New Horizons for the Idaho Department of Lands Urban and Community Forestry Program
|
Thank you for taking the time to read the Spring 2022 IDL Community Forestry Newsletter. This will be the first of many for me. My name is Matthew Perkins, and I am honored to have been chosen as the new Idaho Department of Lands Urban & Community Forestry Program Manager.
To help you get to know me a little better, here is some of my history.
|
|
 |
I am about as close to Idaho Native as you can get - my family moved to Boise back in 1975 when I was two years old. Except for one wild stint I had that lasted two years moving out of Idaho after graduating high school, I have been here ever since. In 1998 I was working at a print shop running offset, sheet fed printers as a Lithographer. One day I found myself looking around the printshop seeing the other people who had been doing that type of work for many years and I questioned if that was really what I wanted to do.
That summer I went on a family vacation to Lake Tahoe. While solo hiking along a trail in D.L. Bliss State Park I had an epiphany: I wanted to work in the forest!
When I came back from that vacation, one of the first jobs I ran on the printing press was a trifold brochure for the University of Idaho’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Range Sciences. It was then that I truly had an “ah-ha!” moment. The only problem was at the time I was a single father of a 2-year-old daughter, and I had my family here in Boise as a support system to help me with the challenges that come with single parenting. Relocating up to Moscow for college would have eliminated that support system. So, I began talking to an advisor at Boise State University who pointed me to their Horticulture Program. That was close enough.
While studying at BSU, I worked at the Idaho Botanical Gardens as a gardener and In 2001, upon graduating from the Horticulture Program I became an ISA Certified Arborist, then returned to the landscape maintenance field where I managed the pruning division for a landscape company. An increased interest in diagnostics and consultation led me to start my own Plant Health Care business in 2003 specializing in insect and disease management with a focus on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), providing clients with trustworthy, affordable, and effective treatment programs.
While I was running this business, I was asked to come back to the BSU Horticulture program as an adjunct instructor to teach classes in Pruning and Landscape Maintenance. Eventually I sold my business and went to work for a local tree service as the lead tree climber and Plant Health Care consultant.
In 2010, I accepted a position with the U.S. Dept. of Interior leading an Exotic Plant Management Team at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. What better way to clear your head than to lead a team of technicians into the remote lava flows to survey and map noxious weed infestations with GIS, and treat them according to their growth stage?
 The EPMT crew at a water cache in a Kipuka on the Wapi Flow at Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve. A helicopter in the background flies low and helps survey for patches of Dyers Woad, the noxious weed we were treating. That's me in the black hat. 2010
When the work was done for the season at Craters of the Moon, I was hired to manage the Laura Moore Cunningham Memorial Arboretum for Boise Community Forestry. The Arboretum serves as a nursery for city trees that will be planted into parks and right-of-way properties. In 2015, I became one of the Urban Forestry Specialist/Inspectors for the City of Boise, managing contract tree work, running the Tree Stewards Volunteer Program, teaching community education classes, and responding to public service requests.
Right before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, I became the City Arborist/Forester for Meridian, Idaho. Regular duties included design reviews, tree mitigation plans for development, contract management, community education, and field work among other tasks. While at Meridian I also developed an Urban Forest Management Plan for the city, presenting it to the Parks and Recreation Committee as well as the City Council.
In addition to being an ISA Certified Arborist, I am also an ISA Certified Municipal Specialist, Tree Climber Specialist, and a Qualified Tree Risk Assessor, as well as an Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association (INLA) Certified Nursery Professional, Advanced Plant Diagnostician and a Society of Municipal Arborists Municipal Foresters Institute (MFI) Graduate, Class of 2017.
When I am not thinking about trees, I like to hike in the mountains searching for lakes and rivers to swim in, hot springs to soak in, wildflowers to admire, huckleberries to pick, and mushrooms to find. I'm also an avid fly fisherman.
As the new program manager for IDL I'm excited to help communities across Idaho build and grow their Urban Forestry programs, develop ordinances that protect public trees, draft Urban Forest Management Plans, establish tree inventories and use those inventory systems to more effectively manage their Urban Forests. I'm looking forward to working with Idaho Arborists to help them continue to gain the experience and training that is needed to keep up with all of the advancements and discoveries being made in the wonderful world of Arboriculture.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or ideas you may have about how I can help you and your community forestry program.
Tree City USA 2021, Arbor Day 2022
This year, Idaho Tree City USA communities across the state celebrated the 150th Anniversary of Arbor Day. Idaho had 59 cities qualify as Tree City USA for 2021 with an additional 6 cities earning a Growth Award (Boise, Coeur d’ Alene, McCall, Moscow, Meridian, and Hailey).
