Peoria celebrates Arbor Day with SRP and high school students

Many Arizona communities strive to be recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA, the national recognition program for communities with a higher level of tree care management. One participating community that I’ll be highlighting is the City of Peoria. I had the opportunity to interview Brandon Putman, Field Operations and Planning Services Superintendent from the City of Peoria Parks and Recreation Department. During this interview, we discussed Peoria’s community engagement efforts, utilization of grants, and advice for others wanting recognition for their community. 

The City of Peoria works to achieve Tree City recognition each year because they aim to improve shade and enhance public spaces in their desert community. Their Landscape Division oversees arbor care in collaboration with Parks staff, and their tree ordinance code establishes tree care regulations on public property. In 2022, the City of Peoria spent $8 per capita on tree management to perform high-risk tree removal, tree plantings, convert turf grass into xeriscape landscape areas, and execute projects to renovate landscapes around the city. To celebrate Arbor Day with their community, the City has partnered with the Peoria High School Future Farmers of America program for the last five years. Each year, twenty to thirty high school students perform tree plantings around the city hall, trailheads, and neighborhood parks. 

Tree City USA status has allowed the City of Peoria to access grants that have been instrumental to their community forestry program. Over the past five years, they have utilized grant funding and local partnerships to build management plans, address extreme weather events threatening their tree canopy, and replace lost trees while improving water conservation efforts. The City also promotes planting trees and creating shaded spaces for people to enjoy a healthier and greener community.

Brandon’s advice for communities wanting to be recognized as a Tree City USA for the first time is to focus on a well-crafted tree ordinance that will be put into city code and lead to improved tree care maintenance in the community. The ordinance is the foundation to making actionable and significant changes. In order to make an ordinance that will benefit trees and urban canopy coverage, you must find champions in the community that will carry that voice forward while also keeping your council informed along the way to best ensure the ultimate adoption of the ordinance. 

For more information on the Tree City USA program, tree ordinances, or community tree care management, I encourage you to reach out to DFFM’s Urban and Community Forestry team! 

2023 Tumbleweed Snowman, image from AMAFCA

Russian thistle (Kali tragus) is believed to have been introduced into the U.S. from contaminated flax seed in the 1870s in South Dakota. What truly makes this plant remarkable is its windblown pattern of seed dispersal. One takeaway message is that tumbleweed can be thought of not as a species, but as a means of seed dispersal. There are other plant species besides those in the genus Kali (or Salsola) that tumble. An example is tumble mustard (Sisybrium altissimum); it can break off at ground level and roll across the landscape scattering seeds as it goes.  

Two cultural traditions with tumbleweeds during the Christmas season are the Tumbleweed Snowman and the Tumbleweed Tree. Since 1995, the Tumbleweed Snowman has greeted travelers along Interstate 40 in Albuquerque, NM; crews from the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority build the snowman from tumbleweeds collected nearby. The Tumbleweed Snowman stands 14 feet tall and the hat is part of an old 55 gallon steel drum.  

Chandler’s Tumbleweed Tree, image from the Chandler Museum’s research site.

An Update on the BBRCS Program

Written by Mitchell Lannan

Forest Health Specialist

Each year the DFFM Forest Health Team runs a program to help the general public manage bark beetle outbreaks on their properties. The program is called the Bark Beetle Reduction Cost Share Program (BBRCS), and it covers 50% of the cost of removal for trees actively infested with bark beetles. Homeowners are able to sign up for the program year-round, but the program only operates in the colder months between fall and winter (typically October through February). The program is done while the beetles are dormant and have stopped flying due to the drop in temperatures; this limits their ability to fly to new trees and infest them during the process of tree removal. Removing bark beetle infested trees has proven to reduce localized bark beetle populations in otherwise healthy forests. Once the program opens each autumn, the forest health team begins visiting properties to assess for bark beetle activity. 

Photo of the Forest Health Team training other DFFM Forestry staff on the BBRCS Program

In 2023 thus far, 104 homes have been visited, and 93 trees have been marked as actively infested with bark beetles. Only 33% of the homes visited had bark beetle activity. Of the trees looked at, the majority with bark beetle activity were Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa). A few other species with bark beetle activity included Pinyon Pine (Pinus spp.), White Fir (Abies concolor), and ornamental Austrian Pine (Pinus nigra). It is worth stating all conifer species in Arizona are susceptible to bark beetle attack, and ALL tree species, native or non-native can qualify for this program as long as they have active bark beetle infestation.

