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Fall 2019 l Volume XXVIII, Issue 4 F RESTRY NOTES

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District working to improve Cleveland’s canopy

hio’s Cuyahoga and Water Last year, Cuyahoga SWCD planted about 500 Conservation District (SWCD) is , Rybka said. The district hosts tree plant- in the early stages of work on a ing events and educates landowners on proper Regional Conservation Partner- ways to plant trees, best practices for mulching, ship Program (RCPP) project that the correct type of tree to plant for the specific Owould expand and landowner urban location, and future care for the trees. education on larger properties. It’s part of a “We’re the boots on the ground,” Rybka broader effort by the district, with help from said. “The typical urban tree has a life ex- government entities, to increase tree canopy pectancy of six to seven years, so it isn’t just in urban areas. about planting the tree, it is about growing “If we can utilize this money to encourage trees. Our message is focused on long-term people to plant trees because of the benefits tree stewardship.” “…it isn’t just about of planting and growing trees, I think it can be The district’s urban effort has planting the tree, done in many, many places,” Cuyahoga SWCD grown over the course of a decade. In 2016, Director Janine Rybka said. “The devil is in when awarded an urban grant it is about growing the details, and that’s where we’ve got to get from NACD, the district used the grant to hire down to the root of how can we really get this someone part-time for pro- trees. Our message is growing, not just the trees, but the program.” grams. Connections were made with people The Natural Resources Conservation Ser- who owned high tunnels, riparian tree plant- focused on long-term vice (NRCS) awarded the district $78,000 in ings were done, and the district partnered 2018 for the three-year Greater Cleveland with community development corporations tree stewardship.” Project. The RCPP project dove- about projects on vacant lots. Janine Rybka tails nicely with Cuyahoga SWCD’s goals, the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County’s ur- Cuyahoga SWCD Director ban forestry goals. Continued on page 4

www.forestrynotes.com Workshop helps expand the network of technical service providers ics included and shelterbelts, soil health, and man- forestry Center hosted a workshop for natu- agement, pollinators in agroforestry systems, ral resource professionals in Spokane, Wash., alley cropping, considerations, that focused on agroforestry in the region. plant materials, and tribal nursery and agro- Participants were primarily staff from con- forestry programs. servation districts, but also included private Throughout the day, the group identified consultants, state agency staff and extension ways that trees can be used to achieve land- professionals. Workshop speakers included owner production and conservation goals, as staff from the Natural Resources Conserva- well as provide public benefits. As a result of tion Service (NRCS), WSU Extension profes- the workshop, 10 people are on the path to sionals, OSU faculty, U.S. Service staff becoming NRCS technical service providers in and employees from the Xerces Society for agroforestry. Invertebrate Conservation. In Spring 2020, OSU, the WSU Exten- In September, the Washington State Univer- The workshop consisted of a day in the sion and the Pacific Northeast Agroforestry sity (WSU) Extension, Oregon State Universi- classroom, a day in the and an option- Working Group will hold another workshop ty (OSU), the Pacific Northwest Agroforestry al day focused on the NRCS technical service in Oregon in partnership with the National Working Group, and the USDA National Agro- provider (TSP) program. Classroom day top- Agroforestry Center.

