NEWSLETTER OF THEw CONNECTICUTww.ctwoodla FORESTnds.or g PARK ASSOCIATION CFPA News Notes Conserving the land, trails, and natural resources of Connecticut since 1895 Late Summer 2012 Volume 5 Issue 2 Forest History Comes Alive at WalkCT Provides Training to Help NET Complete through the East the Goodwin Center Get More Families Outside River Preserve Don’t Forget to Thanks to grant funding, fi lms WalkCT Family Guides continue Hikers can now travel on 13 from James L. Goodwin’s per- to shine as they embrace learning miles of continuous trail on the Run for the Woods! sonal library have been digitized opportunities and put knowledge New England Trail in Guilford. See page 8 for location, for all to enjoy. to good use. time, and more details. Page 7 Page 4 Page 5 Good Vegetation Management is Needed Now More Than Ever Since its appointment in April, the State trees and branches during storms. Vegetation Management Task Force The storms of 2011 were estimated (chaired by CFPA Executive Director Eric to cause more than $3 billion in eco- Hammerling) has been taking a close nomic losses in Connecticut alone, look at the state, municipal, and private and CL&P estimates that 9 out of management of the “roadside forest.” 10 power outages in its service The Task Force was given the charge to territory were caused by trees and “develop standards for roadside tree care branches falling on power lines. in Connecticut, vegetation management We have enjoyed benefi ts from practices and schedules for utility rights our roadside forests for many of way, right tree/right place standards, years, but we have been unwilling standards for tree wardens, municipal to invest in extending and replac- tree inventories and pruning schedules.” ing those benefi ts. While there is This charge was part of the Two Storm no quick, “one-size-fi ts-all” solu- Panel Report recommendations and are tion, the members of the Task Force geared toward improving the health of agreed that this benign neglect trees within the roadside forest to better needs to be halted, starting at all achieve both aesthetic and public safety levels: Untimely October snowstorm leaves roads impassable objectives. and thousands without power. Photo: Jennifer Benner • Private tree owners must take With the complexity of this issue an active role in understand- and the large number of stakeholders, side forests better by taking inven- ing their obligations for steward- determining the best plan of action was tory of what they have, conducting ship of their trees, the benefi ts they no easy task. One Task Force member risk assessments, and determining provide, and the results of how poor recently asked,“How much will the next the local balance required to both stewardship both reduces potential storm cost us?” Of course, that question enhance safety and respect the tree benefi ts and impacts the health is unanswerable, but we do know that aesthetics of their community’s and well-being of their community. Connecticut’s roadside forest has gener- character. ally been under-managed and under- • Municipalities must invest in the • The State must show leadership and resourced for decades and we are paying knowledge of their tree wardens provide expertise, incentives, and the price today by suffering extensive (several are already doing this) and and expensive damage related to failing make plans to manage their road- Continued on page 3 CFPA News Notes Connecting people to the land. Conserving Connecticut. 1 1 CONNECTICUT FOREST PARK ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS From the Executive Director’s Desk President: Eric Lukingbeal, Granby Vice-Presidents: The Emerald Ash Borer Has Arrived William D. Breck, Killingworth Geoffrey Meissner, Plantsville It may not be “news” to you that the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has now been found David Platt, Higganum in Connecticut. At the time of printing, there have been documented sightings of this Starr Sayres, East Haddam metallic green invader in Prospect, Naugatuck, Bethany, and Beacon Falls. Treasurer: James W. Dombrauskas, New Hartford Invasive pest experts at the CT Secretary: Eric Hammerling, West Hartford Agricultural Experiment Station Forester: Steve Broderick, Eastford (CAES), CT Department of En- Directors: ergy & Environmental Protection Russell Brenneman, Westport (DEEP) Forestry, and the USDA Robert Butterworth, Deep River Animal and Plant Health Inspec- Starling W. Childs, Norfolk tion Service (APHIS) all acknowl- Ruth Cutler, Ashford edge that they fully expected the Annie deBoer, Middletown Laurence Diamond, Coventry mobile EAB to eventually arrive in Caroline Driscoll, New London Connecticut where we have more Emerald Ash Borer. Photo: Courtesy of the Center for Astrid T. Hanzalek, Suffi eld than 22 million ash trees in the Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health Jean Crum Jones, Shelton forest. Fortunately, a lot of advance David Lauretti, Bloomfi eld Michael