For more than 30 years, Arbor Age magazine has been covering new and innovative products, services, technology and research vital to tree care companies, municipal arborists and utility right-of-way maintenance companies
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12 Arbor Age / June 2014 www.arborage.com Because pest-specifi c research is often accomplished by a handful of university scientists, that research must dissemi- nate from their institutions to a diverse group of stakeholders throughout the nation. The initial research can take years, pa- pers are then peer reviewed, and universities might not require publication at all. It may also take years to share critical and newly validated research solutions about destructive pests with everyone who needs to know about them. Today, the release of information is not well coordinated, and new research can appear in a variety of trade journals. Funding the response to invasive pests Funding for trees, which are considered structural city as- sets, is often viewed by elected offi cials as a cost with little fi nancial upside. The EAB expansion coincided with a severe downturn in the U.S. economy. With city leaders struggling to pay for basic community necessities, this tree-killing pest was not on their radar, nor in their budgets. Tree planting feels good, and is the source of many chari- table outreach efforts. Saving trees is seldom viewed in the same positive light, though one has to wonder why not? This is especially disconcerting when science demonstrates that preserving mature trees offers the greatest long-term benefi t to communities, even when considering the replacement of one tree species with trees of another species 2 . Most city budgets were not designed to recognize tree pro- tection as a "capital expense," yet tree purchasing/planting was considered an acceptable use of capital expense money. Until recently, preserving the trees you had standing was more fi - nancially challenging than removal and replacement, despite the overwhelming advantages to preservation. Illinois has taken a leadership role in addressing the fund- ing issue. Most municipal fi nance offi cials contacted by the tree industry hadn't considered capitalization of tree treat- ment costs, and were unclear whether capitalization for treatment met the standard for generally accepted account- ing principles. Offi cials from the Illinois Municipal League responded that capitalization of tree treatment against invasive species is appropriate under present municipal fi nancial guidelines and standards. A leading bonding agent who represents municipalities throughout Illinois confi rmed the League's opinion, directing that tree treatment could be treated as a capital expense. Subsequently, several municipalities classifi ed invasive pest treatment costs as a capital expense. Doing so provided TREE PEST MANAGEMENT TREE PEST MANAGEMENT