CTPA Updates - CTPA (Connecticut Tree Protective Association)

2018 CT TREE CLIMBING COMPETITION A SUCCESS!

May 6, 2018 by

Ready for a great day!

This past Saturday, May 5, 2018, CTPA held its 14^th annual CT Tree Climbing Competition. This year’s competition was held at the CT Veterans Healthcare & Residential Facility in Rocky Hill. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the veterans themselves were great hosts, while the climbers and others who participated were more than happy to share their love of trees and of tree-climbing with such a great audience.

Twenty-three climbers took part in the competition – 21 men and 2 women. The location and its trees were right for the role, including the beautiful view provided down towards the Connecticut River. The competition was also an opportunity to give the many attendees a first look at the Healing Garden being constructed by CTPA.

As in every tree climbing competition, this year’s contest had its moments of drama, grace, bravado and fun. Drama, perhaps, was watching two relative new-comers to the CTCC, Melvin Garcia and Cassandra Bryant, make it to the Masters Challenge round for the first-time, and each do an excellent job. Grace is a word that could certainly be applied to Brick Reilly as he flew through each one of the preliminary events, with smoothness and skill. As Brick is not from Connecticut, he was not eligible to participate in the Masters Challenge round. He is sure to be a challenger in any future tree climbing events he enters.

Bravado, perhaps, and most definitely fun came in the form of Kyle Davidson, the ultimate champion in the men’s division, who wore a headset during this Master’s climb, so that he could broadcast to the audience as he paced himself through this difficult event. In the Master’s Challenge, the competitor is given wide discretion as to how he or she approaches the climb, including choosing the means of setting the line and of ascent, as well as the order in which the climber reaches each of the assigned stations. There was drama, also, as people waited for the final scores from the men’s Master Challenge. No one knew for sure, before the totals were announced, that Kyle had outscored Tim Reynolds, as both climbs were done efficiently and with clear professional skill.

An equal as highlight of the day came earlier in the afternoon, when the climbers, volunteers and spectators met with the veterans resident in the Healthcare Facility and presented them with t-shirts. Throughout the day there had been plenty of opportunities for the veterans and the participants to interact. The t-shirt giveaway was just a nice way to tie together that tie together the fun and excitement of the day with the gratitude that all wished to extend towards the veterans they met.

The final results of the preliminary rounds are available here.

The results of the Masters Challenge are as follows:

Men’s Competition

First Place – Kyle Donaldson, Danielson, CT
Second Place – Tim Reynolds, Watertown, CT
Third Place – Melvin Garcia, Bridgeport, CT

Women’s Competition

First Place – Cassandra Bryant, Stratford, CT

Congratulations all, on a great competition!

More Pictures will be Forthcoming.
See Last Year’s Results

Setting up his next move.

Making her way out on a limb.

Sticking the landing on the work climb!

Crossing over in the work climb.

Aiming high.

The rescue of a dummy in a tree.

Reaching for the next

Exchanging a t-shirt and some stories

The view from the top!

Footlocking!

Moving to the next station.

Taking a break from the climb.

CAES has published the 2018 edition of the Gypsy Moth Fact Sheet

April 27, 2018 by

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station has published the 2018 version of the Gypsy Moth Fact Sheet. The publication, led by Dr. Kirby Stafford, includes a review of the recent history of the gypsy moth, with maps showing the extent of the 2017 outbreaks in eastern Connecticut and the results of the 2017-2018 egg mass survey, conducted following the completion of the 2017 growing season.

The publication is available as a pdf on the CAES website – this is the publication address: http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/gypsy_moth/gypsy_moth_fact_sheet_update_2018.pdf

Readers might also like to visit the CAES Gypsy Moth Web Site or the CT DEEP Gypsy Moth Overview page.

The CT Tree Climbing Competition – Saturday, May 5

April 25, 2018 by

All are invited to attend the 14th annual CT Tree Climbing Competition, to be held on Saturday, May 5th, at the CT Veterans Healthcare & Residential Facility in Rocky Hill. If seeing 25 of the state and region’s most spirited climbers participate in the competition is not enough of a draw, this is also an opportunity to see the substantial progress in the construction of the Healing Garden that is taking place under CTPA’s leadership.

The CTCC has become a time-honored tradition of the CTPA because it is fun and engaging for those who watch. It allows the climbers to show the skill, the knowledge and the dedication to detail, athleticism and technique that it takes to climb a tree well. Although there are very good climbers – men and women – who participate in the event, the competition is not just about finding out who is the best. There is a range of people who participate, virtually of whom are testing themselves against their own expectations as well as seeing how they do against the other climbers. This leads to a strong sense of camaraderie among the participants. This spirit can be sensed by all who are there – to climb, to volunteer or to watch. It is a fun day.

