to conserving forestland by being vigilant consumers?

Considering that we have 3.1 million acres of forest-

land in the state, and we are tremendous consumers

of wood and paper products, it seems to make sense

that we should get at least some of our wood from

right here in our own backyards, especially if it pro-

vides income to Massachusetts families, preserves

open space and is produced to a higher standard than

imported goods. Sound familiar?

To help make this argument, let‘s first consider how

much wood we actually use. The national average

consumption rate, including paper products, is about

68 cubic feet of wood per person per year (Howard et

al. 2010). In lumber terms, that‘s about 425 board

feet, or the equivalent of about 80 eight-foot 2x4‘s,

consumed by each person each year. For the 6.5 mil-

lion residents of Massachusetts, this comes to 445 mil-

lion cubic feet, or 2.8 billion board feet, per year.

Compare this with 50 billion board feet, which is the

total volume of wood in all live trees throughout the

entire state (FIA 2010), and it appears that we con-

sume the equivalent of 5.6% of our entire forest each

year! Note that much of this is out of our hands, con-

sumed on our behalf by businesses, institutions and the

currents of commerce.

Clearly we‘re not getting all of our wood from Massa-

chusetts, nor could we if we wished, but this begs the

frightful question – Where does our wood come

from? The short answer – everywhere! To test this

fact, visit the nearest Home Depot, where a company-

wide policy labels every piece of wood with a country

of origin, so you can travel the globe with a stroll

down the aisle. Canada, Sweden, Chile, New Zealand

(also known as the other side of the world!), and yes,

the United States. These are not necessarily exotic

woods either, but even spruce-fir framing lumber and

finish-grade pine are coming from afar. The economic

and environmental costs for shipping alone are stag-

(Continued on page 2)

As any one of the food-

related documentaries

released in the past

decade will reveal, the

simple question of ―where does your food come

from?‖ will likely yield a Pandora‘s box of unpleasant

realities tied to our unfettered appetites. Consump-

tion comes with consequences, and the only way to

know and control those consequences is by consumer

awareness and vigilance. Such consumer vigilance has

led to a marked swell in support for local agriculture

in Massachusetts, stemming the tide

of farmland loss and re-

connecting many people with our

rural landscape and agricultural

heritage.

With over 6.5 million people and

300,000 thousand acres of farm-

land, it makes perfect sense to

get at least some of our food right

here in our own backyards, espe-

cially if it provides income to

Massachusetts families, preserves

open space and is produced to a

higher standard than imported

goods. This is the essence of a

local working landscape, epito-

mized by agriculture due to the

highly visible, intensive work that

goes on year after year.

But what about that other compo-

nent of Massachusetts‘ rural land-

scape, forestland? Are there op-

portunities to pay dividends back

Where Does Your Wood Come From? Working Lands and Wood

Products from Massachusetts

M A R C H 2 0 1 2

Up Ahead:

Working

Landscapes 1-4

Species

Spotlight 5

UMass

Conference 6

Growing on

Trees 7-8, 11-12

i-Tree

workshop! 8

Growing

Greener 9

USDA

Hardiness

Zones 10

The Grove 10

On the

Horizon 13

By Peter Grima

Outreach Service Forester

MA-DCR

P A G E 2

Where Does Your Wood Come From? Working Lands and Wood Products from Massachusetts

gering to consider.

Yet, we are not without precedent for self-sufficiency.

According to timber harvest data from cutting plans

filed in accordance with the Massachusetts Forest Cut-

ting Practices Act, about 100 million board are har-

vested annually across the state. This amounts to

about 3.8% of our consumption – a drop in the bucket,

which drops even further to 2.1% if you consider that

40-50% of harvested trees are sent out-of-state or out

-of-country to be processed. The wood we do retain

is made into innumerable solid wood products – lum-

ber, flooring, post-and-beam timbers, pallets, firewood,

etc., but still confined to a niche that is largely under

the radar of the average consumer.

An important point to note regarding timber harvests

is that they begin on forestland and leave forestland

afterwards. Additionally, harvests in Massachusetts

are subject to a suite of environmental regulations that

protect water quality, rare species and wetland re-

sources. By contrast, development (also called

―terminal harvest‖), which incidentally also removes

about 100 million board feet annually (FIA 2010,

MassAudubon 2009), permanently converts the land to

non-forest. And wood harvested in other parts of the

world, or even other parts of the country, are subject

to very different – or even nonexistent – environ-

mental regulations and oversight that are typically infe-

rior to our own.

