How do YOU know about Arborists & Arboriculture?

How do people hear about arborists & arboriculture? Yesterday, I went down to City Hall.

November 2nd was the staff presentation of the 2006 Tree Initiative to the Budget Committee of the Seattle City Council. This is my written public comment. The Public Hearing for citizen testimony in person is Nov. 3rd at 5:30PM.

The Mayor has proposed an increase (click here) of $170,000 over the 2005 budget to plant 2 trees for every tree cut down in Occidental & Freeway Parks, located in the Central Business District. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

The Council has recommended even more be spent in two options, A ($350,000) or B (half a million dollars) to try to make up for our chronic neglect of trees. Hip Hip, Hooray !

Option C is the Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI) that accompanies the two proposals. It should have recommended formalizing the uniting of all arborists city departments by putting a single arborist in charge.

I am in favor of the Tree Initiative, Options B & C.

A few questions:

For Mr. Steinbrueck, who understands concrete must be softened by placing a veil of plantings in front of it.

For Jean Godden, who was not deterred by the earmarking of money for only two downtown plantings, and teamed up with Peter to extend the planting fund to the entire city.

For Mr. Della, who recognized Parks got marked up only $36,000 because it already has a levy, while the SDOT tree program increase is funded at about $450,000.

For Mr. McIver, who knows that planting 3 trees for each one cut is needed. He wants to balance the budget so bad that it is possible the planting start date will be delayed until the urban forestry report is published on June 30, 2006. The report will surely indicate the need for a massive infusion of money.

Lots of discussion centered around the sticker shock of tree replacement costs, but since when do you tear down a 60' tall structure that is 60 years old, excavate the foundation, and replace it with a brand new structure for only $1,600? Your sticker shock will be eased by asking for a breakdown of concrete costs vs. planting costs.

How many trees do we estimate will need to be torn down and replaced in the next 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? The clock is ticking on a large population of senior citizen trees, and we better start planning a massive expenditure to install their successors. Luckily, the benefits of trees are well worth the price. And, their value increases with age.

Mature tree maintenance is not funded by these proposals. It is far more cost-effective to prolong the life of a tree with regular pruning, rather than waiting until decay & weak structure requires expensive replacement. Especially considering future cost increases of labor & materials. Please take care of these problems now, before the rates go up.

Will hiring 1 FTE Arborist and 2 FTE Gardeners in Option B for half a million dollars result in a crew driving a mini-pickup that must carry traffic signage, pruning tools, brush clippings, & a water tank?

How much are current annual expenditures for the entire tree program over all 8 city departments comprising the Urban Forest Coalition?

How much would a comprehensive tree management program cost? This is a big number. Why has it never been calculated? Will the draft Urban Forest Master Plan include this number?

Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of the budget item for trees. It just would be nice to see a comprehensive approach.

And please, lose the vague, imprecise word 'trimming', and replace it with the more proper term, 'pruning'. Pruning is a theraputic removal of foliage to improve plant structure. Trimming is what you do to turkeys, Xmas trees, hedges, pants cuffs and nose hair.

Arboreally yours,

Michael Oxman
(206) 949-8733
http://treedr.nethttp://treedr.net[/i]
 
I knew I liked trees, nature and everything that goes along with it in high school. My teachers suggested Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Arboriculture program at UMass... So I applied never having done tree work and only work experience on a produce farm.

Got accepted, met my advisors Dr. Dennis Ryan and Dr. Brian Kane did an internship, got certified and here I am in my junior year in college.

All down hill from here as they say, and easy to stay in the loop when there's so many research projects on campus.
 
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