City of Montpelier, Vermont

Montpelier 2011 / Annual Report / 47Montpelier Tree BoardThe Montpelier Tree Board was formed is 1994by the City Council to plan for the health of, andwork to maintain, the city’s urban forest. Composed of up tonine appointed volunteers, who presently include co-chairsWendy Blakeman and Clare Rock and members: Abby Colihan,Jean Jolly, Sarah Mitchell, Carole Naquin, John Snell and JohnVan Deren. We are grateful to Geoff Beyer, who serves as TreeWarden as well as additional volunteers who assist the Board invarious capacities. The Board continues to maintain an activerole throughout the city with a number of projects, includingthe following, which are funded, in part, by appropriationsfrom the taxpayers of the city:& Received Community Forestry Funds from thePreservation TrustThe Board successfully submitted a grant application thispast spring. We received funds to replace the tree in front ofDelish on Main Street, plant a crab apple south of City Hall andpurchase a tree grate and guard.& Hosted Tree Board Table and Tree give-awayThe Tree Board promoted their work at the winter’s farmersmarket with a survey and raffle. The Board presented a luckylocal resident with a tree from the nursery. The tree board willcontinue to raise awareness about the importance of trees intothe future.& Attained Tree City USA status once againThe Board once again achieved Tree City USA status this yearfor the eighth time, an important recognition that will alsoallow us to more easily access Federal and State matching grantfunds. Thank you board member Abby Colihan for ensuring wecontinue to receive this recognition.& Utilized Mazer Grant Funding to assist with projectsMazer grant funds provided the Board and Geoff with somehelp to make Tree Inventory data accessible and more userfriendly. The balance of funds will be used in 2011 to purchasetrees, repair the Nursery irrigation system, provide a stipendfor student help with the Tree Inventory and to complete theMunicipal Street Tree Plan.& Continuing efforts on the Street Tree InventoryThe Tree Warden continues to coordinate the completion ofthe Street Tree Inventory. Geoff worked with a former internto make inventory information accessible to several programs.The inventory includes information about trees which are onCity property, within the City right-of-way and trees whichmay impact the City right-of-way. The location, the tree species,the height and the overall health of the tree is documented inthe data gathering process. The inventory, when completedwill not only provide valuable information about the overallhealth of our street trees, but more importantly help definea maintenance program for street trees and guide efforts forplanting and replacing trees. The inventory is a multi-yearproject as the undertaking is quite extensive.& Updating the Municipal Street Tree PlanThe last Municipal Street Tree Plan was written in 1999 andis overdue for an update. The Tree Board is in the process ofupdating the plan. The current plan will help direct the work ofthe Tree Board and provide other city boards/committees andCity residents with information about the health of our trees,best tree planting techniques and tree maintenance practices.The Board anticipates sharing the draft Tree Plan with Cityresidents during 2011 and will be seeking feedback.& Undertaking Urban Tree Canopy AssessmentThe Vermont Community and Urban Forestry Program hasundertaken an Urban Tree Canopy Assessment in Montpelier.The Tree Board looks forward to receiving the results anyday now. Special thanks to the UVM Spatial Analysis Labwho helped with the assessment. The results of the UrbanTree Canopy Assessment will be incorporated into the StreetPlan update and provide the Tree Board and the City withinformation about where is the greatest potential and benefitsfor increasing the tree canopy. Having this type of assessmentwill also make the board more competitive for funding to assistwith future urban forestry projects.& Maintaining the Tree NurseryIn 2000 the board established a tree nursery at North BranchNature Center (NBNC) on Elm Street where we have raiseda variety of trees that have been planted throughout the city.The Tree Board continues to foster the growth of our saplingspurchased last year, prepare for new tree plantings in 2011 andwork on repairing the irrigation system.& Planting and maintaining downtown treesOur downtown trees are subject to a variety of abuses that leadto decline and necessitate replacement and more protection.Some tree decline is attributed to limited tree root growingspace and harsh winter conditions. In other cases tree failure isdue to human causes such as de-icing products, tobacco waste,animal excrement, lawn mower damage, bicycle parking, andvandalism. Several replacement trees were planted out on GreenUp Day, May 1, 2010. Tree grates and guards were inventoriedand repaired to provide as much protection as possible.