ment of Agriculture, Berkeley County Council, ON THE WEB NRCS, USDA-APHIS, Timberland Consulting, FORESTRY Air, Shenandoah Services, LLC. BRIEFS Reducing risk in Kittitas County This fall, a series of machines worked through Workshop engages all levels of the forest near the Buffalo Springs area in Up- owners per Kittitas County, in an effort to reduce fuels Engaging your state forestry Late September, West Virginia landowners that contribute to . agency for urban and gathered for a forest field day at the of Floyd Kursey, Eastern Panhandle Conser- The four-month project is being applied to vation District/Berkeley County supervisor. A recent NACD Urban and Community approximately 120 acres of land managed by The day-long event focused on forest health, Conservation webinar focused on The Nature Conservancy (TNC). TNC’s Director management, and safety. Special sessions . National Association of and Fire Reese Lolley said focused on the installation and maintenance of State Communications the organization has restored approximately of riparian buffers and the use of drones to Director Whitney Forman-Cook 550 acres of forest stand conditions within the manage woodlots. Participants ranged from discussed how conservation Central Cascades since 2015. lifelong woodland owners to those who were districts are able to interact with just getting started. state forestry agencies across the Lolley said the work being done helps answer nation on community forestry a question that has become more commonly “We were excited to have over 60 people issues, including through state forest asked as wildfire seasons become longer and attend, some as far as two-and-a-half hours action plans. Rachel Ormseth from more intense. In an interview with the Yakima away,” Heather Duncan, Eastern Panhandle the South Dakota Department of Herald, Lolley asked, “How do we better put Conservation District education and outreach Agriculture Resource Conservation together treatments near communities that specialist said. “We’re hoping this leads to more and Forestry Division and Cindy Zenk will help reduce the risk and make better situ- active management of woodlots here in West from the South Dakota Association ations for first responders, and for firefighters Virginia, and for those who attended to connect of Conservation Districts shared to manage fires?” with our NRCS and Department of Forestry their experiences working together partners to learn about available programs.” to address urban and community The effort aims to connect landowners with forestry concerns and support entities such as the Washington Department This workshop was held in partnership with educational outreach. of Natural Resources and the Kittitas Conser- West Virginia Department of Forestry, Eastern vation District to not only create a healthier To view this webinar, go to the NACD Panhandle Conservation District, West Virginia forest, but to have a plan of attack for wild- website at nacdnet.org and search Conservation Agency, West Virginia Depart- fires when they happen. ‘engaging your state forestry agency.’ Forestry Notes Q&A Jad Daley, President & CEO, American

Jad Daley is the President and CEO of forests in terms of declining forest health, and , the nation’s oldest forest therefore, the importance of management conservation organization founded in 1875. and restoration to deal with these increasing Daley has a long record of leadership in the challenges. We call this forest health work forest community, including co-founding “carbon defense” to help make the point that the Forest-Climate Working Group, which keeping forests healthy prevents emissions he continues to co-chair, and leading the from mortality and wildfire. This is just as 22-state Eastern Forest Partnership. Daley important as increased sequestration. has also played a lead role in authoring mul- tiple pieces of federal legislation for forests, Do you believe enough Congressional including the enabling language for the U.S. leaders understand the role forestry can Forest Service’s Community Forest Program play in combating ? What is and Community Energy Program, both your organization doing to help make that enacted as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. connection? Daley’s writing has been featured in media We see a rapid growth curve in understanding outlets such as The Washington Post, New that varies a lot by committee and member. York Times and Huffington Post. He is a grad- For example, the Agriculture Committees in uate of Peddie School, Brown University and the House and Senate have been thinking Vermont Law School. Recently, he sat down a lot about these issues and are very well with NACD to discuss a number of topics. versed. Other committees that have been more focused on traditional climate issues Jad Daley You’ve been busy this past year promoting like clean energy are just getting up to speed. forestry as a tool to combat climate change. Across the board, we see strong support from wildfire-prone forests to areas impacted You penned an op/ed for The Hill with for- for actions like tree planting, which are easy by pests to former agricultural lands ready to mer USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie to understand in terms of carbon gains and come out of production. this summer, and recently, you spoke at the what we need to do. It is a longer and more Conservation districts have a huge role to Climate Action Summit. How is this message complex conversation to see members of play through technical assistance, facilitating being received? Congress and staff embrace concepts like cost-share and even just helping to identify Extremely well. I often say that we have fire-prone forests for long-term suitable areas. crossed a tipping point in terms of “forests carbon gains and the complexities of climate This is a total partnership effort, and for climate.” It seems increasingly well-set- adaptation in forests as carbon defense. conservation districts have a huge role to tled that forests are a key to solving climate Perhaps most encouraging is the Climate play through technical assistance, facilitating change, and this crosses political boundaries Stewardship Act (S. 2452 and H.R. 4652) that cost-share and even just helping to identify and other lines in our country. would invest billions in forest sector activities, suitable areas. One of American Forests’ most What is less settled is what this means. We including tree planting, key partners in reforestation is the Mojave put a lot of energy into the message that work- for carbon, wood products utilization, and Desert Resource Conservation District in ing forests and wood products are the “engine workforce development with low-income California, where we are replanting burned room” of in our forests. communities. over areas in the San Bernadino Mountains. This is counterintuitive for most people who assume that forests for climate is just about let- Conservation districts in many parts of the ting forests grow. These folks don’t appreciate country, particularly those in northeastern the distinction between carbon storage (carbon states, are heavily engaged in reforestation already stored), current rates of sequestration, efforts. What advice would you give to and the role of wood products in storing carbon NACD and conservation districts in providing GO TO FORESTRYNOTES.COM and reducing emissions from . assistance to broader reforestation efforts? FOR THE REST OF THIS Q&A We also find that many people don’t realize We are fully committed to “Reforest Amer- the impact climate change is already having on ica.” This is a no regrets climate investment,

