MUNICIPALITY OF ANCHORAGE

ANCHORAGE PARKS & RECREATION

Memorandum PRC 13-18

DATE: May 9, 2013

TO: Parks & Recreation Commission

FROM: Maria D’Agostino, Anchorage Municipal Forester

SUBJECT: PRC 13-18

Introduction to the new MOA Municipal Forester:

In February, Maria D’Agostino moved to Anchorage after spending the past 25 years living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her urban forestry career working for a street-tree planting, young tree- care, community organizing non-profit, and later transitioned to working for municipalities, to engage in planning, operations and policy-making. Drawing on her varied experiences, Maria promotes multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation in the stewardship and management of urban forests and healthy communities. She is delighted to be a member of the Parks & Recreation team, and is completely intoxicated with her new life in Anchorage.

For the past three months she has been: • Meeting Anchorage stakeholders • Studying Parks & Recreation Plans, including the draft Urban Forest Management Plan • Learning about Horticulture and Maintenance Division Operations • Attending programs, such as Trail Watch and Cooperative Weed Management Area meetings • Preparing for Arbor Day • Reviewing construction projects • Overseeing the Community Woodcutting Permit Program • Gathering information about the damage from the 2012 storms • Conducting tree risk assessments • Drafting Risk Policy documents

In the next year she will: • Conduct complete inventories of the storm damage • Coordinate clean-up efforts through public/private partnerships • Create a storm response plan • Continue to work on Risk Management and Risk Policy • Begin to monitor effectiveness of programs • Implement portions of the Urban Forest Management Plan • Chronicle planting, removal and maintenance of MOA landscapes • Seek out opportunities to use urban forest waste • Shift from ‘reactive’ tree maintenance to scheduled maintenance • Integrate tree work into existing Zone maintenance routines, and establishing a tree crew • Increase efficiency and coordination of volunteer projects