 Boise State University held their inaugural celebration as they received recognition as a Tree Campus USA Higher Education Institution for the first time. In order to earn this recognition a college or university must meet the following criteria.
- Establish a tree advisory committee
- Provide evidence of a campus tree care plan
- Provide verification of dedicated annual expenditures for carrying out the tree care plan
- Observe Arbor Day
- Create a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body
School of Public Service Lecturer Mari Rice led a group of over 30 students from the Environmental Studies 300- level course on a collaborative project involving students, Campus Landscape Services, the Service-Learning office, Campus Sustainability and the Idaho Department of Lands to inventory all the trees on BSU Campus. As part of the project hey entered over 2000 trees into the Plan-it Geo Tree Plotter inventory software provided by the Idaho Department of Lands Urban and Community Forestry Program. To learn more about the BSU project you can visit the Comprehensive Online Story Map they created here. The inventory will allow the school to more effectively manage the trees throughout the campus, serve as a tool for the campus community to learn more about the benefits of trees, and bring BSU closer to its STARs Sustainability goals while supporting the City of Boise’s ongoing City of trees Challenge.
 Boise State University Students and staff from Boise Community Forestry combined forces to plant trees and celebrate Arbor Day as well as the inauguration of BSU as a Tree Campus Higher Education Institution.
The Idaho Department of Lands also provided $300 Arbor Day grants for cities to help cover the cost of planting trees during their Arbor Day Celebrations. The grants are funded by contributions made by the state of Idaho’s energy providers - Idaho Power, Avista Power, and Rocky Mountain Power. This year 46 grants were awarded to communities for a total amount of $13,800. The Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association handles the application process and distributes the funds.
Water Wise Landscaping
 Part of the Boise River Drainage, the Southfork of the Boise River in April 2022 as it approaches Arrowrock Reservoir (flowing towards you), one of the main sources of water for the Treasure Valley. Photo credit- Matthew Perkins
“Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink,” goes the popular saying. In fact, seventy percent of the world’s surface is covered with water. But did you know that only about one percent of all that liquid is fresh water. Further compounding the problem is the uneven distribution of our fresh water resource. Much of it is in places like the Great Lakes or in the Rocky Mountains, while other areas suffer with recurring droughts, receding water tables, pollution, etc.
During summer months, outdoor water use typically accounts for forty to sixty percent of residential water use in the western United States and as much as 80 percent on hot, dry days. With so much water being used to water lawns, gardens, and shrub areas, landscape watering becomes an obvious target for saving water. Whether you have lived in the Mountain West all your life, or just moved here from a different area, creating a water wise landscape can be a challenging and exciting experience. You can achieve different looks to suit your taste, and your yard can serve a variety of functions that match your lifestyle. With landscaping estimated to contribute approximately fifteen percent to property values, a responsible management decision would be to make the best of all water resources.
The good news is that there are proven ways to conserve water without surrounding your home with a concrete slab. It can be done through the correct selection of trees, shrubs and flowers, careful design or the modification of existing landscaping, and the installation of water saving irrigation devices. Whether old or new, your landscape can be more water efficient simply by using the water wise principles of Xeriscape. The word, Xeriscape, is derived from the Greek, xeros, meaning dry. Actually, a Xeriscape is not dry, but by applying the fundamental concepts of Xeriscaping you can dramatically cut the amount of water needed for a beautiful and functional landscape. Not only will your yard look great, but Xeriscape improvements can increase the value and selling potential of your home. The following seven Xeriscape principles will serve as a guide to saving water while still maintaining your landscape.
Planning and Design
Creating a plan will help you get the most out of your landscape while considering issues like cost, function, aesthetic preferences, maintenance requirements, water efficiency and energy efficiency. You can tailor the plan to suit your taste, your needs and your checkbook. The plan will serve as a guide throughout the landscaping process. It will help you stay focused and can help to avoid time consuming and costly mistakes. Place large deciduous trees to maximize summer shade on hot sides of the house. If room allows, plant a dense windbreak to cut down on drying winds. Group vegetation according to the water needs of the plants. This will allow you to reduce the overall area needing extra water.
