snow can of course enhance the look of yards and gardens, visually knitting together the plants, fences, even lawn furniture in a sea of white. But it also can bring down branches. Or worse, snap a major limb on a tree or split a bush wide open. Most trees and shrubs will recover from such trauma, sending up new sprouts in the spring to replace missing limbs. But there are steps you can take to mitigate the damage and help the plant heal. There also are ways to help protect trees from the weather. The ragged edge from a broken branch exposes a lot of surface area, which slows healing, so cut back any break cleanly to leave a surface that heals better. Many gardeners’ first inclination, however, before doing any pruning, would be to save what is broken, merely putting the broken limb back in place and holding it there the way a doctor sets a broken bone. It can be done, just as if it were a large graft…

Traverse City, Michigan, Record-Eagle, February 22, 2021: Tree-killing invasive species found in Benzie County at Sleeping Bear Dunes

A tiny, invasive insect recently detected in a national park campground set off a flurry of activity among environmental experts determined to fend off the threat as long as possible. Evidence of hemlock woolly adelgid was found Feb. 4 on a tree in Platte River Campground within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. A sample taken was the following day confirmed as the invasive pest insect by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now local and state invasive species experts want area residents to help them stay vigilant against HWA, which can kill hemlock trees within 10 years, weakening them by sucking the trees’ sap out. “This is our first infestation in our service area,” said Audrey Menninga, invasive species specialist with Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network. “We are pretty optimistic about it.” National lakeshore employees began surveying high-use areas within the park for HWA in January through Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding. They found round, white ovisacs characteristic of the HWA on a single tree within the campground in Benzie County…

Portland, Oregon, Oregon Public Broadcasting, February 21, 2021: Tips for ice-damaged trees from a neighborhood tree specialist

This month’s snow and ice storms in western Oregon knocked out power for more than half a million utility customers and littered streets and sidewalks with branches. Now a lot of trees are needing some TLC to help them recover. Ian Bonham is a neighborhood trees senior specialist with Friends of Trees in Portland, a nonprofit dedicated to planting and maintaining trees and native plants throughout the region. He says in most cities it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to take care of trees on their property and adjacent to their homes. Still, you’ll want to check in with your city’s urban forestry department before making any changes. “Mostly that’s just to make sure I’m taking care of the tree in the right way and make sure I’m not doing any further damage to the tree,” Bonham said…

Bangor, Maine, Daily News, February 20, 2021: What you need to know about tapping birch trees for sap and syrup

Birch trees are more than just a lovely, ghostly flora growing throughout Maine’s forests. They also produce a scrumptious sap that can be sipped or simmered into syrup. Michael Romanyshyn, owner of Temple Tappers in Temple, is the largest — and, currently, only — commercial birch syrup producer in Maine. He started tapping birch trees and producing syrup about nine years ago, after he learned about it while traveling as a puppeteer through eastern Europe where birch sap and syrup is already popular. “Our farm has a really nice grove of birch trees,” Romanyshyn said. “I was thinking about that as a possibility for us to help support being [in Maine]. We got interested not because we were maple producers. We just have a lot of birch trees.” Max Couture, owner of Road’s End Farm in Canton, started experimenting with birch tree tapping and making birch syrup last year. “I’ve been doing maple my whole life,” Couture said. “It’s actually pretty straightforward to transition to birch from maple as long as you have access to trees. It’s not a new thing, but it’s a new thing for Maine…”

Washington, D.C., Post, February 18, 2021: Neighbors mount effort to defend Arlington’s trees from development

Whenever Frederick T. Craddock steps out of his Arlington townhouse, 39 Leyland cypress trees are there to greet him. The trees aren’t ancient — they were planted around the time Craddock bought his new home in 1996. But at 40 feet tall, the cypresses provide aesthetic relief from dense development in the Shirlington area and Interstate 395’s tarmac river. The trees might not be there much longer. After construction on a new community next door began last year, the cypresses have turned brown, and ¬arborists said they will not survive. Now, Craddock is among a group of Northern Virginia residents asking whether greenery can be saved as development encroaches. “The trees are in danger,” he said. “When I press the people at Arlington County, they say, ‘Well, we do protect trees on public land, but homeowners are left to their own devices…’ ”

Portland, Oregon, KATU-TV, February 18, 2021: ‘Please refrain from burning’ downed trees, debris from storm, Oregon DEQ says

Recent winter storms have brought down a lot of trees in the Pacific Northwest. While starting a bonfire might seem like an easy way to dispose of the material, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is asking for people to refrain from burning piles of debris. According to the DEQ, smoke from burning debris pollutes the air and can hurt your eyes and irritate your respiratory system. In the time of the coronavirus pandemic, this can compound health problems, especially for those in vulnerable populations. The DEQ air quality monitors in Clackamas, Linn, and Marion counties are still without power Thursday. The DEQ said it may be a few more days before it’s restored and the facilities are back online…

Seattle, Washington, KUOW Radio, February 18, 2021: Ancient Trees Show When The Earth’s Magnetic Field Last Flipped Out

An ancient, well-preserved tree that was alive the last time the Earth’s magnetic poles flipped has helped scientists pin down more precise timing of that event, which occurred about 42,000 years ago. This new information has led them to link the flipping of the poles to key moments in the prehistoric record, like the sudden appearance of cave art and the mysterious extinction of large mammals and the Neanderthals. They argue that the weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field would have briefly transformed the world by altering its climate and allowing far more ultraviolet light to pour in. Their provocative analysis, in the journal Science, is sure to get researchers talking. Until now, scientists have mostly assumed that magnetic field reversals didn’t matter much for life on Earth — although some geologists have noted that die-offs of large mammals seemed to occur in periods when the Earth’s magnetic field was weak. The Earth is a giant magnet because its core is solid iron, and swirling around it is an ocean of molten metal. This churning creates a huge magnetic field, one that wraps around the planet and protects it from charged cosmic rays coming in from outer space. Sometimes, for reasons scientists do not fully understand, the magnetic field becomes unstable and its north and south poles can flip. The last major reversal, though it was short-lived, happened around 42,000 years ago…

