FORESTSAMERICAN WINTER/SPRING 2019 Forests in Focus PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS See the inspiring photography that earned top honors in our annual Forests in Focus photo contest BE PART OF THE SOLUTION JOIN AMERICAN FORESTS With a membership gift of $25 or more, you’ll receive the following benefits: 8 Satisfaction and Pride. Know your gift will be used wisely to restore America’s forests to health and resiliency. 8 Annual Membership Card. Carry this with you to signify your commitment to American Forests. 8 Magazine Subscription. Read and share our award-winning, colorful and informative publication. 8 Merchandise Discounts. Shop with periodic members-only discounts from our Corporate Partners. 8 Invitations to Special Events. Be the first to be notified about special events and volunteer opportunities in your area. 8 Insider Updates on Our Work. Stay informed about the impact your gifts are having on our critical work and progress. ■ Make a difference for forests and the world. Become a member today! www.americanforests.org/ways-to-give/membership AF_FP Ads.indd 1 11/8/18 10:38 AM VOL. 125, NO. 1 CONTENTS WINTER/SPRING 2019 Departments 2 Offshoots A word from our President & CEO 4 Treelines PROJECT SHOWCASES: Read about our work planting trees for healing and nurturing in a Boston community and restoring fire-stricken land in the San Bernardino Mountains. FROM THE FIELD: From Texas to Baltimore, follow what we’ve been 32 up to in the field. PROFILES: Learn about our partnership with Alliance Data and how two of our supporters are returning to their roots by being involved in conservation. CHAMPION TREE SHOWCASE: The noble fir ACTION CENTER: Learn the 40 challenges facing the new congress as well as recent legislative victories for forests. 40 2018 Forests in Focus Photo Contest Winners See the stunning photography that earned top honors in this year’s Forests in Focus photo contest. 14 24 46 Earthkeepers MAKING FORESTS GREEN AGAIN How Dana Walsh has devoted her Features career in the U.S. Forest Service to restoring fire-stricken forests, particularly in the Sierra Nevada. 14 24 32 48 Last Look A Wolverine The Other Seeking Ancient Read what our Facebook community had to say about Revival Champions Cypress our Forests in Focus People’s By Paula MacKay By Whit Bronaugh By Jessica Dixon Choice nominees. Read a personal narrative Find out about superlative Discover the mysterious, of work to conserve the trees whose characteristics swampy ecosystems of COVER PHOTO by Everett Bloom wolverine population in make them champions the Wolf River’s Ghost the Northern Cascades of a different order than Section and Reelfoot Lake in as climate change poses a the measures for our Tennessee and the cypress CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: PEGGY YAEGER; DAVID HAGGARD; ROBERT LONG, WOODLAND PARK ZOO; WHIT BRONAUGH ZOO; PARK WOODLAND LONG, ROBERT HAGGARD; DAVID YAEGER; PEGGY LEFT: FROM TOP CLOCKWISE threat to their habitat. National Register. forests they cover. AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2019 | 1 offshoots Volunteers from Bank of America gather before planting 200 seedlings in Detroit in May 2018. our cities. I can still remem- k Living in an area with low tree canopy Forests for All ber the first time I saw a tree can raise temperatures by 5-7 degrees canopy map and how it cor- during the day and up to 22 degrees at BY JAD DALEY related with income in the night, when health risks from heat stress Washington, D.C. area. The are greatest for people living in homes WHEN I THINK ABOUT MY MOST correlation is nearly perfect — afflu- without air conditioning. sobering moments of 2018, many of them ent areas have lots of trees, and lower k Nationally, urban trees remove more tie to our nation’s growing income areas mostly do not. than 17 million tons of air pollution each inequities defined by factors It turns out most cities year and prevent 670,000 cases of acute like income and race. From in the U.S. have this same respiratory symptoms. yawning income gaps to chill- pattern, with race also serving These, among many other health ing examples of people being as a predictor of poor tree and happiness benefits of urban trees, targeted on the basis of race, canopy. In Sacramento, Calif., are why American Forests is launching gender or sexual orientation, for example, the city’s tree a new campaign for “Tree Equity” to we live in a time defined by canopy gaps align closely with assure that all people have these benefits. these disparities. its communities of color. Our tree planting and tree care work in So, what can forests do to make This matters when you come to cities are carefully targeted to places America a more equitable and inclusive understand just how essential tree where underserved neighborhoods are country? It turns out a whole lot. canopy is to the safety, health and also underserved with trees. Let’s start with the