Leslie Moorman has dedicated her time to leading the NC Urban Forest Council since 2010, first as Executive Board Coordinator and later as Executive Director, a role she has held ever since.

Thanks, Leslie, for all you do for NC's urban forests!

Vivek Shandas is a Professor of Climate Adaptation and Founding Director of the Sustaining Urban Places Research (SUPR) Lab at Portland State University. Dr. Shandas is trained as an urban ecologist and his research and community engagement practices intersect environmental health, green infrastructure and equity. He has published over 100 articles, three books, and his research has been featured in the NYTimes, National Geographic, Scientific American, and dozens of other national and local media. Dr. Shandas serves as Chair of the City of Portland's (Oregon) Urban Forestry Commission and serves on several local and national advisory boards. His presentation will reflect the ongoing challenges and opportunities for expanding tree canopy into areas that have been historically disinvested. 

As you have seen over the last few weeks, we have been keeping an eye on House Bill 496. On May 11, 2021 HB 496 passed the House with a 72-43 vote. The bill will now go into the NC Senate and work its way through the subcommittees, which should start to happen in the next two weeks. The latest version of HB 496 has some new language regarding timber harvesting and development approval, which seems to address the 3-year waiting period for development approval after a timber harvesting operation. The latest version of the bill also has a new effective date of June 2022. What this means is that local governments with ordinances in place regulating trees on private property (i.e.: landscape codes, UDOs, development ordinances, tree ordinances) but do not have the authority from NC Legislature will have until June 2022 to get the authority approved. This does not guarantee approval and the process may prove more difficult for smaller communities, but it at least gives communities a chance to address the change without losing their current regulations.

We are still recommending you reach out to your NC Senators to voice any concerns (Find Your Legislator). You can use the talking points from our position statement to help with your communication. We will continue to update you on HB 496 as it moves through the NC Senate.

The bill has been sent to the NC Senate, specifically the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations, although it hasn't been assigned a date for going before the committee yet. Please take a few minutes to review the bill and contact your Senator about the potential implications this bill might have on your and neighboring communities.

It’s June and we just celebrated Memorial Day, in which we honor our veterans who have sacrificed for our country. Thank you, veterans, for your service. It’s starting to feel like summer again with all its heat and thunderstorms we get in North Carolina. It’s great to see leaves on trees and to finally be getting over allergies associated with tree pollen. This time of year, because of those leaves, utility pruning is more evident than others. Trees that had leaves this morning when you left for work might have been pruned off resulting in trees looking weird, misshaped, or unbalanced. In this day in age and our demands associated with working remotely or from home, we are more dependent on electricity, especially un-interrupted electricity, then we have ever been. How can you help keep the lights on and meet the needs/desires for forested areas? 

As a reminder, the NCUFC has a published Trees & Utilities Manual that provides guidance for planting and managing trees around Utility Lines. Pick up a copy when you attend one of the workshops near you this year or reach out to Leslie or Mindy to discuss multiple copies.

‘Poolside Pests’ is a program aimed at increasing awareness of Asian longhorned beetle and spotted lanternfly and is so named because these pests are attracted to water and may be found in pools and pool filters. Pools across the state can serve as traps for these pests and North Carolinians are encouraged to report the pests if they see them. Early detection is critical because management tactics are most successful when a new invasion is detected and reported quickly. While the ‘Poolside Pests’ program targets pool owners and managers, it’s important that everyone keeps an eye out because these insects can be found anywhere.

All North Carolinians are encouraged to learn how to recognize and report these pests by going to https://www.poolsidepests.com/. If you suspect you have found one of these pests, click on the Report a Pest link on this page. ‘Poolside Pests’ is a collaborative effort between the Plant Industry Division, N.C. Forest Service and N.C. State University Cooperative Extension.