City Trees

Can you tell us about your educational trajectory? Scott Altenhoff: I received my undergradu- ate degree in Classics (Latin, Greek and Ancient Philosophy) from the University of Oregon in 1992. Although I had originally intended to pur- sue an advanced degree in this arcane field of study, the call of the trees and the real world was just too strong. Upon graduation, I decided to jump out of my ivory tower and shift my focus from the humanities to the biological sciences. For the last 25 years I've immersed myself in the world of botany, arboriculture, and for- estry—mostly in a non-academic setting. I am a graduate of the Oregon/Washington Community Tree Management Institute (CTMI) and the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI). I recently returned to academia and am currently work- ing on a graduate certificate in Urban Forestry through Oregon State University. Although it can be challenging to maintain a balanced life while going to school and working full-time, I really enjoy the mental stimulation and the chal- lenge of continuous learning/personal devel- opment. I see it as a never-ending process. Please tell us about your career trajectory. SA: I first began pruning fruit trees while I was a student trying to make a little extra income. I instantly fell in love with all aspects of the work and gravitated quickly towards climb- ing big, old trees for cone and scion collection, wildlife habitat creation/survey projects, and forest canopy research. I've also done a fair amount of eco-tourism guiding and have had the pleasure of introducing hundreds of peo- ple to the wonders of the forest canopy. For many years I worked as an indepen- dent contractor for the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management on various for- est inventory projects. I also worked for about a decade as a commercial arborist here in Eugene, Oregon. In 2004, I joined the City of Eugene as a field arborist. In 2009, I was pro- moted to lead arborist and my duties shifted quite a bit—I switched from working primarily with trees to working primarily with people. Around that time I was able to secure my Board Certified Master Arborist, Municipal Specialist, and Tree Risk Assessor credentials. In 2015, I was promoted to my current position as City of Eugene Urban Forestry Management Analyst. In this position, I supervise the Eugene Urban Forestry Planning Team within the Parks and Open Space Division of Public Works. On a daily basis, I work closely with an amazing group of urban foresters, arborists, landscape architects, plan- ners, biologists/ecologists, GIS technicians, park specialists, volunteer coordinators, and student interns. Generally, my duties involve a nice mix of strategic planning, staff and program develop- ment, plan review, community engagement and education, contract administration, and putting out "political spot-fires." Currently, one of the big- gest projects I'm focused on involves revising our rather outdated urban forest management plan. Please tell us about Eugene. SA: Eugene, Oregon is a medium-sized city of about 167,000 people, situated at the southern end of the Willamette River Valley, about 100 miles (161 km) south of Portland and about 60 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. Eugene is prob- ably best known for being "Tracktown, USA" (home of the University of Oregon and birth- place of Bill Bowerman's Nike running shoes). Board Member Profile: Scott Altenhoff 22 CityTREES

• Cover