This year’s competition will be special because it is to take place at the Veterans Healthcare & Residential Facility. In part, it is being held there as an outgrowth of the work on the Healing Garden. In the course of working on the Garden, the volunteers noticed that there are some pretty good trees nearby and that this would make a good place for the climbing competition. More importantly, the CTCC organizers saw that choosing this venue would be an opportunity to give something back to the veterans who need to spend a lot of time at this facility. It is not about entertaining the veterans, it is about meeting them, where they are today, in a way that says ‘thank you’.

The Competition starts at around 8 am on the morning of May 5th and will run through most of the day. The preliminary events tend to wrap up by the early afternoon. The Masters Competition, to determine the Connecticut champions, will be held after that, finishing by mid-afternoon.

The Veterans Facility is located off of Exit 23 on I-91, at 287 West Street in Rocky Hill, across the street from Dinosaur State Park.

It is worth the effort to come spend part of a Saturday at the event.

September 2018 Arboriculture 101

April 25, 2018 by

Registration for the Fall, 2018 Session of Arboriculture 101 is now open. This series of classes will begin with the first class on Wednesday, September 5th. All attendees must register before the start of this class. This session of Arboriculture 101 tends to fill quickly. There is a limit to the number of students that can be accepted into the course.

Please note: The fee for Arboriculture 101 has increased from $350.00 to $400.00 as of 4/10/2018.

Details are available through the and the Arboriculture 101 web page.

If anyone would like further information, they should contact the CTPA office by calling 203-484-2512 or emailing to info@ctpa.org

Dr. Claire Rutledge describes insects during the Fall 2014 class

Bench Donors Sought for Veterans Healing Garden

April 5, 2018 by

As spring slowly makes its appearance back in Connecticut, attention returns to the work underway at the Veterans Home and Hospital Healing Garden. A great deal of progress has been made, but there is still a substantial amount of work to go. CTPA again turns to its membership, asking for assistance in bringing this great project to completion. This project is being done in support of those veterans who really need our help. Many of the veterans who will benefit from this project could use a gesture of kindness and of recognition for their contribution. Most at the Hospital are dealing with serious medical issues and other problems and so have something to gain from this lift in their lives.

The project plans call for 5 benches to be installed at separate points along the walkway. These benches are one of the ‘big tickets’ items remaining – the other being the fence that will be needed to keep folks in wheelchair safe from rolling down the hill. Each bench is estimated to cost $2,000 installed. CTPA is asking for individual donors to step up and purchase one of these benches. If the donor chooses, each donor will be recognized through a plaque attached to that bench. Each donor will also be recognized at the ceremony announcing the completion of the project.

CTPA members have already been generous in donating to the project, by providing funds for plant materials and other needed supplies. These donations are deeply appreciated – please keep them coming. The five trees have already been donated and will be installed later this spring.

Thank you again to all who have been helping in so many ways on this project. Anyone wishing to donate should contact Cathy Dvorsky at the CTPA office, either by phone (203-484-2512) or by email (cathy@ctpa.org). Donors can donate online (ctpa.org) or may choose to send a donation directly, to:

CTPA
PO Box 1946
Wallingford, CT 06492

Please make checks out to the CTPA and indicate that the donation is for the Veterans Home and Hospital Garden Fund.

CTPA is a 501-c-3 non-profit. All donations are fully tax deductible.

Lunchtime Webinar on “Planning Ahead for the Urban Landscape Pests of 2018”

April 3, 2018 by

The Urban Forestry Today program through the University of Massachusetts Extension system is offering a lunchtime webinar on

“Planning Ahead for the Urban Landscape Pests of 2018″ with Margery Daughtrey & Daniel Gilrein, Cornell University

The webinar is free and will take place at noon on Thursday, April 5th. For details, visit the Urban Forestry Today website: http://www.urbanforestrytoday.org/home.html

ceu’s are available. The webinar will preview the insects and pests anticipated during the 2018 season.

New Legislation – Change in the Arborist License Examination Process

March 24, 2018 by

There is a bill before the legislature that may be of interest to arborists and other members of CTPA – particularly those people looking to take the Arborist Licensing Exam. The bill is HB 5454.

A little bit of background. During the special session on the State Budget last fall, a provision was included in the legislation that essential required DEEP and the Department of Agriculture to act on almost all licenses and permits within 90 days of the receipt of an application, or else the application would be automatically accepted. So, for instance, take the case of an individual who applied for an arborist license on March 1st and who then took the written exam on March 15 and passed it. Currently, the next tree id and oral exam would not be held until early June – past the 90 days since the receipt of the application.