To quote The Illusion of Preservation, Harvard Forest‘s

seminal paper calling for a shift towards favoring local

wood production: ―We now have the opportunity to

cut trees locally, in a heavily forested and ecologically

resilient landscape, in order to reduce the impact on

often more fragile and globally threatened forests

(Berlik et al. 2002).‖ Why not do things the right way

right here in our own backyards, rather than the

wrong way thousands of miles from here?

With 70% of our forests (2.2 million acres) owned by

private individuals, we must acknowledge that our for-

ested landscape is a borrowed luxury. Wood is the pre-

dominant forest output – the product – with the po-

tential to link vigilant consumers to a local resource.

We love wood, and we love our landscape. By seek-

ing out and demanding local wood options, we can

help ensure that owners of forestland have economi-

cally viable forest management options that are less

susceptible to the price of diesel and more directly

serving their own communities. Just as buying local

food helps perpetuate the existence of local farms,

local wood can serve as another line of defense against

premature development and help perpetuate the exis-

tence of our local forests.

Peter Grima can be reached at

peter.grima@state.ma.us

More Information & Further Reading:

MDAR Commonwealth Quality Program: Forestry Sec-

tor. Wood from long-term harvests on Massachusetts

forestland. www.mass.gov/agr/cqp/sectors/forestry/

2006 Massachusetts Directory of Sawmills & Dry Kilns.

Available online at: www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/

forestry/utilmark/SawmillDirectory2006.pdf

The Illusion of Preservation: a global environmental argument

for the local production of natural resources, Berlik, Kit-

tredge & Foster, 2002. Harvard Forest Paper No. 26.

Available online at

http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/research-publications.

Harvard Forest‘s Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the

Forests of Massachusetts, Foster et al., 2005. Available

online at www.wildlandsandwoodlands.org/vision/vision-

(Continued on page 3)

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

A Massachusetts sawmill processes locally harvested logs into lumber.

P A G E 3

sumption of wood and wood products in round wood

equivalents. Research Note FPL-RN-0317. Madison, WI:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest

Products Laboratory. 20 p.

MassAudubon: James DeNormandie & Claire Corcoran.

2009. Losing Ground, Beyond the Footprint: Patterns of

development and their impact on the nature of Massa-

chusetts.

Working Landscapes—Commentary

massachusetts.

MassAudubon‘s Losing Ground: Beyond the Footprint, De-

Normandie & Corcoran, 2009. Available online at

www.massaudubon.org/losingground.

References:

Berlik, Mary M., David B. Kittredge & David R. Foster.

2002. The Illusion of Preservation: a global environ-

mental argument for the local production of natural re-

sources. Harvard Forest Paper No. 26. Harvard Univer-

sity, Petersham, MA.

FIA: USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory & Analysis.

2010. Data from 2009 for live tree volumes and area of

forestland for Massachusetts.

Howard, James L.; Westby, Rebecca; Skog, Kenneth E.

2010. Criterion 6 Indicator 28: total and per capita con-

(Continued from page 2)

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

Special to The Citizen Forester

By Vin Bucca

I was given an opportunity to write about a subject I

have been involved with for many years…Working

Landscapes. These words have been discussed for

years and I‘m happy to say are finding their way into

more and more conversations and print articles re-

cently. For example the theme for this year‘s Massa-

chusetts Land Conservation Conference is ―Working

Lands: Farms, Forests & Conservation.‖

Since the mid 1980s I have been involved with the res-

toration of public lands starting with the Boston Har-

bor Islands, specifically Georges‘ and Peddocks. My

favorite was Peddocks Island and I found myself spend-

ing most of my time there restoring and opening trails

and creating a much needed fire break.

As time went on I found myself back on the mainland

doing the same kind of work for local conservation

commissions and non-profit land trusts. The need for

this kind of work was growing along with the towns in

Plymouth County and throughout the State. Develop-

ment was eating up land at an alarming rate and over-

powering the ability of towns to provide the services

people came to expect. Good schools, police and fire

protection were getting harder and harder to provide

without raising taxes. People came to realize that

something needed to be done.