 This landscape combines low water use plants with native selections and limits the use of turfgrass while cutting down on the amount of paved surfaces. Photo credit- M. Perkins
Select the Right Vegetation
There are hundreds of water thrifty native plant species available at local nurseries. They come in all shapes and sizes and serve a variety of purposes ranging from providing shade to adding seasonal color to screening unsightly areas. Many low water use plants have beautiful flowers or interesting forms. Wildflowers can be planted in beds or among other low water use plants. As a rule of thumb when deciding what to plant, consider native species that grow within a few miles of your property. These species will be suited to your altitude, latitude and annual temperature extremes.
 This landscape cuts back on the use of turfgrass, uses organic mulch to help regulate soil moisture content and surface temperatures while raised garden beds use space wisely incorporate the use of water efficient irrgation. Photo credit- M. Perkins
Reduce Lawn Area
Lawn has been called a “botanical absurdity.” It requires water, fertilizer, weed killing chemicals, lawn mower gas and oil, and large quantities of time. Turf does require more water and maintenance than low water use plants, but sometimes, only lawn will do. If you are sports minded, have children or pets at home, small turf areas can be incorporated successfully into a Xeriscape. By reducing lawn area to what is actually needed for recreation or landscape enhancement, you can liberate your weekends, save money and help protect the environment. Locate turf only in areas where it provides functional benefits. For easy maintenance, plant turf away from sidewalks, fences and walls. Keep turf close to the home to provide a cooling effect, as well as a fire barrier in case of wildfire.
Efficient Irrigation
Well-planned irrigation systems can save water. For efficient water use, plan to irrigate turf areas separately from other plantings. It is best to water turf areas with sprinklers. Almost all new plants should be watered regularly to get them established; and most plants, low water use or not, need some kind of irrigation even after they become mature. Trees, shrubs, garden flowers and groundcovers can be watered efficiently with low volume drip emitters. Drip irrigation technology is readily available for home use and has reached a state of high-level performance. It is the best possible method for watering trees and shrubs because it enables you to provide the exact amount of water needed by each plant and to place the water directly on the root zone of the plant. Drip irrigation cuts water use by up to seventy percent because less is lost to runoff, evaporation, sidewalks, weed patches and other non-target areas. Also remember that plants need less water during the cooler months. Be sure to adjust your irrigation schedule three or four times a year.
Work With Your Soil
Soil improvements allow for better absorption of water and improve the soil’s water holding capacity. Soils that contain organic matter also provide beneficial nutrients to plants. You may need to improve the soil before you plant. Test the pH of your soil and be sure that the species you plant or retain are suited to that level.
To increase the ability of soil to absorb and store water:
- Prevent compaction and aerate regularly
- Till in several inches of compost, but be careful of existing roots of trees, etc.
- Mulch using organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, or wood chips that slowly decompose to help build a more sponge-like soil structure
- Limit the input of manufactured chemicals
Use of Mulches
Mulches cover the soil and reduce evaporation from planted areas. They cool the soil beneath and help to inhibit weed growth and erosion. Mulches also provide landscape interest. Many different organic and inorganic types of mulch are available in assorted textures, colors and sizes. When used around the base of trees, they also protect the tree from “lawnmower blight” by preventing the growth of turf near the trunk.
Provide Regular Landscape Maintenance
When properly designed and maintained, Xeriscapes save water, time and money through reduced plant water needs and lower maintenance requirements. Low water use and low maintenance does not mean no water use and no maintenance. All landscapes need some care, and most plants need some supplemental water. Regular landscape maintenance can help save water several ways:
- Core aeration is the removal of small plugs of grass and topsoil and can shrink your water bill as much as fifty percent by allowing water to penetrate sod and thatch.
- When using a sprinkler system, water between 10 PM and 6 AM to help prevent diseases and to reduce evaporation.
- Prudent use of fertilizers will help to avoid excessive plant growth that demands additional water to support.
- Control weeds, as they rob moisture from the soil.
- Raise your lawnmower deck. Taller grass helps reduce moisture evaporation by shading the ground and developing deeper lawn roots.
Canopy Watch and Public Access to Trees
On Saturday April 23rd, 2022, the City of Meridian Parks and Recreation Department hosted Idaho’s first Public Municipal Tree Climb with Canopy Watch. David Anderson is the founder and Executive Director of the 501(C)(3) Nonprofit Organization based in Boise, Idaho that organizes guided tree climbs throughout the Pacific Northwest, and tropical forests in Central and South America. Tree climbs get people up into the canopies of large trees with the goal of empowering personal and scientific discovery.
The large English Oak (Quercus robur) where the climb took place is part of the original farmstead that was located at the site that is now Settlers Park. The prized 46” DBH tree is estimated to have been planted in 1930 and is one of the largest mature trees in the City of Meridian’s Park system.