The Conversation, February 18, 2021: Africa indigenous fruit trees offer major benefits. But they’re being ignored

Indigenous fruits have been collected from the wild for centuries for human consumption and other purposes. Across the African continent, indigenous fruit trees are valuable assets for local communities. But the natural habitats of trees are being lost, mainly to widespread deforestation resulting from population growth. Industrial agriculture is also contributing to their loss. Indigenous fruit trees provide vital nutrients that may be scarce in other food sources. They are naturally adapted to local soils and climates, can enhance food and nutrition security and often adapt and survive environmental stresses better than exotic species. My colleague and I reviewed information on 10 fruit trees indigenous to Africa that are considered to be underused. We assessed their occurrence, distribution, nutritional components and medicinal potential. We also explored their challenges and prospects…

Norfolk, Virginia, Virginian-Pilot, February 18, 2021: 1,000 tiny seedlings will one day fend off mountain of moving sand at Jockey’s Ridge

More than 300 longleaf pine seedlings rise just six inches from the ground on the south side of Jockey’s Ridge State Park. They may be small and look like a child’s cowlick now, but in a few years, they will stave off the mountain of sand drifting toward homes on Soundside Road. The pine seedlings were among the 1,000 planted two weeks ago to stabilize the largest sand dune on the East Coast and diversify the habitat, said ranger Austin Paul. Park staff also will put up wood slat sand fencing and possibly add old Christmas trees to stand in for the slow-glowing trees, Paul said. The mountain of sand that is Jockey’s Ridge shifts about six feet a year as winter winds blow the sand to the southwest. The dune can move more than 30 feet some years, forming ominous cliffs near houses and roads. Two years ago, an excavating company moved 200,000 tons — or about 14,000 dump trucks — of sand away from Soundside Road to the opposite side of the park…

Omaha, Nebraska, World-Telegram, February 17, 2021: Omaha moving ahead with plans to remove trees damaged by emerald ash borer infestation

Plans are moving forward to remove thousands of Omaha’s ash trees that have been damaged by infestation. An inventory by the city forestry division found an estimated 14,569 ash trees that have been damaged by the emerald ash borer, according to a statement Wednesday from the Mayor’s Office. The first signs of the infestation in Omaha were reported in June 2016 at Pulaski Park near 40th and G Streets. “Our first priority is to save trees, not cut them down,” said Parks Director Matt Kalcevich. “We have unfortunately reached the point where treatment is not an effective strategy. The threat of personal injury and property damage is too significant to delay this work any longer.” The city estimates said that 6,119 ash trees have already been removed from public property. The Omaha City Council has approved contracts with private companies to remove an additional 1,382 trees…

New Orleans, Louisiana, Times Picayune, February 17, 2021: Madisonville considers cemetery, tree preservation ordinances

The Madisonville Town Council introduced ordinances regulating the use of the town cemetery and defining “protected trees” at its last meeting… The tree preservation ordinance defines a protected tree as any live oak or cypress tree over six inches in diameter at breast height and requires a permit for the cutting, clearing or removal of any tree that meets that definition. Pruning of a protected tree requires the issuance of a permit and must be supervised by a licensed arborist or a state forester at the owner’s expense. The ordinance also makes it unlawful to place soil or fill dirt in a way that would cause a protected tree to become diseased or die, and requires that protected trees be encircled by a protective barrier during any construction project…

London, UK, The Guardian, February 17, 2021: Brexit forces Northern Ireland buyers to cancel orders for 100,000 trees

Orders for almost 100,000 trees have been cancelled by Northern Ireland buyers because of a post-Brexit ban on the plants being moved from Britain, the Guardian can reveal. Leaders in the business say it is a major setback for tree-planting programmes in Belfast and elsewhere in the region. The Woodland Trust in Northern Ireland has just cancelled an order for 22,000 trees, which were destined for schools and communities as part of a Northern Ireland greening project. “It’s a disaster. They’re just stopping any exports from mainland UK over to Northern Ireland. We can’t get any trees over from any of the nurseries that we would usually deal with over there,” said Gregor Fulton, an estate and outreach manager at the trust…

Greensboro, North Carolina, WFMY-TV, February 17, 2021: Triad city crews, tree service companies preparing for more damage and debris after ice storm

Just days ago, ice brought down trees across roads, into homes, and onto power lines in many parts of the Triad. “I think the storm this past weekend…I think it took everybody by surprise – I know it did us. We knew that there was a chance of ice but we do really didn’t think it was going to be that significant,” said Scott Saintsing, owner of Outdoor Exposure, a tree service company. Those in charge of clearing the tree damage and debris are ready for round two. Greensboro’s Field Operations deputy director Chris Marriott says nearly a dozen crews start their shifts at midnight. “That will be tree crews to clear the roads and basically what we call ‘cut and shove’ – cut the trees up and shove them out of the way, to open up access for whoever needs it primarily emergency vehicles,” he explained Wednesday. Dispatched as needed from the operations center on Patton Avenue, he says it could take a while to clear the tree damage near you when you or your neighbors report it. Here’s why. “We’re going to clear [other trees] out of the way on the way to that other call. So we may not necessarily get to them in the order that they come in,” Marriott said…