In this situation, DEEP would be left with only two choices – pass the person without giving him or her the tree id and oral exam, or fail him or her without giving him the additional exams. Neither choice is a good one. DEEP, along with the Tree Protection Examining Board, has been working on a solution that is in accord with this new law.

Since the law went into effect immediately upon passage, DEEP and the Tree Protection Examining Board have had to react quickly and with limited opportunity to soften the impact of the change required. As things stand right now:

People who apply for the written exam must pay attention to the when the next tree id and oral exams will be given. Applicants will be assigned to the next written exam and, if they then cannot take the tree id or oral exam in time, they fail. (The scheduling process is now centralized in DEEP and so there is less discretion as to when people can be assigned a test date – and almost no opportunity to refund fees once paid.)
People who pass the written exam will be assigned to the next scheduled tree id and oral exam. Right now, these are scheduled only 4 times a year. In a departure from past practice, each applicant will only have one opportunity to pass the tree id or oral exam – if they fail one or the other, then their application is rejected without an opportunity to retake either one. Also, if an applicant is a no-show for a test date, he or she is given a failure.
Once people fail the tree id or oral exam, they have to start all over again with a re-taking of the written exam. This includes repayment of the $200 application fee.

The bill presently before the legislature, HB 5454, would repeal this 90 day requirement for the arborist license exam as well as most other professional exams given by DEEP (the 90 day requirement is now in effect for all pesticide supervisory exams, for forest practitioner exams and licensed environmental professional exam, among others). It is not a complete repeal of all that now falls under the 90 day requirement due to the budget law. Under HB 5454, there would be modifications of the current law, with certain features of the current version to remain, particularly as relate to specific permits.

The CTPA Board tends to favor the repeal of the 90 day requirement for the Arborist License and a return to the old system under which this license has been issued. It has not taken a position on the full provisions of either the current legislation as was passed in the budget bill, or on the provisions in HB 5454.

To gain a better understanding of the issues involved, CTPA members are encouraged to read the testimony submitted on this bill. In particular, the testimony of the DEEP Commissioner and that of the Connecticut Environmental Council, of which CTPA is a member, are very interesting and informative.

CTPA members and others who have strong views on this issue are encouraged to contact their local state legislators.

2018 CT Climbing Competition

February 28, 2018 by

The 2018 Connecticut Tree Climbing Competition is on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at the CT Veterans Healthcare and Residential Facility in Rocky Hill.

CT Tree Climbing Competition - rescue Each year, 25-30 climbers, men and women, participate in a competition that showcases the skill, safety, insight and knowledge that is all a part of climbing trees professionally. The event also showcases the camaraderie, spirit and overall sense of fun that is also a part of this unique group of skilled individuals.

The Five Qualifying Events in the CT Tree Climbing Competition are:

The Foot Lock – a timed ascent up a climbing line to a specified height (either 40′ or 50′).
Throw Line Accuracy – a timed event in which the competitor sets three different lines in specified parts of a tree.
Belayed Speed Climb – a timed ‘free-climb’ (climber is belayed) 40′ to 60′ up a selected tree.
Work Climb – five work stations are set within a given tree and competitors are scored as they move through the tree completing assigned tasks.
Aerial Rescue – climbers are timed as they ‘rescue’ a dummy set in a tree.

This years (2018) Connecticut Tree Climbing Competition is at the Veterans Healthcare & Residential Facility in Rocky, Hill, CT.
This is an all day event that is open to the public.
If you are interested in being a competitive climber or a sponsor, please register on-line or
by mail.

If you are interested in being a volunteer, please call Bud Neal (203)577-8144 (cell)
or Cathy in the office (203)484-2512.

Be On the Lookout for the Spotted Lanternfly

January 24, 2018 by

(Note – the below post was submitted by Katherine Dugas of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. As part of her duties with the Entomology Department at CAES, Katherine is Project Coordinator for the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey, or CAPS. Additional details on CAPS can be found on the CAES website.)

Spotted lanternfly is a somewhat ‘new’ kid on the block – populations were first discovered in Berks County, PA in late 2014. It is a species of planthopper,

Adult spotted lanternfly. Photo from WV Department of Agriculture.

more closely related to aphids and cicadas than moths. It is a potential threat to many important agricultural crops, such as grapes, apples, hops, and forest products.

Learn more about the spotted lanternfly’s biology.

Adults are showy and there aren’t many natives it can be easily mistaken for. Nymphs are flightless but can jump, older instars are brightly-colored. The egg masses are the hardest life stage to spot. They are laid similar to gypsy moth egg masses and very well camouflaged.