 Canopy Watch leading the first Public Tree Climb for Idaho in the large old farmstead Oak in Settlers Park Meridian
In addition to public tree climbs, Canopy Watch International offers full and half day “Canopy Expeditions” that emphasize canopy access and ecology, as well as climber training courses. Canopy Watch also works with universities, field stations, consulting firms, and land management agencies to provide research services that allow for accessing the nests of raptors and the elevated habitats of other birds and mammals to install and monitor cameras or traps.
Another public tree climb was offered in Boise, Idaho during the Boise Tree Climbing Competition held in Julia Davis Park on May 14th 2022. This public tree climb featured for the first time an “All-Abilities” adaptive sports climb for people of all abilities.
If you are interested in learning more about Canopy Watch and the tree climbing opportunities they make possible, arrange a public tree climb in your community, or donate to their cause, visit the Canopy Watch website.
Be sure to watch David Anderson’s TED talk about the canopy watch mission on YouTube.
Municipal Foresters Institute 2022 Scholarships
The Idaho Department of Lands Community Forestry Program is offering up to two scholarships to municipal arborist staff for the national 2022 Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI). The institute is an intensive high-level professional growth program of the Society of Municipal Arborists. This week-long training provides personal and professional development opportunities for key urban forestry decision makers who want to become effective leaders and managers. Now in its 17th year, the cadre of dedicated urban forestry instructors have taught over 800 MFI leaders since 2005.
For more information about the institute visit the Society of Municipal Arborists website.
Individuals employed by Idaho municipal forestry programs (city community forestry programs or equivalent) are eligible to apply for the IDL scholarship to the MFI. Additionally, participants from historically underserved populations, including all ethnic origins (African Americans, Asian or Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Hispanics and White) will be considered for the Society of Municipal Arborists sponsored DIVERSITY scholarships for attendance to MFI.
The scholarships will cover registration fees, course materials, and meals (Sunday dinner through Friday lunch) and five nights lodging, with a total value of $2,399. Recipients will be responsible for their travel and any other incidental costs. This year’s Municipal Foresters Institute will be held at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH from September 25 to 30, 2022.
The deadline for submitting scholarship applications is June 24, 2022.
Tree Tips: Ash Flower Gall
As if Ash trees do not already have enough problems associated with them, i.e., Lilac Ash Borer, Aphids, and the Emerald Ash Borer (which is not present in Idaho yet thankfully), here is another one.
Pictured below is unsightly issue that commonly affects Ash trees. The problem is known as “Ash Flower Gall”.
The galls are caused by eriophyid mites that overwinter as fertilized females under bud scales or in the bark tissue. In spring the emerging mites lay eggs in, and begin feeding on the tissues of male flowers, sucking sap as they develop. The feeding causes flower buds to enlarge and tissues to form galls which then surround the mites. These tumor-like growths are green at first, then turn brown later in the season and can persist at times for multiple years. The galls are not harmful to the trees, the “damage” that occurs is mainly cosmetic. Treatment is not necessary; control can be difficult to achieve because of product selection and timing. Also worth noting, because the pest is a mite, imidacloprid will not be effective. Trees that receive a Dormant/Horticultural Oil spray early in the spring for aphid control before, or as buds are emerging, seem to be less affected by this pest.
 These unsightly Ash Flower Galls can be prolific throughout the canopy, and lead one to believe that something is wrong with the tree. Photo credit; Whitney Cranshaw Colorado State University
Calendar of Events Spring 2022
University of Idaho Arboretum Associates Plant Sale
PNW ISA Pacific Northwest International Society of Arboriculture TRAQ (Tree Risk Assessment Qualification) Workshops
Vermeer Rocky Mountain Tree School - Advance Rigging Techniques
Vermeer Rocky Mountain Tree School - Advance Climbing Techniques
Sustainable Forestry Initiative/ Project Learning Tree
2022 Annual Conference “Collaborating for Communities and Forests”
June 14-16 Madison Wisconsin https://forests.org/conference/
University of Idaho Get Dirty Farm School June 20-24
Soil Stewards Farm 452 Farm Rd Moscow, ID 83843
https://getdirtyfarmschool.eventbrite.com/
Kaniksu Land Trust / Pine Street Woods
Pairings in the Pines July 7 & 9
https://www.kaniksu.org/events
2022 INLA Golf Tournament June 9th
Terrace Lakes Golf Course Garden Valley Idaho for more info follow link below
https://inlagrow.org/event-4753322
Other Great Resources
|