In 2000 came the Community Preservation Act, a tool

that would give cities and towns that adopted it the

ability to compete with developers for lands each

town felt was important enough to protect for drink-

ing water, recreation and town character. To date half

the cities and towns in Massachusetts have adopted

the CPA. Town officials are slowly coming around to

the realization that the adage of large development

equals higher tax revenues is nothing more than a

myth. So they have been purchasing land, land that

may still be active in agriculture or has been aban-

doned and has now become forest.

To those of us who have fought for open space acqui-

sitions this is great news, but with the acquisition of

land also comes the responsibilities of management

and management always comes with its challenges…do

we leave the land alone, do we cut the trees for wood

products, for fire prevention, for the health of the

stand, for wildlife management, for food production,

(Continued on page 4)

we are to succeed. Purchasing open space is a great

accomplishment but if we don‘t have people who feel a

connection with the land have we really succeeded?

There are existing efforts to make that connection but

they need support and we will have missed a great op-

portunity to engage, educate and create careers, eco-

nomical development and local products if we don‘t

expand on the efforts that have been made to date.

On March 24, the Massachusetts Land Conservation

Conference will be held in Worcester and this year‘s

theme is ―Working Lands: Farms, Forests and Conser-

vation,‖ and I would like to encourage all of you to

attend. This topic has been waiting a long time to

come to the forefront and it deserves all the attention

worthy of a theme for a Massachusetts Land Conser-

vation Conference.

In closing I would like to thank all the people that I

have met over the years that have given me encour-

agement and support in my effort to make my dream a

reality by allowing me to successfully restore 10 acres

of Scituate Town Conservation land into a working

farm and woodlot. A special thanks goes to Judy Gillan

& Arnie Voehringer (who passed away in August ) at

the New England Small Farm Institute and Lynda Sim-

kins at the Natick Community Organic Farm. I would

also like to recommend two books; Reclaiming the

Commons: Community Farms and Forests in a New Eng-

land Town by Brian Donahue (Yale University Press

ISBN # 0-300-07673-8) and Last Child in the Woods by

Richard Louv (ISBN # 13: 978-1-56512-605-3).

Working Landscapes—Commentary and do we have the money to manage? These are just

some of the old issues we would consider. Today the

issues have grown…climate change, the safety of our

food, the increase demand at our food pantries and

present day and future food shortages, and the econ-

omy.

In Massachusetts a number of small farms have come

into production making us less dependent on a food

supply from other areas of the country and the world.

We need to continue this trend that has benefited us

and our children. In forestry I see truck after truck

taking logs harvested in Massachusetts north to New

Hampshire and Canada only to come back to us as

finished lumber. Sure there are sawmills in Massachu-

setts but there could be more and with more comes

more local jobs and economic growth. Without man-

agement of our public lands we are going to have

properties overtaken by rapidly growing invasive spe-

cies turning what was once aesthetically pleasing prop-

erties into a jungle of vines and dead trees.

I am in no way the only one with these ideas or

thoughts about the way we manage or don‘t manage

our public and/or private lands. There are others all

over the state who work at non-profit land trusts,

community farms and local and state agencies who

have acted on their ideas and dreams and passionately

believe more can be done to create additional

―Working Landscapes.‖

If the State could create initiatives that could encour-

age and support local efforts to create more ―Working

Landscapes‖ and report on the progress of existing

agricultural and forestry efforts at the local level it

might encourage more public participation and sup-

port for both local and state programs and projects.

We need to engage the next generation of stewards if

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

P A G E 4

Commentaries express the opinion of the author

and do not represent the views of The Citizen For-

ester. We invite anyone to respond to articles or

commentaries.

Forests of Massachusetts Vast. Diverse. Complex!

P A G E 5

cotton plants also impacts Franklin tree, making its

growth in the south difficult.

For more information on Franklin tree and its interest-

ing history see Arnoldia, the magazine of the Arnold

Arboretum: http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/

articles/665.pdf and America‘s First ‗Rare‘ Plant, the

Franklin Tree: http://www.terrain.org/articles/18/

rowland.htm

Species Spotlight—Franklin Tree, Franklinia alatamaha Franklin tree is a small tree once native to Georgia. It

is in the Theaceae family, the same family as stewartia.

