City Trees

4 CityTREES President's Message Rachel Habig-Myers Executive Director's Message Leslie Berckes I feel so lucky to work with UCFS Members and learn how you manage trees in your commu- nities because, among many things, I get to say, "Oooo, that's a good idea, I'm going to steal that for my city!" And, that's exactly what happened when I recently requested a meet- ing with our new mayor to talk about tree protection. Like many of you, I watch in dismay as trees are treated poorly during street construction, private property devel- opment, and through new city infrastructure projects. It seems no place is immune to tree and development conflict—but I always have hope that we can do better. As I sat down with the mayor, I came prepared with tree policies I gleaned from members. I came with the intention of making clear that trees are city-owned infrastructure just like street lights, fire hydrants, and traffic signs. The city paid good taxpayer dollars for the installation of, and two years of maintenance for, each tree. And unlike the three pieces of infrastructure listed above, a moment's damage to a tree could cause the city to lose years of appreciated value. I pointed to the great tree protection protocols in place across the country and indicated how we can do those things too. Fortunately, our mayor—who supports trees but may not have them at the top of her list—listened intently and agreed that we could do something. The meeting ended with the directive to meet with the city for- ester and sustainability director to find a few paths forward and bring it back to the mayor. Hooray! I write this because the message that trees are an essential, vital, and non-negotiable piece of the city infrastructure puzzle is one that I personally, and this organization, carry for you. It comes out in personal instances as detailed above, as well as when we work with allied pro- fessional groups. I want us all to work on this together, learn from the network, and then take the message back home to push that much harder for a seat at the table. Your work to grow healthy trees—the superheroes of the green infrastructure world—deserves this level of recognition; let's work together to make it happen! It's that time of year when "fast" seems to speed up, and yet everything also seems to be standing still. My mind is still in the dreaming phase—planning, ordering, permitting, and count- ing degree days. I need to hedge my side bets about when a given forest pest (beech leaf disease nema- todes, spotted lanternfly, emerald ash borer …) will emerge for the season. My schedule is filling up, and anticipation keeps building for all the great projects to be completed this year. I know that someday very soon I will find myself running all out, and I risk forgetting to dream until I need to plan fall travel to the 2024 UCFS Annual Conference. It's also the time of year for waiting—for budbreak, for the swimming pool to open, for popsicle season in the office freezer. My team is warming up with some hemlock woolly adelgid treatments, and they stand ready to pounce as soon as spotted lanternfly nymphs start hopping. As the lists of pests in season grows, it is easy to get caught up in the rush and forget that we always have the luxury of remembering the stillness of winter and the waiting season. In between the waiting and the hurrying is a kind of peace where we can realize that some things are always there, always waiting, continuing steadily no matter what silly things are preoccupying us. I hope that trees are the first steady, "always there" thing you think of, and I hope that UCFS is the second! I mean, I realize that all of the plans we made in waiting season should be first, to keep us on track, but the nature of plans is to help the universe find more creative ways for our lives to play out. No matter how busy we get in our daily lives and how much we get caught up in the flow of our work, UCFS is steadily working to provide new information, resources, support, and connection to thousands of colleagues facing the same changes and issues around the continent and the world. In the UCFS space, I can find stillness amidst the speed and can remember to be thankful to have so much going on. After all, the fast pace coincides with so much opportunity for the future!

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