If you or someone you know has bark beetle infested trees, or is unsure, encourage them to sign up for the BBRCS program today! For more information on the program, please check out this document. To sign up for the program, please contact foresthealth@dffm.az.gov.

What is the Forest Legacy Program?

Matthew Jewell

Forest Legacy Program Manager

The Forest Legacy Program, overseen by the USDA Forest Service in partnership with state agencies, is a critical initiative focused on conserving privately owned forest lands across the United States. The program is essential because over half of the nation's forested land is in private hands. Its main strategy is to prevent environmentally important areas from being developed or fragmented by using conservation easements or land purchases. Such efforts are key to preserving numerous public benefits that forests provide, including recreational activities (like hunting, fishing, camping), clean water sources, wildlife habitats, and the production of timber and other forest products.

View of Bull Basin, an area with Ponderosa pines and seasonal wetlands within an AZ Forest Legacy project.

Professional Classes and Conferences:

Pruning Workshop with Ed Gilman - January 9 - Scottsdale, AZ 

Free Soil Health Workshop - January 24 - Patagonia, AZ 

International Invasive Species and Climate Change Conference - January 30-31 - Virtual

Certified Arborist Training and Review (6 Courses) - Fridays, February 2 - March 8 - Phoenix, AZ 

ISA Certified Arborist Exam - March 9 - Phoenix, AZ

Riparian Restoration Conference: Restoration for the Future - March 5-7, 2024 - Grand Junction, CO

New FREE Course: Biocontrol 101 - NAISMA

Community Events:

2024 Tree Festival & Climbing Championship - March 15-16, 2024 - Tucson, AZ - Volunteers needed! 

Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival - April 25-28, 2024 - Cottonwood, AZ

It's tree planting season! Contact your local non-profits and municipalities to see if any volunteer events are happening near you.

Webinars:

Collaborations to Save Threatened Tree Species - January 2

Tree Health Mapping in Cities - February 14

DFFM's Annual Arizona Arbor Day will be celebrated April 19, 2024! More details coming soon.

You may have noticed that one of our articles was written by one of our interns, Kendall Boyd. We're so excited to introduce our new Urban Forestry Specialist, Alison Faller, as well as three other interns that are currently working with us!

Alison Faller, Urban Forestry Specialist

“I recently moved back home to Phoenix from Seattle where I was doing zero waste outreach for WM. I’m excited to be back in the desert! Outside of work I love to be outside running, biking, and hiking or if it’s too hot you’ll find me with a book! I’m glad to be joining the good work of the UCF team.”

Fatima Sanchez, Magnificent Tree Intern

"Hi, my name is Fatima Sanchez. I am currently an Environmental Engineering student at the University of Arizona in my sophomore year. I enjoy drawing and gardening in my free time!"

Amira Allen, UCF Intern

"Hi! My name is Amira and I moved to Yuma about five months ago. It was a new experience and I’ve learned and tried so many new things! Being a Pastry Chef and a (partially) certified Arborist are two things I’ve never thought I’d become. I’m so excited to be working with DFFM!"

Emma Fregozo, UCF Intern

"My name is Emma Fregozo, I am currently interning with DFFM and ACTC. I have just completed a 2 month course called Arizona Arboriculture Pre-employment Program. I’ve learned so much and I can’t wait to continue to learn more and see where it all takes me!"

Fatima and Kendall are interning with DFFM through the University of Arizona's Earth Grant Program, a year-long leadership development program for a diverse cohort of UArizona students passionate about community resilience and the environment. Be sure to scroll back up to the TCUSA Community Highlight article to read Kendall's bio if you missed it!

Amira and Emma are recent graduates of the Arizona Arboriculture Pre-Employment Program, a pilot program in Yuma that prepares individuals for an apprenticeship or entry-level position in the arboriculture employment field. This program utilizes the curriculum created by American Forests designed for those who face barriers to traditional employment. We are so excited to help them build on what they've learned!

Thanks for reading!

The State of Arizona Urban and Community Forestry Program is made possible with assistance from the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this

institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Suggestions or comments? We want to hear from you! Contact Megan Lasley, Forestry Outreach Coordinator at mlasley@dffm.az.gov