City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/30662
Wisconsin Urban Forest Facts • There are 688 communities in Wisconsin with a total population of 4.2 million. • Wisconsin has 183 communities that are a Tree City USA, 14 communities that are a Tree Line USA and one Tree Campus USA • According to the USDA Forest Service, 76 Wisconsin communities are at the urban forestry “managing” level and 308 are at the “developing” level. • Wisconsin communities have an estimated 27 million trees valued at $10.9 billion. • Wisconsin’s urban forests annually provide $64 million in energy conservation and pol- lution control. • There are 87 different tree species on Wisconsin streets, but 44% of all street trees are maple and 20% are ash. When the program began, Wisconsin had 49 communities that were designated as a Tree City USA. The state now boasts 183 Tree Cities, the third most in the nation. This success, however, has brought a new challenge—demand for our service far outweighs our capacity to provide it. Early on, the program focused on training, awareness, and direct assistance to communities. This new level of demand requires a greater focus on partnerships and cooperation so that all communities can be served. DNR has always partnered to provide service. For instance, DNR and the Wisconsin Arborist Association have cosponsored an annual conference since 1992 that attracts over 500 participants. However, current times also require new kinds of partnerships and new information to support them. Communities need help with developing political sup- port, funding, technical support, cooperative agree- ments, job creation, and connection to green infra- structure, among other things. Defensible data on the resource and the benefits it provides is fundamental for credibility—which is why DNR partnered with the Forest Service to pilot both a statewide urban forest assess- ment and a street tree inventory. You can find a few of the results of these pilots in the sidebar. In the next issue of City Trees, you’ll read about some of the creative partnerships that are advancing urban for- estry in Wisconsin, from Bird City Wisconsin to the Green Bay Packers’ First Downs for Trees, and how our urban forest assessment information allowed the state urban forestry council to successfully convince the legislature to restore a $500,000 cut in urban forestry funding. A final note about Bob Skiera: Bob passed away in 2005. A year later he was inducted as the first urban forester in Wisconsin’s Forestry Hall of Fame, which includes notables such as Aldo Leopold. Even in his passing, Bob is building bridges for us in urban forestry. Bob Skiera was Milwaukee’s city forester from 1973-1990. Photo Courtesy of Pat Skiera In the next column: Counting Trees the Packer Way! Photo Courtesy of the Green Bay Packers www.urban-forestry.com 23