The well-known botanists and father-son team, John

and William Bartram, first came upon the tree in Oc-

tober 1765 while exploring along the Alatamaha River

in Georgia. It wasn‘t until several years later in 1773

that William returned at a time when the tree was in

flower. He collected seeds and brought them to Phila-

delphia. Even at that time, the tree was rare, and by

the early 1800s, the Franklin tree was extinct in the

wild. We know it today from those first samples col-

lected in the 18th century.

Franklin tree grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 to 8. It

is known for being difficult to grow, but the tree first

came to the Arnold Arboretum in 1884 and specimens

are still part of the collection today. In fact, the oldest

specimens alive today are at the Arnold Arboretum.

Franklin tree is a shrub or small tree and has an open

habit. The bark is gray and somewhat striped, orna-

mental in winter. The leaves of the tree are 5-6 ―

long, obovate, and shiny, dark green in the summer.

Fall color is orange, to red, to purple. The flowers of

the Franklin tree are probably its best-known feature.

They are fragrant and large, 3-3.5‖ across, white, with

a yellow center. In Massachusetts, they bloom in late

summer, with its woody, capsule fruit ripening in the

fall following the flowering.

Despite its discovery in the south, Franklin tree seems

to do better in northern areas than in its original

range. There are theories as to why the species disap-

peared from the wild, one being that a pathogen of

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

Karl Gersons

UConn

UConn

Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012, : 9:00am - 4:00pm , Stockbridge Hall, UMass Amherst

This one-day conference is designed for managers and employees who work outdoors: arborists, tree

wardens, municipal managers, DPW workers, city planners, surveyors, foresters and landscape archi-

tects. The University of Massachusetts Extension, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and

Recreation and the USDA Forest Service sponsor this annual conference.

Everyone who works outdoors - whether on the street, in a park or in a client‘s backyard - is exposed to a

variety of potential issues every day. This year‘s conference is designed to help attendees learn to identify po-

tential problems and to avoid being injured on the job. This year‘s conference will cover the new arboricul-

tural safety standard and the insects and diseases that we expect to see during 2012. We will also cover the

latest in arboricultural research that is taking place right here in New England.

Registration

Cost is $65 for first registration, $40/person for each additional registration from the same company.

Pesticide & Professional Certification Credits Two pesticide contact hours for categories 36, 40, and 00 (licensed applicator). ISA, SAF, CFE, MCA,

MCH and MCLP credits have been requested.

Questions? Contact Ellen Weeks at 413-545-2685; eweeks@umext.umass.edu

8:00 - 9:00 AM Registration & Coffee

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM URBAN FORESTRY DIAGNOSTIC LAB OPEN HOUSE

9:00 – 9:50 UMass Arboricultural Research Update

Brian Kane, MAA Professor of Commercial Arboriculture, UMass

10:00 – 10:50 Storms & Storm Response 2011

David Bloniarz, Urban Forest Scientist, USDA Forest Service

10:50 - 11:50 A Context for Forest Pathology & Climate Change in the North-

east

Kevin T. Smith, Project Leader Plant Physiology, USDA Forest Service

Noon – 1:00 PM Lunch Break

1:00 Scholarship Awards

1:10 – 2:00 New Z-133 Safety Standard

Peter Gerstenberger, Senior Advisor for Safety, Tree Care Industry As-

sociation

2:00 – 2:50 ALB Status & Restoration Program

Julie Coop, Mass DCR Lead ALB Forester

3:00– 3:50 Choices for Insect Pest Management:

How to Protect the Trees with Bio-Rational Options

Robert Childs, University of Massachusetts Extension Entomologist

4:00 PM Questions & Open Discussion

2012 UMass Community Tree Conference

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

P A G E 6

Grow Boston Greener (GBG) is a competitive mini-grant program administered by Boston Natural Areas

Network in partnership with the City of Boston that provides funding of up to $2,500 for tree plantings in

neighborhoods throughout the City of Boston. Funding for the GBG program is provided by the support of cor-

porate and philanthropic donors through the Fund for Parks and Recreation in Boston.

The application deadline for the spring grant round is March 19, 2012.

