Tree Planters’ Notes United States Department of Agriculture Fall 2012 Forest Service Volume 55, No. 2 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Tree Planters’ Notes (TPN) is dedicated to tech- nology transfer and publication of information Dear TPN Reader relating to nursery production and outplanting of trees and shrubs for reforestation, restoration, This Fall 2012 issue of Tree Planters’ Notes (TPN) is packed with interesting and and conservation. useful articles, including profiles of tree planting activities in three more States (New TPN is sponsored by the Cooperative Forestry Staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest York, Nebraska, and Virginia); summaries of research and management activities Service, State and Private Forestry Deputy Area, in underway in response to white pine blister rust and emerald ash borer; the effects of Washington, DC. The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that the publication of this periodical soil additives, root, dips, tree shelters, and wick irrigation on subsequent outplanting is necessary in the transaction of public business performance; and the laws governing reforestation on Federal lands. required by law of this Department. Editor: Diane L. Haase The TPN subscription database has now been completely overhauled. Subscribers TPN accepts both technical and research articles; each is reviewed by the editor and/or anonymous were required to renew their subscriptions, even though TPN remains a free pub- referees. Please see the Guidelines for Authors lication of the Forest Service. If you received a postcard notifying you that your at the end of the journal for details about editorial policy, formatting, style, and submission. Guidelines subscription expired, or if you would like to submit a new subscription, you can do can also be accessed on line at http://www.rngr. so online at http://www.RNGR.net/subscribe. Electronic subscriptions are available net/publications/tpn/author_guidelines. for our readers who wish to be notified via e-mail when TPN has been posted to the Individual authors are responsible for the accuracy of the material in their respective articles. The mention RNGR Web site. of commercial products in this publication is solely for the information of the reader, and endorsement All previous issues of TPN (dating back to 1950) are available online at http://www. is not intended by the Forest Service or USDA. RNGR.net/publications/tpn. Please notify me if you notice any errors or omissions, On occasion, this publication reports information involving pesticides. It does not contain recom- and I will make every effort to correct them. In fact, Justin Davis contacted me mendations for their use, nor does it imply that the this summer, seeking a copy of an article that his grandfather had published in the uses discussed here have been registered. All uses of pesticides must be registered by appropriate May 1971 issue of TPN entitled “Forecasting Weather Favorable for Fusiform Rust State and/or Federal agencies before they can In -fection.” For some reason, out of the hundreds of TPN articles that have been be recommended. Caution: pesticides can injure humans, domestic animals, desirable plants, and scanned and posted to the RNGR Web site, this one had been overlooked. I contacted fish and other wildlife if they are not handled or my colleague George Hernandez, and he found a hard copy of it immediately. In applied properly. Be sure to read and understand all label instructions. Use all pesticides selectively less than 24 hours, we e-mailed a scanned version to Davis and posted the missing and carefully. Follow recommended practices for article to the Web site. In an August 18 e-mail, Davis wrote, “I got to present this the disposal of surplus pesticides and pesticide containers. information to my grandpa today and he was thrilled! His 89th birthday is next Web site: http://www.RNGR.net/publications/tpn Sunday—and I think your help has made him just that much happier.” E-mail: [email protected] Printed on recycled paper. As always, I encourage you to submit your articles for publication to Tree Planters’ Fall 2012 Notes and to notify me with your suggestions for future articles or authors. Several interesting articles are already in the works for 2013. Until then, happy planting! Diane L. Haase Volume 55, No. 2 (2012) 1 2 Tree Planters’ Notes Volume 55, Number 1 (2012) Contents TPN SERIES: Tree Planting State by State Forestry and Tree Planting in New York State 4 Karin Verschoor and Gloria Van Duyne Nebraska: The Tree Planters’ State 14 Nancy Evans and Becky Erdkamp Forestry and Tree Planting in Virginia 24 Carl E. Garrison III The Use of Soil Additives and Root Dips on Noble Fir Christmas Trees 34 See page 47 Chal Landgren Laws Affecting Reforestation on USDA Forest Service Lands 39 Eric Watrud, Fred Zensen, and Robyn Darbyshire Hackberry: An Alternative to Ash Species in the Battle Against Emerald Ash Borer 43 Tim Mathers Using Tree Shelters as Deep Containers 49 David A. Bainbridge Artificial Regeneration of Five-Needled Pines of Western North America: A Survey of Current Practices and Future Needs 55 Kristen M. Waring and Betsy A. Goodrich Guidelines for Authors 72 See page 53 Volume 55, No. 2 (2012) 3 Forestry and Tree Planting in New York State Karin Verschoor and Gloria Van Duyne Resource Specialist, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Lands and Forests, Albany, NY; Communications Specialist, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Lands and Forests, Albany, NY Abstract planting needs. Since the first years of planting trees, when the State’s land was barely 20 percent forested, through the The New York State tree nursery system was founded in huge reforestation programs in the 1930s and to the rising 1902, making it the oldest State-run tree nursery in the United demand for native species in the 21st century, the nursery has States (Solan 2003). Throughout the decades, the New York grown the trees that have helped transform the State. Today, State tree nursery has evolved to meet the changing needs of nearly 63 percent of the State is forested (figure 1) (NYS DEC tree planting in New York State. From the first small nurseries 2010). As the effects of climate change become increasingly in the Adirondacks, the nursery system grew to multiple apparent, however, the need for trees and shrubs for replace- nurseries across the State that provide trees to fulfill local ment and mitigation will undoubtedly grow. Lake Champlain Hudson River Finger Lakes Figure 1. Forested areas in New York State. (Map source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation [NYS DEC], 2010). 4 Tree Planters’ Notes Introduction By the 1880s, less than 20 percent of New York State was forested, and the remaining uncut forests in the Catskills and New York’s forests (figure 1) deliver the ecosystem services Adirondacks were being logged at a fast pace. In 1885, New our society depends on daily, such as clean air, clean water, York created the Forest Preserve Act to protect State-owned flood control, erosion control, carbon sequestration, natural lands in the Catskills and Adirondacks from further exploita- cooling, drought mitigation, aquifer recharge, and a steady tion (NYS DEC 2010). This act was strengthened in 1894 by source of fresh oxygen from plant photosynthesis. They also an amendment to the New York State Constitution: produce a wealth of forest products, provide a place for out- door recreation, and support associated economies. The lands of the State, now owned or hereafter ac- quired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed New York has a long history of responding to challenges re- by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. garding the State’s important forest resources, from the Forest They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be Preservation Act of 1885 to the 2009 revision of the State’s taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall Open Space Conservation Plan (OSP) (NYS DEC 2010). As the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed. scientists learn more about the effects of global climate change, it becomes increasingly clear that healthy forests are essential The Forest Preserve began with 681,000 acres (275,600 hect- to the Nation’s future. The challenge is to keep the forests ares) in the Adirondacks and 34,000 acres (13,760 hectares) in healthy and vigorous in the face of climate change, exurban the Catskills. Today there are more than 2.6 million forested sprawl, pests, diseases, and invasive species. By improving acres (1.05 million forested hectares) in the Adirondacks and sustainable forest management practices, we can keep New more than 300,000 acres (121,400 hectares) in the Catskills, York’s forests as forests and keep them working for the future held as for ever wild lands for New Yorkers. The Forest Pre- of the State and its residents.