Before returning to Idaho to serve as the UCF program manager, I managed wildfire mitigation programs throughout California and Nevada. This background in wildland fire often informs how I provide technical assistance to our communities. The 2021 fire season in Idaho is shaping up to be a problematic one for our high-risk communities.
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The relatively dry winter throughout the state resulted in record-low moisture levels in our forests and rangelands. Many of our communities are intermixed with this dry wildland and the urban canopy often abuts or is mixed with the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
The recent warmer weather is not helping matters either. The National Inter-Agency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise predicts that our summer months will most likely be warmer and drier than typical for Idaho. More info on NIFC's weather predictive services can be found here.
Although the 2021 fire season predictions look bleak, Arborists have many tools at their disposal to help their communities prepare for wildfires. Examining your city’s open space, golf courses, or multi-use trails for flammable untreated vegetation is a good place to start. 90% of fires start due to human-caused ignitions and municipal open space areas are often prime ignition sources. Inviting wildfire mitigation specialists to review your community forestry plan and identify priority treatment projects will help your community better prepare for potential ignitions.
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Mature trees that were planted within 30 feet of your home can be pruned to separate the available fuel from your home.
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Private arboriculture companies can also help prepare their communities for wildfire by assisting their clients with home-hardening services. Proper maintenance and irrigation of landscape trees are shrubs is crucial piece of wildfire mitigation. No tree or ornamental plant is completely fire-resistant especially when neglected by the home-owner. Some services our private contractors can provide include:
- Crown pruning tree branches at least 30 feet away from the home.
- Remove tree species that are highly flammable like Arborvitae.
- Remove leaf litter or debris from the roof and gutters of the client’s home.
- Install home hardening features such as ember-resistant vents
I had the privilege of speaking at the Pacific Northwest ISA chapter annual training conference last year on wildfire preparedness. This presentation can be found here.
The University of Idaho and several other state extension services provide a lot of information on preparing your tree canopy for wildfires. Some helpful resources include:
Your home and the trees that surround it are most likely the biggest financial investment of your lifetime. Have you prepared to protect those investments? If you have questions regarding how Arborists can help their communities prepare better for wildfires assistance, please reach out to us at CommunityTrees@idl.idaho.gov
-- Michael S. Beaudoin
Community Forestry Program Manager
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IDL's Community Forestry Program Offering Scholarships to Municipal Forestry Institute
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The Idaho Department of Lands Community Forestry Program is offering up to two scholarships for municipal arborist staff to attend the national 2021 Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI). MFI is a weeklong, intensive, high-level leadership training and education program hosted by the Society of Municipal Arborists.
MFI helps participants build leadership skills, think and plan strategically, and increase success in working with boards, coalitions, organizations, and individuals. For more information, visit the MFI Website here.
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MFI 2021 will be held in-person September 26th to October 1st at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
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Applicants from Idaho municipal forestry programs (city community forestry programs or the equivalent) are eligible for the IDL scholarship to MFI. Additionally, participants from historically underserved populations, including all ethnic origins (African Americans, Asian or Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Hispanics and White) will be considered for the SMA sponsored DIVERSITY scholarships for attendance to MFI.
The scholarships will cover registration fees, course materials, meals (Sunday dinner through Friday lunch), and five nights lodging (Total value = $2,399). Recipients will be responsible for their travel and any other incidental costs. 2021 MFI will be held at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH from September 26th to Oct 1st, 2021.
The deadline for scholarship applications is June 24th, 2021. The application for the IDL MFI Scholarship can be found here. More information on this year’s MFI can be found here.
Please email completed applications to MBeaudoin@IDL.Idaho.gov or mail applications to:
Michael S. Beaudoin- UCF Program Manager
Idaho Department of Lands
3284 W. Industrial Loop
Coeur d'Alene ID, 83815
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Forest Health Update: Bark Beetles FAQs
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Douglas-fir Beetle- D. pseudotsugae adults in Ponderosa State Park (Photo Credit: IDL Forest Health)
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What are bark beetles?
Bark beetles are a group of insects that spend almost their entire life beneath the bark of trees. They tunnel in the moist inner bark, lay eggs and these develop into larvae or grubs. The tunneling kills trees by girdling them (cuts off the supply of nutrients). Adults emerge later to infest other trees in late spring or early summer. For more information, please see the IDL bark beetle fact sheet.
Certain bark beetles can reproduce in green logs, uprooted trees and green firewood if the inner bark is moist in April and May.
Bark beetles are cold blooded, so they will develop faster during warm weather. Drought and hot, dry summers are stressful for trees and increase the success of bark beetles.
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Eastern fivespined Ips- Ips grandicolis discovered in Austrian Pine in the Treasure Valley (Photo Credit: IDL Forest Health)
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What bark beetle species cause the most problems?
