arborists and technicians, very keen to work. I believe motivation plays a crucial role in work: Being eager and willing to do something helps you to overcome problems and to achieve good results.
Forestry Services excels at best-practice approaches for management of serious urban forest pests such as Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). Since EAB arrived in 2002, more than 50 million trees in the U.S. have been killed by this beetle. In Milwaukee alone, 33,000 ash trees could potentially be infested by this insect. I found the strategies adopted by Forestry Services very proactive and innovative. Thanks to a deep scientific knowledge of the problem, they have mounted an effective offensive against this destructive beetle. Furthermore, they have waged a public campaign to inform private landowners about the problem and how to combat it.
Another case of excellence in Milwaukee Forestry Services is the use of i-Tree, a model which provides urban forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools. Milwaukee used i-Tree Eco to evaluate the damages caused by the EAB infestation and to measure EAB structural and functional impacts.
One of the initiatives that impressed me the most is the crew training organized by the City’s Forestry Services department in conjunction with local partners. The pur- pose of this arboriculture training is to provide partici- pants with the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the urban forestry profession, thus expanding their employ- ment opportunities. I believe that this initiative can be beneficial both for Forestry and the participants. Forestry can gain from a young workforce, while participants can learn specialized skills, achieve arborist certification, and earn some money at the same time.
Generally speaking, Milwaukee’s Forestry Services depart-
Thank you, Davey Resource Group, for sponsoring the 2010 Arborist Exchange.
Gianmichele with Milwaukee Urban Forestry Manager Randy Krouse
www.urban-forestry.com
In-house climbing and other types of arborist training are conduct- ed by Milwaukee staff.
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