FORESTRYNOTES.COM | FALL 2019 | 3 FORESTRY NOTES NACD 509 Capitol Court, NE Washington D.C. 20002

FORESTRY NOTES

Cleveland’s tree canopy from page 1

The Sustainable Cleveland 2019 plan iden- over the next five years to increase the can- tified restoring the urban tree canopy as opy to 30 percent. This fall, Cleveland Mayor one of its goals. A 2012-2013 tree canopy Frank G. Jackson announced an additional CALENDAR assessment noted the canopy at 19 percent $10 million for the city’s Urban Forestry Pro- and falling, in part due to diseases, pests like gram. This district is providing technical assis- emerald ash borer, and the lack of replacing tance for these initiatives. Feb. 8-12, 2020 – NACD Annual lost trees. In addition, the American Lung As- Communication with communities within Meeting, Las Vegas, Nev. sociation rated Cleveland as the ninth-worst the county has led to greater public involve- Visit https://www.nacdnet.org/news- metropolitan area for air quality. The Cleve- ment, educational programming and working and-events/annual-meeting land Tree Coalition was established to help on various conservation programs. Educat- combat further loss. ing, planting and monitoring how trees are “One of the things identified early on was planted has been a great way to engage the Feb. 12-16, 2020 – NWTF Convention the need for trees and green environment,” public, Rybka said. & Sport Show, Nashville, Tenn. Rybka said. “In an urban environment, there’s “There’s a lot of territory to cover,” she Visit http://www.nwtf.org/convention a multitude of benefits trees provide – slow- said. “We have excellent participation in our ing down water, keeping streams cleaner and tree-related programs, and with the RCPP cooler by reducing erosion, providing , funding, we have the ability to reach out to May 12-14, 2020 – WFLC/CWSF helping with air quality, and increasing prop- larger landowners to help grow the urban for- Spring Meeting, Manhattan, Kan. Visit https://www.westernforesters.org/ erty values.” est. I’m convinced we can develop a program events/wflccwsf-spring-meeting Earlier this year, the Cuyahoga County Ex- that will serve as a model to bring more NRCS ecutive announced a $5 million commitment funds for use in urban areas.” July 18-21, 2020 – NACD Summer Conservation Forum and Tour, A joint project of NACD, U.S. Forest Service and the National Asso- SEND NEWS ITEMS TO: Managing Editor Bismarck, N.D. ciation of State Foresters for the purpose of keeping America’s con- EMAIL: [email protected] servation districts informed. Our services and programs are provided DEADLINE: 15th day of the proceeding month Visit https://www.nacdnet.org/news- without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, handicap or re- NACD PHONE: 202-547-6223 and-events/summer-meeting ligious affiliation. This publication is funded in whole or in part through NACD ADDRESS: 509 Capitol Court NE, a grant awarded by the U.S. Forest Service, State and Private Forestry. Washington DC 20002

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