Pine engraver: prefers damaged ponderosa and lodgepole pine trees and slash. It has multiple generations per year. Pine engraver overwinters as an adult, and flies early in the spring as temperatures warm. It infests green pine logs > 3” diameter in April and May and lays eggs. These eggs develop into adults approximately 6 weeks later.
The emerging adults will infest more down material if it is available, if none is available they will attack standing trees in June and July. Normally, the eggs laid in these standing trees develop into adults that overwinter. However, in warm and dry years, a third generation of beetles can attack and kill additional trees later in summer and fall. Dead trees can occur in summer 2021. For more information, please see the IDL pine engraver fact sheet.
Douglas-fir beetle: can infest damaged Douglas-fir or down western larch. This species has one generation per year. It overwinters as an adult, and flies early in the spring and prefers green, down material. Beetles tunnel in the bark, lay eggs and one generation of larvae develop in the logs or down trees. Adults then overwinter under the bark or in the forest litter. Dead trees can occur in 2022. For more information, please see the IDL Douglas-fir beetle fact sheet.
Spruce beetle: can attack damaged spruce and takes one or two years to develop in infested logs, depending on temperature. Spruce beetle outbreaks can be very severe if many host trees are present. Dead trees can occur in 2022, but needles on fatally-attacked trees may remain green for longer.
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Untreated downed forest slash is prime breeding habitat for bark beetles (Photo Credit: IDL Forest Health)
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What is the best way to avoid bark beetle problems?
The best course of action is to NOT have down, green material available in spring when the bark beetles emerge. If logs become infested, remove or destroy them before beetles can emerge.
What if I live in urban or suburban areas?
Some counties or municipalities will accept woody material at transfer stations or landfills. The material is often chipped to be used for other purposes such as mulch or industrial fuel.
If you can’t remove the damaged trees or slash, try to make them unsuitable for bark beetle reproduction. If salvage is not practical, damaged trees can be safely burned if allowed, debarked or chipped. Planer chainsaw attachments, such as the LogWizard, can be effective tools for bark removal. If this is not practical, broken tops or uprooted trees can be cut into smaller pieces and the limbs removed. Placing them in sunny areas will assist the drying process. The idea is to help the logs to dry out as quickly as possible.
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Bark Beetles can be introduced onto your property via firewood. Never stack green firewood next to your trees! (Photo Credit: University of Georgia and Bugwood.org)
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Can I save the wood for use as firewood?
If the species is not pine, firewood cut into 16” pieces and split may be infested by beetles this spring, but it is unlikely that any beetles will emerge in 2022. This is not the best option for pine because beetles will infest the wood and emerge around June, 2021. Never stack green firewood next to live standing trees. This is inviting bark beetles to kill the standing trees when they emerge.
Decks of green logs stored through the winter are very likely to become infested in the spring if the inner bark is still moist. Snow cover and shade will increase the drying time.
- Erika Eidson -IDL Forest Health Specialist
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INLA Announces 2021 Arbor Day "Planting Idaho" Grant Program Winners
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The Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association (INLA), in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Lands Community Forestry program, is pleased to announce the 2021 “Planting Idaho” Arbor Day grant recipients.
Avista, Rocky Mountain Power, and Idaho Power fund the program as part of their commitment to plant appropriate trees for energy conservation and foster a stronger relationship between Idaho communities and the Nursery and Utility industries.
INLA received 34 Arbor Day grant applications for 2021 and funded them all! An Arbor Day grant of $300 will be given to the following communities for “Planting Idaho”:
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Thank you again to our sponsors and partners for the 2021 INLA/IDL Arbor Day Grant Program:
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Honoring the contributions of Del Jaquish
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For this newsletter’s edition we have the unfortunate task of sharing with you that Del Jaquish passed away. Del played a critical role in assisting IDL with our Urban and Community Forestry Program in the late 1990s and early 2000s, serving as the Acting Program Manager and as a member of the Idaho Community Forestry Advisory Council.
Del was raised in Fresno and Sanger California and attended Reedley College. He obtained his BS in forestry from the University of Idaho in 1953. He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955. Del started working for the United States Forest Service seasonally while in high school and college, eventually becoming a smoke jumper, and after receiving his forestry degree and serving in the military he was hired as a District Ranger, serving multiple Ranger Districts in Idaho and Montana.
His outstanding communication skills led to multiple promotions throughout his 33-year career, eventually retiring as Deputy Director for Public Affairs in the Washington D.C. office. After retiring from the USFS, Del and his wife Bev settled in Post Falls, where he quickly became involved in urban/community forestry. He shared his love of people and his forestry expertise as Post Falls’ City Forester, while also helping the cities of Wallace, Kellogg and Smelterville develop local programs.
Del continued working with Idaho communities well into his 70s, when his eyesight failed. He and Bev moved to Garden Plaza Assisted Living in 2018, with Bev passing in 2019 and Del passing in late April 2021 – just shy of his 92nd birthday.