GBG grants are available to non-profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status and their partners, such as community

gardens, friends groups, schools, libraries, civic associations and neighborhood associations. Organizations without

tax-exempt status can apply with a 501(c)(3) organization serving as the fiscal agent.

To download the application and grant guidelines, visit www.growbostongreener.org

For questions, assistance with formulating your project, or more information contact:

Mathew Cahill, Program Coordinator, Boston Urban Forest Program,

at 617-542-7696 ext. 20 or email at: mathew@bostonnatural.org

Growing on Trees—Funds to Plant Trees in Boston! P A G E 7

The Arbor Day Grant was created in 2007 to

support small town and communities

who needed help to build their Arbor Day Pro-

grams.

This grant awards two $250.00 grants to a

town, organization or community who

demonstrates need to promote and support

their Arbor Day celebration.

Communities must complete and submit their

Arbor Day Grant application by

Deadline: March 25, 2012

Application available online: http://

www.newenglandisa.org/

files/2012/2012_ArborDayGrantApplicati

on.pdf

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

New England Chapter ISA Arbor Day Grant

Home Depot Community Impact Grants Grants, up to $5,000, are available to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, public schools, or tax -

exempt public service agencies in the U.S. that are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical

health of their community. Grants are given in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase

of tools, materials, or services.

Accepting proposals for grants beginning February 6, 2012 through August 13, 2012.

More competitive grant proposals will specifically identify projects for veterans including (among other

projects related to housing repair and weatherization):

Planting trees or community gardens and/or landscaping community facilities that serve vet-

erans

Only proposals submitted through the online application process will be considered for funding.

For more information: http://www.homedepotfoundation.org/how-we-help/grants.html

Workshop and Webcast: i-Tree Streets: Keeping it Simple, Affordable and Useful

P A G E 8

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

April 4, 2012, 9 am — Noon

Springfield, MA and live on the web

Please consider attending a special upcoming 3-hour

instructional session, ―i-Tree Streets: Keeping it Sim-

ple, Affordable and Useful‖ April 4, 2012 from 9:00

AM – Noon (Eastern) in Springfield, MA. This session,

presented in cooperation with the Urban Natural Re-

sources Institute will feature an opportunity to focus

on the completion of a simple, easily implementable

street tree inventory in your community. The work-

shop will feature Mollie Freilicher, MA Department of

Conservation and Recreation, Anne Cumming of the

USDA Forest Service and Dave Bloniarz, USDA Forest

Service. Following the workshop, there will be an In-

Person Networking Session in Springfield from Noon-

1:30 PM .

This session will cover a series of topics including:

i-Tree Streets basics * Download, install and un-

derstand the software components * Using a

PDA or handheld GPS unit * How to use the

new pest detection feature, IPED * Analyzing and

reporting data using i-Tree Streets.

Attendees will learn what equipment is compatible with i

-Tree, how to incorporate GIS information into Streets,

and how to use i-Tree Streets to conduct an inventory—

from selecting and customizing fields for collection to

importing inventory data from a PDA or other device

into i-Tree Streets for analysis. Attendees will leave with

an understanding of the tools needed to conduct a tree

inventory in their community using i-Tree Streets.

PRE-REGISTRATION for both the in-person

workshop and the web session is required, in or-

der to provide the best experience for attendees.

Please visit http://www.unri.org/events/itree042012/

for more information and to pre-register for the

events.

LOCATION: Holiday Inn, Marlborough, MA

DATES: OCTOBER 31 - DECEMBER 12, 2012; meets

twice a week, 9 am to 3:30 daily

COST: $675

Green School is a highly regarded, comprehensive 12-day

certificate short course for Green Industry professionals

taught by UMass, Amherst faculty and Extension Special-

ists. The course emphasizes environmental stewardship, a

systematic approach to sustainable best management prac-

tices (BMPs) and integrated pest management (IPM). Par-

ticipants develop an understanding of how proper prac-

tices impact natural resources such as soil and water, fo-

cusing on the management of the landscape as a whole.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Tracks A, B, and C are

appropriate for managers and staff at garden centers,

nurseries, private or municipal grounds, schools, sports

fields, landscape and lawn care businesses, tree wardens,

arborists, and professional gardeners. Track D is intended

2012 UMass Extension Green School for students who want to grow vegetable crops com-

mercially or work in the vegetable industry.

