In December 2020, Hudson was awarded a $20,000 Urban Forestry Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to fund a tree inventory and a tree management plan. Yesterday, the Conservation Advisory Council announced that the tree inventory has begun. The following is the press release that was issued by the CAC.
Hudson Tree Canopy
The trees in the City of Hudson will be inventoried this month by an ISA [International Society of Arboriculture] forester. This August you may see people looking at and evaluating our trees in public spaces; this will be ISA Certified Arborist Miguel Berrios or members of his team from Land Beyond the Sea of Ithaca, New York. Berrios, who is also Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Certified Technical Service Provider for Habitat Planning, has been awarded the contract for executing the urban forestry work of Street and Park Tree Inventory and writing up a Community Forest Management Plan for the care of these important community members. All of this is made possible by a grant awarded to the City of Hudson by the New York State Department of Conversation and was applied for by the Hudson Conservation Advisory Council.
What goes into a tree inventory?
The foresters will evaluate each tree noting its species, DBH (diameter at breast height), health, exact GPS location and any management needs. This information will be provided to the City in an Excel-friendly, update-able format and also in hard copy.
What is a Community Forest Management Plan?
The foresters will review the data and make a 5-year management plan recommendation from their findings. The plan will have an overview of the state of the Hudson canopy, list recommended maintenance in order of priority, such as, immediate removal due to danger, likely to fail, necessary pruning, tree pit too small to sustain tree, and more. They will also look at the diversity of species to help us balance out as we move forward and plant more trees; thus avoiding the sad result of losing many of our Ash trees in the swift spread of the Emerald Ash Borer.
Why is this important for our community?
We need to know what we have so that we can plan for future planting of more trees and we need to preserve and maintain those trees that we currently have thriving. Trees are quiet workhorses in the environment; they sequester carbon, provide oxygen, soak up rainwater, create habitat and sustenance for pollinators, provide shade for our buildings, sidewalks and roads to help reduce the effect of global warming and help keep cooling prices down. All that, and they look darn good while doing it.
So, if you see Mr. Berrios or members of his team snooping around trees, please welcome them and maybe offer a glass of water. Their work is as important as the trees are to our community.
Many thanks to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
I can't recall, is the city including its parking lots? All of the ash trees are dying in the misnamed "Amtrak parking lot."
ReplyDeleteInitially, the CAC refused to include city-owned parking lots (under the previous Chairman), but that may have changed.
State and Columbia streets really need trees...there are far too few ....planting appropriate species would help transform these unattractive streetscapes.
ReplyDeleteA suggestion for organizations with programs for kids: give the kids notebooks and go visit Mr. Berrios while he's doing his job. Take notes, write it up and send it to peter@schoollifemedia.org. We will be glad to help you teach your kids how to be a journalist.
ReplyDeletePeter: I love this idea, stimulating junior journalists and future naturalists.
ReplyDeleteBrendan: Very true about State and Columbia Streets. Once we have a complete tree inventory and community forest management plan in place it will be easier to get tree planting grants.
Unheimlich: The scope of the grant does not include parking lots. However, we have the expertise within the CAC to evaluate them and add them into the data. Unfortunately we do not have many trees in parking lots, so we can handle it. This will happen after Mr. Berrios finishes his work so that all additional data jives with his formatting.
Thanks,
Hilary Hillman
Conservation Advisory Council
Thanks for the clarification, Hilary Hillman.
DeleteI do believe that the CAC as currently comprised has the expertise and the will to include the parking lots after Mr. Berrios is finished.
In future, the "Amtrak" parking lot will be miserable without its hapless ash trees. There are a bunch of them, and they were put there for the best of reasons.
The need for more trees in Hudson is blatantly obvious, on every street, north and south sides. Planting more would be a definitive win-win situation: more shade, more oxygen and better air quality in general, and more natural beauty and environmental enhancement. Spend some (DRI) money on trees!
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Since homeowners are responsible for their sidewalks, who is responsible for the stuff that grows along the sidewalks? On my block weeds grow through the cracks and few tend anything unless it is in an enclosed yard. Some yards are pretty awful too. Fast food garbage, cans, bottles, butts and trash gets blown all over. I pick up some of it and some gets taken by the occasional street sweeper. Who would care for sidewalk trees? They do need some attention. Look at the condition of the sidewalk opposite Bliss. It is usually disgraceful.
ReplyDeleteIt is disgraceful when property owners can not bother to pick up garbage or weed in front of their house, some can not even be bothered to water the trees or plants in front of their own house and let them whither. Others go so far as to cover the entire front of the property with asphalt or concrete so as to avoid any maintenance. A useful law would be one that gives the city the right to plant trees, grass etc., on the first three feet of property from the curb. If the owner will not put a tree in, the city can do it. A little strip of grass and trees would go a long way to transform a depressing and barren looking neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI agree but when constructing my house I was advised that tree roots could interfere with the water supply pipes. Now I wonder if this was even true.
DeleteShoveling snow off the sidewalk is the property owner's responsibility, likewise, so is keeping the sidewalk weed free.
ReplyDeleteI try to use a mix of vinegar, dish soap and water in a spray bottle on the weeds when they are young, this usually causes them to die back. Sometimes I will need to go out and forcibly weed the sidewalk. Please do not use Round-up type weed killers because the chemicals get into the sewer and eventually the Hudson River.
Full disclosure I have some Round-up to use sparingly against poison ivy.
Hilary
Whenever planting a tree or digging one should call DIG SAFE NY, 811. This agency charges no fee and coordinates with local water, sewer, gas, electric suppliers and will confirm or deny the existence of obstacles around the planting site. I have had very good experiences with the responsiveness of this agency.
ReplyDeleteThe horizontal spread of tree roots can be somewhat controlled by using a root barrier when planting. The barrier forces the roots to go deep before spreading out.
In many neighbor hoods the sidewalks were originally 3-4' and then between the curb and sidewalk there was a "tree lawn" or planting strip, interrupted by a concrete path across the planting strip for pedestrian access to the street. Sometime in the last 30 years these planting strips and trees were removed and the sidewalk was "widened".
I fully support going back to the 3' wide planting strip. Most of our tree pits are too small for a tree to get enough rainwater without needing to be watered by hand.
Hilary
I wish I knew about "root barriers" when we had to totally replace our sidewalk area. While doing construction there are many decisions that have to made "on the fly" and some are regrettable. I agree that the planting strip is more desirable. However, as I said before, there is always so much trash on my block it would just turn into weedy trash piles. Perhaps this will improve as actual individual owners occupy some of the homes. There are over 25 Galvan owned affordable housing units on my block. It will come as no surprise to Gossips readers that Galvan does the minimum to maintain the outdoor spaces. Others follow suit.
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