For all of us at IDL, and for many of you who knew Del, we are thankful for his contributions to our statewide program. And we’re all the better for having had the opportunity to spend time with such an exceptional human being!
- Craig Foss, Idaho State Forester
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Dr. James Fazio Awarded Gold Medal of Horticulture Award by INLA
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The Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association (INLA) recently awarded Dr. James Fazio the Gold Medal of Horticulture award. This lifetime achievement award is given to individuals that have generously and selflessly contributed to the advancement of horticulture in Idaho. Winners have their names displayed at the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s office in Boise.
Dr. Fazio has been a contributor and editor for 92 issues of Idaho Community Trees and continues to serve as the editor of the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree City USA Bulletin.
A Pittsburgh Pennsylvania native, Dr Fazio graduated with a degree in forest management from West Virginia University and went to work for the USDA Forest Service and served as an associate editor of the Northern Logger and Timber Processor magazine.
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One of Dr. Fazio's first days on the job at the Unversity of Idaho
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He then received a master’s degree in conservation and communication at Cornell University in Upstate New York, while working there in Cooperative Extension. He then received his Ph.D. in recreation resource management at Colorado State University.
As a Professor at the University of Idaho, he was integral in developing Urban and Community Forestry classes. Dr. Fazio has been a tireless advocate for community forestry throughout Idaho. He was a valuable volunteer on the Idaho Community Forestry Advisory Committee, making sure that the Idaho Department of Lands UCF program provided much-needed outreach to Idaho Cities, Counties, and Tribes.
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Jim and his wife Dawn also made many contributions to the University of Idaho
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Since Dr. Fazio has retired, he has more time to spend traveling, spoiling grandchildren, and helping his wife Dawn with their business, Woodland Enterprises – Smokey Bear Gifts. Their online mail-order catalog offers an amazing variety of Smokey Bear merchandise found here.
Please join us in congratulating Jim for his lifetime of contributions in advancing community forestry throughout Idaho.
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Spring 2021 Events Calendar
Urban Forest Connections Webinar Series:
Webinars are 1 1/4 hours starting at 10:00am Pacific Time, 11am Mountain Time. (You can view previous webinars at this same website.) Check this link for future topics on the following dates: www.fs.fed.us/research/urban-webinars.
- May 12th, 2021- Taking Flight: Urban Forest Stewardship for Bird Conservation using I-Tree (Recorded for viewing here)
- June 9th, 2021- i-Tree: Using Urban Forest Data to Improve Forest Management (Webinar information)
- July 14th, 2021- TBD
Idaho Events:
June 16-18th
Association of Idaho Cities Annual Conference. Boise
More info can be found here.
April 12-14th, 2022.
Idaho Recreation and Parks Association Conference. Idaho Falls
More info coming soon.
TBD - Arborist Certification Prep seminar
IDL plans to offer this workshop in Fall 2021. The workshop will prepare eligible candidates for the ISA Certified Arborist exam. For more information please contact Michael Beaudoin at MBeaudoin@idl.idaho.gov
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Pacific Northwest ISA Events:
Register for these events at: www.pnwisa.org
June 15th
PNW-ISA Leadership Forum-(PNW ISA Members only)- Online Register here.
June 21-23rd
TRAQ Risk Assessment Renewal Workshop-(In-Person)- Lake Oswego, OR. Register here.
Nearby ISA Chapter Events:
June 10-12th
Utah Tree Climbing Championship (In-Person)- Ogden, UT.
More info here.
National Events:
September 26th- October 1st
Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) Bowling Green State University. Ohio. More information at: www.urban-forestry.com/mfi-2021 (IDL Scholarship Opportunity)
November 17-18th
Partners in Community Forestry Conference. Louisville, Ky.
More info forthcoming
December 13-16th
International Society of Arboriculture Annual Conference- Virtual.
More info forthcoming
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Upcoming Certified Arborist (CA), Certified Tree Worker (CTC), Municipal Specialist (MS), Utility Specialist(UA), Tree Risk Assessment (TRAQ) Exams:
June 21st- Victoria, BC (TRAQ Renewal)
July 5-7th-Victoria, BC (TRAQ)
July 20th- Online (TRAQ Renewal)
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Watering Newly Planted Trees
Newly planted trees require more frequent watering schedules than mature trees. Some tips to keep in mind when watering newly planted trees:
- A good general rule for watering new trees is applying 1- 1 ½ gallons per inch of stem caliper each watering.
- If possible, use a slow trickle of water to allow the water to percolate into the soil better. Drip irrigation systems work well for this method.
- Water newly planted trees daily for 1 to 2 weeks after planting
- Water every 2-3 days3-12 weeks after planting.
- Once established water deeply and infrequently to encourage the tree to develop a deeper root system.
For more resources on watering your new trees please read this publication from the University of Idaho Extension Office found here.
Also watch this handy video from the Arbor Day Foundation:
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