Choose from 4 specialty tracks

* Landscape Management (A)

* Turf Management (B)

* Arboriculture (C)

* Sustainable Vegetable Production (D)

QUESTIONS? Send an e-mail to green-

school@umassgreeninfo.org. You may also call the

UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery & Urban For-

estry Program at (413) 545-0895 or Mary Owen, Turf

Program, at (508) 892-0382.

Growing on Trees

P A G E 9

In December, Hillman held an educational work-

shop, Building Partnerships for Urban Forestry in Fall

River. This workshop educated attendees on the

value of the urban forest and the importance of

stewardship. In attendance were city department

heads and staff, local businesses, including land-

scaping and construction companies, elected offi-

cials, local organizations, and members of the

community.

The Fall River Street Tree Planting Program also

manages a Tree Steward program to train volun-

teers to assist with educating the public about

trees, planning events for Arbor Day, planting and

pruning, and other activities. In Fall River, Tree

Stewards take a 9-part course that includes 6

classroom sessions and 3 outdoor sessions cover-

ing tree planting and pruning, tree biology, tree

care, and stewardship. Stewardship is naturally a

component of the training, and Tree Stewards are

expected to give 20 hours of community service

following completion of the course. The most re-

cent training began February 23 and runs through

April.

Fall River, a 2011 Tree City USA Growth Award

Applicant, has continued to advance its urban for-

estry capacity. In 2010, Fall River was awarded a

MA-DCR Urban and Community Forestry Chal-

lenge Grant to hire an arborist to promote urban

forestry in the city. This past fall, the arborist, An-

drew Hillman from the Davey Resource Group,

published a series of columns in The Herald News

on stormwater, the fall planting season, and prun-

ing trees in winter. These columns served to edu-

cate the public on both the importance of trees

and tree care.

In September, The Fall River Street Tree Planting

Program (http://www.fallrivertrees.org/), in part-

nership with the city of Fall River, the Urban Ecol-

ogy Institute, Davey Resource Group, and the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, commenced a

street tree inventory. After receiving training on

tree identification and tree hazards, volunteers

began to collect information on trees, including

spatial information that will help create a GIS

(Global Information System)-based inventory for

the city. The goal of the inventory is to create a

map-based database for management as well as to

educate the public about the importance of trees.

The inventory work will continue

in 2012.

Hillman worked with Mary Ann

Wordell of the Fall River Street

Tree Planting Program in Novem-

ber to conduct a workshop on

planting bare root trees. Volun-

teers from the Street Tree Plant-

ing Program, the Durfee High

School Green Team, the Trustees

of Reservations, the city, and

members of the community

planted 15 disease-resistant elms.

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

Growing Greener—in Fall River

Photo by Phil Sabatino

Thinking about Tree City USA this year?

Contact mollie.freilicher@state.ma.us to talk about how your

community can achieve this goal

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

New USDA Hardiness Zone Map

Join the Grove! The Grove is a new website where na-

ture enthusiasts, urban foresters, and

others from around the country who

love trees can share events, photos,

news, and other information about ur-

ban forestry and activities taking place

in their communities.

Sign up for free and join the Massachu-

setts Grove and post information on

tree planting and urban forestry activi-

ties in your community. http://

www.americangrove.org/ma/

P A G E 1 0

By Kim Kaplan

January 25, 2012

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department

of Agriculture (USDA) today released the

new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone

Map (PHZM), updating a useful tool for

gardeners and researchers for the first

time since 1990 with greater accuracy and

detail. The new map—jointly developed by

USDA's Agricultural Research Service

(ARS) and Oregon State University's

(OSU) PRISM Climate Group—is available

online at www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.

ARS is the chief intramural scientific re-

search agency of USDA.

For the first time, the new map offers a Geographic

Information System (GIS)-based interactive format and

is specifically designed to be Internet-friendly. The map

website also incorporates a "find your zone by ZIP

code" function. Static images of national, regional and

state maps also have been included to ensure the map

is readily accessible to those who lack broadband

Internet access.