Lecours, Farmington work was done by CAES, DEEP Forestry, and APHIS to put quarantine authority David K. Leff, Collinsville and regulations into place, so the response to the EAB could be rapid and properly Scott Livingston, Bolton coordinated. Lauren L. McGregor, Hamden Though the authorities have been well-prepared, they didn’t expect some of the Linda Macary, Clinton Jeffrey O’Donnell, Bristol curveballs that the EAB has thrown at them already. First of all, they were surprised Deborah C. Spalding, Guilford that the EAB was found in the center of the state rather than closer to where it was Richard Whitehouse, Glastonbury last sighted in Dutchess County, New York. This suggests that the EAB may have been brought into Connecticut via people moving infested fi rewood rather than the Honorary Directors: Gordon Anderson, Glastonbury EAB entering on its own. Researchers have also been surprised that infested ash Harrol W. Baker, Jr., Bolton trees in Connecticut have not been showing the typical signs of invasion. For ex- Richard Bauerfeld, Redding ample, infested Connecticut ash trees are not consistently showing epicormic shoots George M. Camp, Middletown (sprouts with larger than normal leaves growing from the roots and trunk of the tree) Ann M. Cuddy, Ashland, OR as a symptom of attack the way ash trees have in other states. The lack of epicormic Samuel G. Dodd, North Andover, MA John E. Hibbard, Hebron shoots may be related to the disease “ash yellows” or other factors that have already Philip H. Jones, Jr., Shelton weakened many ash trees in our forests. Edward A. Richardson, Glastonbury The best ways to confi rm EAB so far have been with purple “barney traps” and by L.P. Sperry, Jr., Middlebury observing the behavior of EAB predators. Barney traps, distributed by University of Sally L. Taylor, Mystic Sidney Van Zandt, Noank Connecticut Extension and monitored by many partners, have been hung in camp- grounds, rest stops, nurseries, and wood product locations around the state. These STAFF traps use an oil to attract and lure the beetle and also have a sticky surface causing the Eric Hammerling, Executive Director EAB to adhere to it. The traps are non-toxic to humans, will not harm birds or other Jennifer Benner, Communications wildlife, and cannot bring the EAB into an area that is not already infested. Predators Associate Lori Paradis Brant, Education Director that become extra active in the presence of EAB include woodpeckers who love eating Steve Broderick, Forest & Program EAB larvae, and non-stinging parasitic wasps. Director, Goodwin Forest Center If you are a landowner with ash trees, you might wonder what is the best course Clare Cain, Trail Stewardship Director of action for you to take? First and foremost, take the time to educate yourself about Marty Gosselin, Membership & Marketing Director the EAB. A great source for information is the website www.emeraldashborer.info, Leslie Lewis, WalkCT Director or if you believe you have EAB in your ash tree(s), you should contact the CAES at James W. Little, Development Director (203) 974-8474 or via email [email protected]. Please keep in mind that Lindsay Michel, Land Conservation the woolly adelgid did not kill all hemlocks, and the gypsy moth did not kill all oaks, Director birch, and apple trees. The EAB is a threat to be taken quite seriously, but with early Kara Murphy, Advancement Assistant Teresa Peters, Offi ce Manager detection, rapid response, and more resources dedicated to managing the health of the forest, we certainly have hope that over time the forest will re-establish a more natural balance once again. 2 CFPA News Notes www.ctwoodlands.org Continued from page 1 Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail and NPR Corn Maze funding to help ensure that when trees fail or are removed, they are replaced by the Right Tree in the Right Place (which we again em- phasize does include large trees, Button not just the list of smaller trees and Duane shrubs suggested for planting in the of proximity of utility lines and poles). The time to act is NOW, though we Courtesy understand the dedicated work of man- Photo: aging the roadside forest will take place CFPA’s friends at Buttonwood Farm in Griswold are celebrating the Blue-Blazed over several decades. However, if we Hiking Trail System and National Public Radio (NPR) with a corn maze. Stop by any wish to achieve a healthy roadside forest weekend (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) from September 1 to the end of October for Connecticut with shared benefi ts for our communities, then we must be will- to explore the maze, enjoy farm-fresh ice cream, take a hayride, visit with farm ing to assume the shared responsibilities animals, and pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch! necessary to care for it. To view the full Visit www.buttonwoodfarmicecream.com for more about the farm. recommendations of the Vegetation Man- agement Task Force, go to the CT DEEP Room.