Cohosted by Rainbow Ecoscience and the Society of Municipal Arborists
Join us Thursday, May 19th, 2022, for the Town Hall: Municipal Tree Health Care Management and Protecting Public Trees for the Future. This event is open to SMA members, municipal foresters, tree care and landscape professionals, and property managers. We will be specifically discussing emerald ash borer management strategies for municipalities, top 10 tree health care issues in WI, how cities can utilize plant growth regulators to improve the health and reduce pruning for their public trees, and application equipment field demonstrations. We hope you’ll be able to join us.
Thursday, May 19, 2022
8:00 am – 3:00 pm CST
Memorial Student Center (MSC) Ballroom (RM 214)
302 10th Ave E
Menomonie, WI 54751
Free event
Breakfast & lunch are included
Registration
If you are planning to travel in and stay the night before, we have secured a block of rooms at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites (UW Stout). Please contact the hotel directly and let them know you are booking for the Rainbow SMA Event,
Cobblestone Inn & Suites at UW Stout - Menomonie
Menomonie, WI 54751
149 Main Street East
Group Name: Rainbow SMA Event
Rate: $119 + tax (valid only until April 19)
(715) 233-0211
(715) 233-0277
menomonie@staycobblestone.com
Arrival Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Departure Date: Thursday, May 19, 2022
Fixed Cut Off Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Agenda
8:00-8:30 am – Registration / Sign In / Breakfast
8:30-9:00 am – Introduction
Lee Fredericks, Territory Manager, Rainbow Ecoscience
- Welcome
- Safety brief
- Housekeeping, photo / video
- Review the agenda for the day and expectations
- Introduction of guest speakers and Rainbow staff
9:00-10:00 am – Top 10 Ornamental Pest/Pathogen Issues in Wisconsin
Todd Lanigen, WI DNR & Kyoko Scanlon, WI Statewide Forest Pathologist
Trees provide many benefits to our society. However, their well-being is under attack by many insects and pathogens. By knowing what to look for and by utilizing management options for major tree health issues, you can help maintain the health of our trees for a long time. We have selected the top 10 tree insects/diseases in Wisconsin for this session. We will spend most of the time discussing some serious tree problems in Wisconsin, including how to identify and manage them. We will also touch on some pests that are threats to Wisconsin’s trees if they appear in Wisconsin and explain how to be on the lookout for these pests. We will end with lighter notes by showing some problems that may look ugly and concerning, but you do not need to worry about.
Todd Lanigan
Todd Lanigan is a Forest Health Specialist with the WI DNR working out of Eau Claire. Todd has a Master’s degree in Entomology from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Kyoko Scanlon
Kyoko Scanlon is a Forest Pathologist with the WI DNR working out of Fitchburg. She works on a variety of forest health issues, specifically forest diseases that affect the health of forests in Wisconsin. She has a Master’s degree in Forestry with a focus on Forest pathology from the University of Minnesota.
10:00-11:00 am – Managing Emerald Ash Borer Through a Money and Municipal Context
Dr. Rich Hauer, Professor of Urban Forestry, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Maybe you are wondering what to do when faced with emerald ash borer (EAB)? Maybe you have a plan, but are questioning if you are n the right track. Well jump on board the EAB train and a destination to learn from the rich experience of municipalities and their response to EAB. The first premise of EAB is whether you like it or not it will cost you money. However, as a municipal manager or as a practitioner, your job is to best mange the costs, but as important realize the benefits. Learn from the models we initially developed and since been replicated by several other research teams that retaining ash trees makes sense. We know well the ash tree benefits far outweigh the costs of EAB treatment programs. This talk will provide you a context of the economic ramifications and also how to spread the cost over time. We will look at the various treatment strategies and what they mean. You will also learn about a 20-year tree canopy and retention study in Wisconsin that shows a way to plan long-term on retaining tree canopy today while also planting today for canopy in the future. The EAB train left the station 20 years ago. But along he way has picked many academic and practitioners that have a plan that you can easily implement. It really is no different than the many municipal tree decisions you currently make, such as with removing low value trees, while findings ways to best manage your healthy ash tree population.
Dr. Richard Hauer
Dr. Richard Hauer is a Professor of Urban Forestry at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point teaching courses in urban forestry, nursery management, woody plants, dendrology, and introduction to forestry. He received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, M.S. from the University of Illinois, and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Rich has conducted research in tree biology, urban forest management, emerald ash borer management, trees and construction, tree risk management, and ice storms. He was honored as the L.C. Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research and the UW-System Regents Teaching Excellence Award. He has published over 180 publications and presented over 440 talks throughout the world. Dr. Hauer is also an Associate Editor of the Journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greenspaces.
11:00-11:15 am – Break
11:15-12:15 pm – Paclobutrazol (PBZ) Use in a Municipal Urban Forestry Context
Scott Altenhoff, Urban Forester, City of Eugene, OR
This presentation will examine the basic science behind PBZ and some of the triple-bottom-line (social, economic, and environmental) benefits that PBZ can provide for communities and municipal tree care operations. We’ll explore the potential benefits of using PBZ, including: helping to manage and preserve large trees growing in harsh urban sites with inadequate space and soil volume; helping to manage trees that are stressed from drought or other factors by increasing their fibrous root systems and root to shoot ratios; increasing trees’ resilience to leaf fungus diseases; helping to extend pruning cycles for large populations of trees by moderating growth, and helping to minimize damage to hardscapes from quickly expanding tree roots. We’ll also discuss contraindications and caveats related to PBZ use.
Scott Altenhoff
Scott Altenhoff is an urban forester with the City of Eugene and currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA). Scott has a long-standing interest in promoting urban sustainability via trees and green infrastructure and believes that working smarter --not harder -- will be critical in our fight against global climate change.
12:15-1:15 pm – Lunch
1:15-1:45 pm – Using Cambistat for Growth Control and Tree Health – Soil Injection Demonstrations & Training
Cory McCurry, Arborologist, Rainbow Ecoscience
During this demonstration, we’ll get hands on with soil injections / soil drenches and discuss the best practices, PPE requirements, and timing techniques to get predictable control with Cambistat to control tree growth and improve overall tree health.
1:45 – 2:15 pm – Emerald Ash Borer - Tree Injection Demonstrations & Training
Erik Lindberg, Lead Technical Advisor, Rainbow Ecoscience
During this demonstration, we’ll show you how to get efficient and predictable control for emerald ash borer using the latest tree injection technology, tree injection best practices, and tips for optimal uptake, timing, and product distribution.
2:15- 2:45 pm – Oak Wilt / Bur Oak Blight – Macro-infusion Demonstration & Training
Lee Fredericks, Territory Manager, Rainbow Ecoscience
We’ll demonstrate the seven critical steps for successful macro-infusion and discuss why macro versus micro, how to get the best uptake and predictable control. We will disclose key distinguishing identification factors of oak wilt and bur oak blight in order to successfully manage the protocol for these two oak diseases.