"This is the most sophisticated Plant Hardiness Zone

Map yet for the United States," said Catherine Woteki,

USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and

Economics. "The increases in accuracy and detail that

this map represents will be extremely useful for gar-

deners and researchers."

Plant hardiness zone designations represent the aver-

age annual extreme minimum temperatures at a given

location during a particular time period. They do not

reflect the coldest it has ever been or ever will be at a

specific location, but simply the average lowest winter

temperature for the location over a specified time.

Low temperature during the winter is a crucial factor

in the survival of plants at specific locations.

The new version of the map includes 13 zones, with

the addition for the first time of zones 12 (50-60 de-

grees Fahrenheit) and 13 (60-70 degrees Fahrenheit).

Each zone is a 10-degree Fahrenheit band, further di-

vided into 5-degree Fahrenheit zones "A" and "B."

To help develop the new map, USDA and OSU re-

(Continued on page 11)

quested that horticultural and climatic experts review

the zones in their geographic area, and trial versions

of the new map were revised based on their expert

input.

Compared to the 1990 version, zone boundaries in

this edition of the map have shifted in many areas. The

new map is generally one 5-degree Fahrenheit half-

zone warmer than the previous map throughout much

of the United States. This is mostly a result of using

temperature data from a longer and more recent time

period; the new map uses data measured at weather

stations during the 30-year period 1976-2005. In con-

trast, the 1990 map was based on temperature data

from only a 13-year period of 1974-1986.

However, some of the changes in the zones are a re-

sult of new, more sophisticated methods for mapping

zones between weather stations. These include algo-

rithms that considered for the first time such

(Continued from page 10)

P A G E 1 1

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

factors as changes in elevation, nearness to large bod-

ies of water, and position on the terrain, such as val-

ley bottoms and ridge tops. Also, the new map used

temperature data from many more stations than did

the 1990 map. These advances greatly improved the

accuracy and detail of the map, especially in moun-

tainous regions of the western United States. In some

cases, they resulted in changes to cooler, rather than

warmer, zones.

Read the complete article at: http://

www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2012/120125.htm

The new map is available at: http://

www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2012/120125.htm

New England Wildflower Society Lectures

THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT TREE

Less than 100 years ago, eastern U.S. forests were

dominated by this majestic species, but by the

1950s, they were almost extinct, succumbing to a

lethal fungus infestation known as the chestnut

blight. Join wildlife biologist, Curt Laffin, as he dis-

cusses the history and demise of this signature tree

and efforts by the American Chestnut Foundation

to restore it locally and throughout its historic

range.

Fee: free lecture, registration required

Instructor: Curt Laffin, wildlife biologist

Choose one of two sections:

Saturday April 21, 1:00-2:30 p.m. The Fells,

Newbury, NH

Course Code: LEC5161

Wednesday, June 27, 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Brown bag lunch at noon, program at 12:30 p.m.

Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA

Course Code: LEC5162

SYRUP, SEEDS, AND BEES: EXPLORING

LINKS IN MAPLE ECOLOGY

Explore the links between pollinator populations,

quantity of maple flower and seeds, and sap flow

that may be affecting a signature ―industry‖ of New

England—maple syrup production. Join us to learn if

each factor responds independently to the weather

or if there are possibly complex, but subtle, interac-

tions taking place in the sugar bush.

Monday, April 23, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Jamaica Plain,

MA

Course Code: LEC4052

Instructor: Elizabeth Crone, Senior Ecologist, Har-

vard Forest

Fee: free lecture, registration required

Cosponsor: Arnold Arboretum of Harvard Uni-

versity

Register for these and other courses at:

http://www.newfs.org/learn/how-to-register

Growing on Trees

P A G E 1 2

Saturday, March 24, 2012 – Worcester, MA

Working Lands: Farms, Forests and Conserva-

tion

Register now at MassConservation.org Conference Bro-

chure available here

Plenary Speaker: Gary Hirschberg, Chairman,

President and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm

About the conference: This annual, day-long train-

ing and networking event provides land trust board

members, staff, volunteers, municipal commission

members and others interested in land conservation

with the information, skills, and connections they need

to be most effective.

The 2012 conference theme is Working Lands: Farms,

Forests and Conservation with a focus on farm and for-

est stewardship, hot topics in agriculture such as re-

newable energy, and community-based garden and

farm projects.