Monitoring and control efforts in PA are ongoing, but there is much concern that it can spread to other states via anthropogenic activity. This past fall we had two reports of spotted lanternfly being found outside of PA. The first was a single female found in New Castle County, DE. The report was released on 11/20/17. View the New Castle County report.

The second report, released 11/29/17, is of a single dead spotted lanternfly found in Delaware County, NY. It is thought that the insect arrived on an interstate shipment. View the Delaware County report.

If you suspect you have found spotted lanternfly, please contact Katherine Dugas of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station. Email is Katherine.Dugas@ct.gov – please collect suspect insects and send photographs.

Egg mass on stone. Photo from APHIS.

Late instar nymphs on tree-of-heaven. Photo by Eric R. Day, VA Tech

CTPA Announces its Annual Awards

January 21, 2018 by

At its recent Annual Meeting, CTPA presented its 2018 awards. The awards included the Award of Merit – which is given to a CTPA member, the Arborist Citation – which is given to a non-member for contributions to tree care in the state – and the CTPA Arborist Scholarship. In addition, this year, CTPA declared two of its members as Honorary Members.

Chosen to receive the Award of Merit this year was Les Lewis III, owner of Les Arbes, a tree care and fine gardening company in Georgetown, CT.

Les Lewis III receives the Award of Merit from his son, Les Lewis IV

Throughout his career, Les has earned a stellar reputation as an arborist and tree care company owner. He has had a wide-ranging influence on the practice of tree care and is known as a mentor for the people who have worked for him and as a thorough professional who stressed the importance of detail and quality in tree work.

Adding additional meaning to the award, Les’s son, Les Lewis IV, presented the plaque commemorating the award to his father. Les IV’s many kind words were both moving and motivating, as it clearly showed the bond of the father and son, a bond that includes tree care.

The Arborist Citation this year was given to Dr. Rich Cowles of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station. It

Rich Cowles with Bud Neal, as Rich receives the plaque bearing his Arborist Citation

would be difficult to imagine someone who is more deserving of this award. Rich has long championed the work of arborists in Connecticut, providing support in numerous ways through his research at the Agricultural Station into insects and the means of controlling the damage done by insects. Over the past several years Rich, along with his colleague Dr. Claire Rutledge, have presented numerous workshops on the emerald ash borer. Their presentations have provided the definitive word on this insect to many in tree care throughout Connecticut.

Each year, CTPA provides a $2,000 scholarship to a Connecticut college student studying arboriculture or urban forestry who also plans to go on to a career in tree care. This year’s recipient of the CTPA Arborist Scholarship is Conor Smith, currently

Conor Smith, recipient of the Arborist Scholarship, is congratulated by Emmett Schutts, Scholarship Committee Chair

studying at the University of New Hampshire. Conor has worked at several tree care companies, both large and small, is an active member of the UNH Woodsman Team and, following his degree from the Forest Technology Program, plans on becoming a licensed arborist.

The last award to be presented was the Honorary Member Award. This designation is not given often and only at the discretion of the board. It is considered to be the CTPA’s highest honor to a member. It is generally presented to an individual only after a long period of service to the organization that has featured a high degree of accomplishment.

This year, CTPA presented two Honorary Member Awards, to Bud Neal and Chris Donnelly. Bud is currently serving as CTPA’s President, is a long-time board member, has been highly active in the CTPA Tree Climbing Competition and has, over the years, taken on numerous assignments, unselfishly and whole-heartedly. He has also come up with many good, solid ideas that have proved their value to the members, such as the annual EAB workshops and, before that, the trips to Worcester to see the ALB infestation. Currently, he is working on a true labor of love, the Veterans Home and Hospital Healing Garden at Rocky Hill.

Chris has been associated with the CTPA board since 1996, when he took on the position of Executive Secretary. In 2003, he moved up from being a staff

Bud Neal and Chris Donnelly hold their Honorary Member plaques

member to being on the board, where he then held each of the various officer positions, including spending 2 years as President of the Association. Chris has been the long-time editor of the CTPA newsletter and was the first webmaster for the CTPA website. Perhaps his most important contributions have been through his administration of Arboriculture 101. Since 1996, when the first class was held, somewhere approaching 2,000 students have taken the course. Chris shares credit for the success of this course with all of the instructors and each of the Executive Secretaries who haven been instrumental in making this course happen, noting that it has undoubtedly had an influence over the state of arboriculture in Connecticut.

At the Annual Meeting, CTPA also presented a check to the CT Agricultural Experiment Station, to assist that facility in the work it does in support of arboriculture in Connecticut.