GENTRY — A first step toward becoming a Tree City USA was taken last week as urban forester Peter Rausch took an inventory of Gentry trees on public property.

Rausch, a forester and certified arborist from Little Rock, spent time in the city parks and looked at other public trees in the city. His inventory was taken, not only to document the numbers, species and condition of trees in the city, but to make recommendations on trees which need to be trimmed or removed and places and species of trees to be planted.

“I mostly look for dead branches and other issues which could pose a danger,” Rausch said as he examined the natural stand of trees in the south side of the city park. “I target people areas,” he said, explaining that he paid special attention to trees which overhang picnic tables, sidewalks and other areas where people might be. “You never know when a tree or dead branch may fall,” headded.

Rausch pointed out some dead branches and hanging branches which needed to be removed. He also noted trees with hollowedout trunks or stem decay, saying that the weakened trees should be removed for safety reasons.

As the city is able to do so, he suggested replanting trees of other varieties. He pointed out that most of the trees in the park are one of three species, white oak, maple and pine. He suggested a wider variety of tree species so that if a disease or insect camealong which destroyed one species, there would be other trees to fill the void. He mentioned the possibility of planting dogwood trees under the canopy of oaks.

“People often plant dogwood trees in full sun because they like the trees,” Rausch said, “but the trees don’t do well in open spaces with full sun. People would do better to look at where the species of tree grows in nature and plant it in similar locations.”

Dogwood trees are usually found growing under the canopy of taller trees in the forest and would probably grow well under the stand of Oak trees in the park, providing more shade over tables and benches there and providing more color in the park.

Rausch continued his tree inventory on Wednesday by looking at trees in city right-of-ways and will prepare recommendations for the city when he completes his survey. Possible areas of recommendations would include not only trees for the parks and schools but street trees for the city.

While inventorying trees in the city, Rausch also took trunk measurements on some of the trees, explaining that he could estimate the approximate age of many trees by the trunk diameter. He estimated the age of an oak in the park with a 25- to 26-inch diameter to be 80 to 100 years old.

“You can tell a lot of history from a tree trunk,” Rausch said, explaining that the rings tell not only the tree’s age, but show years of draught, fires and the like.

Another tool that Rausch uses to determine a tree’s age is old photographs which include trees. Using a photograph from the Gentry Centennial book, Rausch found the large sycamore tree which grows by the Gentry branch of Arvest Bank in a photo of the Elberta Hotel with horse and buggy parked beside it. The tree was already taller than the two-story structure of the hotel, so it is likely well over 100 years old. Rausch looked at other old photos to identify tree branching patterns and locate them in his inventory.

He suggested Gentry residents submit information on large trees on their properties to determine the largest tree of each species growing within the city.

Working together with the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and the city of Gentry, the Gentry Chamber of Commerce assisted in obtaining a grant for the IRWP from the Arkansas Forestry Commission. The grant is paying for the visit from the urban forester, a tree inventory, and will also provide some funding for more trees in the park.

“When we get to the endof this project with everything completed, we will then qualify as a Tree City,” said Gentry Chamber of Commerce director Bev Saunders. “That designation will open the doors for lots of opportunities for our town.”

The project includes planting trees along the Flint Creek on March 13 and the observance of Arbor Day on March 11. Tree planting in front of the Gentry Primary School and along the Eagle Watch Nature Trail are on the agenda for the special celebration.

“We will be planting trees in the riparian zone of Flint Creek on March 13,” Saunders said. “Please mark that on your calendar. We will be planting in the Springtown area. Every volunteer’s hours will be counted as inkind contributions toward the matching part of the grant. We will also host aworkshop in March, and I will let everyone know as soon as we get that finalized,” Saunders added.

Saunders is urging the community to help out with the tree-planting project and asking citizens to recruit help from places of employment, civic groups and family members.

“Please help with this project if you can,” Saunders said. “Besides our regular events and festivals, this will be one of our biggest project this year. Weneed as many folks to help as possible.”

Saunders said the volunteer hours are very important - not only for the inkind contribution but also because they demonstrate the interest of the community in preserving the environment and area resources.

Saunders said she expects the tree-planting project to last three to four hours, depending on the number of volunteers. Those who do volunteer will also be given seedlings to plant on their own property. Trees to be planted on March 13 include short-leaf pine, green ash and baldcypress.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation Web site, to qualify to become a Tree City USA, a town or city must meet four standards established by The Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters. A city or town must have or establish:

1. A tree board or department;

2. A tree care ordinance;

3. A community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita; and

4. An Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

“The standards were established,” the Web site says, “to ensure that every qualifying community would have a viable tree management plan and program. It is important to note that they were also designed so that no community would be excluded because of size.”

Rausch explained that he would help the city draft an ordinance regarding tree care, but that the ordinance only would apply to public trees within the city. It will not be a new requirement for property owners unless they have a tree which threatens public safety, he said.

The $2-per-capita tree budget does not have to be new money budgeted, Rausch said. It can be money already being spent on tree-related items, such as leaf pickup and tree trimming in parks and right-ofways. The money used for tree-related expenses would just have to be shown as such, Rausch said.

Saunders is asking those interested in helping with the tree project to contact her by calling 736-2358.

News, Pages 1 on 02/10/2010