In 2012, the workshop tracks are:

- Community Conservation

- Emerging Issues & Special Topics

- Food, Farms &Conservation

- Land Management & Stewardship

- Land Protection Tools & Techniques

- Legal, Tax and Compliance Matters

- Organizational Management & Fundraising

If you have questions about the submission process

please contact Kathy McGrath (978-443-2233;

kmcgrath@massland.org) or Miriam Scagnetti at (978-

840-4446 x1935; mscagnetti@ttor.org).

The Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference is

co-convened by the Massachusetts Land Trust Coali-

tion and The Trustees of Reservations' Putnam Con-

servation Institute.

More information: http://www.massland.org/node/33

March 7 and March 8, 2012, Springfield, MA

Coming Full Circle: Origins and Destinations

Delve into new ideas, methods, and products for

stormwater control and restoration. Re-examine

maintenance, vegetation management, and design

strategies. The largest and longest running ecologi-

cal landscape education and networking event in New

England challenges the beginner, the seasoned expert,

and everyone in between.

Wednesday, March 7th, offers you a choice

from two full-day intensive workshops:

1) Bringing Life to Urban Landscapes:

2) ―Pro‖ active Protection of Wetlands: Conservation

and Landscape Professionals Collaborate

Thursday, March 8th three concurrent educational

tracts offer 12 separate sessions that include:

Native Plant System Design to Increase Habitat

Diversity

Designing Perennial Plant Food Systems

Case Study: The Sustainable Sites Initiative

Knowing the Enemy: Practical Solutions for Deer

and Other Pests

Going to Extremes: How Climate Change Could

Impact Invasives

Water Neutral Gardens: The Greywater Compo-

nent

And more …

More information: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/

conference/

18th Annual Ecological Landscaping

Association Conference & Eco-

Marketplace

T H E C I T I Z E N F O R E S T E R

2012 Mass Land Conservation

Conference

March 7-8 Ecological Landscaping Association

Conference and Marketplace, Springfield, MA

www.ecolandscaping.org/

March 13 UMass Community Tree Conference,

Stockbridge Hall, Amherst,

http://extension.umass.edu/

March 24 Massachusetts Land Conservation

Conference, Worcester, MA

www.massconservation.org

April 1 Intent to Apply Deadline for DCR Urban and

Community Forestry Challenge Grants

www.mass.gov/dcr

April 4 i-Tree Streets: Keeping it Simple, Affordable

and Useful, workshop in Springfield, MA

(Also available as a webcast)

http://www.unri.org/

April 7 ISA Certified Arborist & Tree Worker Exam,

Amherst, MA

(registration deadline March 22),

www.isa-arbor.org

April 13 MCA Exam www.massarbor.org

April 27 State Arbor Day observance

in Massachusetts

May 1 Deadline for DCR Urban and Community

Forestry Challenge Grants

www.mass.gov/dcr

May 19-20 NEC-ISA Tree Climbing Championship

Blithewold Arboretum, RI

http://www.newenglandisa.org/

Oct 19-20 Save the date for the 2012 Massachusetts

Tree Steward Training!

Eric Seaborn, Program Coordinator

eric.seaborn@state.ma.us, (617) 626-1468

Mollie Freilicher, Community Action Forester

mollie.freilicher@state.ma.us, (413) 577-2966

The Citizen Forester is made possible through a

grant from the USDA Forest Service Urban

and Community Forestry Program and the

Massachusetts Department of Conservation

On the Horizon

Deval Patrick, Governor

Timothy Murray, Lieutenant Governor

Richard Sullivan, Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Edward M. Lambert, Jr., Commissioner, Department of Conservation and Recreation

Peter Church, Director of Forest Stewardship, Department of Conservation and Recreation

Bureau of Forestry

Department of Conservation and Recreation

251 Causeway Street, Suite 900

Boston, MA 02114

If you have a topic you’d like to see cov-

ered or want to submit something to The

Citizen Forester (article, photo, event list-

ing, etc.), please contact Mollie Freilicher

Subscribe? Unsubscribe? You are receiving this

email because you have requested to receive The

Citizen Forester. If this is an error or you do not

wish to receive this newsletter, please email

eric.seaborn@state.ma.us