TRENT WISE
FORESTER
MOORHEAD (POPULATION 44,668)

The City of Moorhead keeps an active tree inventory for several reasons including tracking work history, documenting concerns, and analyzing species composition, size distribution, and year planted. This process is helpful to the city in many ways, but especially when managing an issue such as emerald ash borer (EAB), which was discovered in a Moorhead neighborhood in early 2023. The city’s ongoing tree inventory work gave city crews data and a head start as they addressed this issue.

Moorhead’s inventory is a “living” database, meaning the Forestry Division continually updates it throughout the year. In 2019, the city transitioned to dedicated inventory software to help make the data more manageable and searchable. Moorhead updates information after performing work on specific trees and planting new trees. Since 2019, approximately 20,000 of the city’s 27,000 trees have been updated and cataloged.

Information in this inventory can be used for many different functions from day-to-day operations to higher-level functions including benchmarking, creating efficiencies, and strategic planning. An example of day-to-day applications includes keeping track of the year that new trees are planted to create maps to show which trees need to be watered or help determine which young trees will be pruned.

The goal for a pruning cycle is 10 years. When the city inventories next year’s pruning area, the inventory will be completely updated for the next 10 years. This is approximately 2,500 to 3,000 trees a year, making it a manageable endeavor that doesn’t require assistance from outside the Forestry Division.

The last, and one of the biggest, benefits of a tree inventory is the increased information we have when strategic planning for long-term management. This has been the case recently after finding EAB in the city. Using the tree inventory, crews were able to quickly assess the ash population size and density of the surrounding area. Staff developed a specific response plan for that year and for long-term management. Without that inventory already in place, the city would have lost valuable time combatting the spread of EAB.

Although residents do not collect information for the inventory, they are able to benefit from the gathered information, which is posted on the city website.

JOSH BOND
CITY FORESTER
NORTH SAINT PAUL (POPULATION 12,608)

The City of North St. Paul conducts tree inventories to get a snapshot of the health and diversity of its urban forest. Once the inventory is completed, the city reviews the findings so we can look at the data and adjust projects to better meet city goals. For example, if we notice a limited species diversity in one section of the city, we can adjust planting projects to introduce new species to increase diversity in that area. The city forester along with the public works director plan and administer forestry projects for the City of North St. Paul.

First, the city determines its overall goals for our forestry needs. Often, depending on the size of the project, we may also seek resident feedback. Once we evaluate our inventory data and future road engineering projects (if applicable), we design and plan for our future forestry projects. From there, we work to secure funding either through the city budget or state grants.

As soon as the funding and Council approvals are in place, we implement the project often by using our public works staff or contractors. As the project is completed, we inventory all of the new tree installations and set up a maintenance schedule. Our team monitors all projects to handle any warranty issues if they arise.

Generally speaking, if the forestry project is part of a city road reconstruction project, the city involves residents and their feedback is highly desired. If it’s a smaller tree planting project in a park, for example, decisions are left to the discretion of the city forester. We acquire resident feedback through community input meetings, social media outreach, and online survey forms.

The city relies on tree inventory information for scheduling general tree maintenance, planting projects, tree removals, and tracking stump removals for restoration. With the spread of emerald ash borer throughout the city, our inventory data has been crucial in prioritizing hazardous tree removals. Not only does our inventory data help with scheduling field work, it has also played a vital role in securing several tree grants from the state that the city can use for removing and replacing diseased trees.