troubling happiness of people in cities. But, the challenges in lower income disparities in tree cover distribution in Consider this: areas that don’t have adequate tree BARBER EMILY PHOTOS: 2 | WINTER/SPRING 2018 AMERICAN FORESTS EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher Jad Daley Editorial Director Lea Sloan Managing Editor Ashlan Bonnell Contributing Editor The powerful U.S. forest sector, the sional apprenticeships and other career Michael Woestehoff opportunities with private businesses Editorial Assistant Liz Harper source of 2.4 million jobs already in like The Davey Expert Tree Company. Art Direction and Design areas like forestry and manufacturing, This is a perfect match: our com- Brad Latham munity tree planting partnerships are American Forests (ISSN 0002-8541) is published is a great way to turn trees into new quarterly by American Forests, 1220 L St. NW, based in underserved neighborhoods Suite 750 Washington, DC 20005. Periodicals jobs in rural areas. where unemployment can run 3-4 times postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address the national average. Davey, and other changes to American Forests, 1220 L St. NW, tree care companies, have thousands of Suite 750 Washington, DC 20005. cover go beyond just health and hap- jobs waiting to be filled in the currently American Forests’ mission is to restore threat- ened forest ecosystems and inspire people to piness. Economic opportunities are tight labor market. By bringing these value and protect urban and wildland forests. scarce in many of these communities, actors together, American Forests is (202) 737-1944 and people do not always have access creating a win-win for tree care com- www.americanforests.org to the right educational credentials and panies and these new workers while AMERICAN FORESTS personal networks to break into the assuring that the urban forest move- BOARD OF DIRECTORS Richard Kabat, Chair booming economy across our cities and ment will have the skilled professionals Kabat Company, Washington, DC nation more broadly. in place to care for our urban trees. Jeff Elliott, Vice Chair and Treasurer That’s why American Forests is But, it is not just urban areas where Iridian Asset Management, Westport, CT Bruce Lisman, Immediate Past Chair building on our Tree Equity campaign people are lacking economic opportuni- Private investor, Shelburne, VT with a new “Career Pathways” initiative ties. Many rural areas also have high Jad Daley, President & CEO (ex officio) to create a ladder of opportunity from unemployment and limited opportuni- American Forests, Washington, DC lower income neighborhoods into the ties for new job growth. The powerful William H. Bohnett President, Whitecap Investments LLC, urban tree care industry. U.S. forest sector, the source of 2.4 Jupiter Island, FL Powered by a generous grant from million jobs already in areas like forestry Donna Dabney The JPB Foundation, and matched and manufacturing, is a great way to turn The Conference Board, New York, NY Rod DeArment by support from Bank of America and trees into new jobs in rural areas. Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, DC other corporate funders, we are leading a Last fall’s American Forests maga- William Hazelton national initiative that links community- zine flashed this potential in action Chubb Group, New York City, NY Jeffrey Prieto based tree planting programs into profes- with our story on turning white oak Los Angeles Community College District, trees into whiskey and wine barrels. Los Angeles, CA This sustainably managed forest Elisa Rapaport Rapaport Family Charitable Trust, products business, led by our partner Rockville Centre, NY and industry leader American Stave Jonathan Silver Greenbanc Company, is an example of how rural Global, LLC, Washington, DC Robert Steinberg regions can carefully leverage their Steinberg Family Foundation, Greenwich, CT forests in sustainable and locally appro- Mary Wagner priate economic development. U.S. Forest Service (Retired), Ogden, UT David M. “Max” Williamson We know that American Forests Williamson Law + Policy, PLLC, Washington, DC can’t impact all of the forces driving inequity in America, but we see a moral imperative to do our part. The examples I have described are just a few ways we can do good for America’s forests and people in one fell swoop. Much more is to come. Thanks for your support to make it possible! Volunteers plant trees in the Tenderloin PHOTOS: EMILY BARBER EMILY PHOTOS: District in San Francisco in September 2018. treelines INFORMATION TO AMUSE, ENLIGHTEN AND INSPIRE PROJECT SHOWCASE Food Forests Nurture the Community Healing the Past, Growing the Future BY LEA SLOAN THE FOOD FOREST that was planted a few dozen enthusiastic Epsilon vol- last fall on a triangle of land in Dorches- unteers, we planted fruit trees: Asian ter is about more than trees in this pear, persimmon, medlar and hardy under-resourced area of Boston.