CTPA Updates - CTPA (Connecticut Tree Protective Association)

Tree Wardens’ Association of Connecticut 25th Anniversary

March 17, 2017 by

Dr. Michael Dirr – “In Praise of Noble Trees” – (Book available for purchase)

Eric Rutlow – “A Tragedy of Two Trees: American Elm and American Chestnut” (Book available for purchase)

Dr. Robert Ricard and Glen Dreyer – Historical Trees

Christy Haas and Peter Tyrell – Tree Identification Walk on the Historic New Haven Green

In the evening there is a fantastic dinner followed by an awards / graduation ceremony and entertainment!

To register, please print the registration form and mail to the Tree Wardens’ Association of CT:

Reschedule for Winter Tree ID Workshop to Thursday, March 16th!!!

March 10, 2017 by

Due to the forecast for snow on Tuesday, March 14th, the workshop has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 16th.

Many learn to identify trees by their leaves, but for 6 months of the year deciduous trees have no leaves.

In this workshop, John Kehoe will show is how to identify trees in the winter. There will be a classroom talk and an outdoor tree walk. Come dressed for the weather!!!

Forest Practitioner – 1 CEU, ISA – 3 CEU’s, Advanced Tree Warden – 3 CEU’s and (State of CT Arborist License) 3D – 3 CUE’s.

Legislative Update – CT Tree Legislation

March 5, 2017 by

The Legislative Season continues to move along, with several bills under consideration that are of potential interest to arborists and others involved in tree care. At this point in the session, there is something of winnowing process going on. At the start of the session, a large number of bills are proposed. Many never make it past the placeholder stage. Once the concept of the bill is proposed, it is never sketched out in any detail. Already, this appears to be the fate of several bills, such as HB-5623, a bill that would allow municipalities to regulate spite fences and spite trees and shrubs.

The CTPA Board keeps tracks of bills that it thinks are of concern to the member, especially as regards the arborist license. One such bill has arisen during this session. SB-836 has been proposed by DEEP in order to change the civil fines associated with the arborist license. Essentially, DEEP is seeking to streamline these structure behind these fines, bringing them into accord with other fines, such as those associated with pesticide violations.

Initially, the CTPA board opposed this bill, as it decreased the fines associated with unlicensed tree work and raised those fines associated with misuse of a license. However, the CTPA, led by President Bud Neal and Past President Charlie Iselin, did their homework. Bud contacted DEEP and spoke with the person most directly associated with the enforcement of the pesticide rules and of the arborist license. DEEP explained that the higher fines for enforcement against non-licensed individuals selling tree work actually worked against enforcement, as the size of those fines made it more difficult for DEEP to issue those fines – the legal requirements are more stringent once a fine gets above $1,000. By lowering the fines to $1,000 or less for these violations, DEEP actually has greater ability to enforce the law.

This discussion reassured Bud and Charlie as to DEEP’s intention regarding the arborist law. Both spoke at the public hearing, using their time before the Environment Committee to explain how DEEP and CTPA try to work as part of the same team with regards to license enforcement. Bud, on behalf of the Association, gave the Committee a rundown on the history, size and purpose of CTPA, while Charlie detailed the importance of these statutes to licensed arborists and how important it is for DEEP to have the tools it needs, in order promote quality tree care in the state.

Other bills of interest include HB-5655, which outlines the conditions by which a property owner may be liable for the expense of removing a fallen limb or tree, if that tree or tree part falls onto an adjacent property. A key part of the bill is the requirement that the individual who is concerned about the tree or limb falling must have that tree inspected by a Connecticut licensed arborist before failure, in order to be able to claim clean-up costs. This bill has been up in several previous sessions and even passed two years ago, before falling to the Governor’s veto. People who have been following this bill consider this version to be much improved over previous versions.

Another bill that has drawn the attention of the Tree Wardens Association is SB-507, which would establish procedures making it easier for commercial forest practitioners, certified by the State of Connecticut, to be considered as qualified to be tree wardens. The public hearing is to be held on this bill today (March 6, 2017). Currently, testimony has been running against passage of this bill.

CTPA will continue to keep an eye on legislation as it moves forward. CTPA is greatly assisted in its ability to track these bills through its membership in the CT Environmental Council (CT-EC). In particular, CT-EC tracks bills related to the application of pesticides.

These are not all of the tree related legislation proposed. CTPA members are encouraged to be in touch with their elected representatives and to be aware of the legislation that is being proposed in each session, especially as relates to their profession and their livelihood.

Drought Update Meeting – Monday, March 6th

March 1, 2017 by

Monday , March 6, 2017

Aquarion Water Company invites you to attend a drought update session hosted by the City of Stamford, and the Towns of Darien, Greenwich and New Canaan. Water-dependent businesses (such as irrigation, landscaping, plant nurseries, pool water haulers, and power washers) are encouraged to join us for this informational program which will explain the current drought status, as well as future expectations. Pleaseshare this invitation with other water-related businesses.

Meeting Details

Date: Monday, March 6, 2017

Time: 9:00am – 10:30 am

Location: The Gen Re Auditorium at UConn Stamford, One University Place, Stamford, CT 06901

Parking:

Parking is available for a fee at the UConn location. Click Here for directions to the UConn parking garage.

Free parking is available at the Stamford Government Complex. Visitor parking is on the 4^th floor. Click Here for directions to the Stamford Government Complex garage.

Presentations:

· Stamford rain and moisture irrigation sensor ordinance – City of Stamford

· Drought conditions and water restrictions update – Aquarion Water Company.

· Town-specific updates

Questions: Please email Twig Holland at Aquarion Water Company – tholland@aquarionwater.com

CT Climbing Competition – Harrybrooke Park, New Milford

February 17, 2017 by

This years Connecticut Tree Climbing Competition is at Harrybrooke Park, New Milford, 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.

The Gypsy Moth 2016 Report from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

February 6, 2017 by

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station has published a map showing the extent of the 2016 gypsy moth outbreak. Individual outbreaks were heavily concentrated to the 4 eastern counties – Middlesex, New London, Windham and

2016 Map Showing Defoliation in Connecticut – map produced by CAES

Tolland Counties. Along with this map, the Station has published an updated Gypsy Moth Fact Sheet. These publications can be found on the CAES website at: www.ct.gov/caes/gypsymoth.

The Station should have numbers regarding acreage later in the week.

As for the outlook for 2017 – it depends. In those areas that suffered extensive defoliation in 2016, people should expect a large hatch of caterpillars. Egg masses in those areas are widespread and numerous.

The big question is what will happen as these caterpillars get older and move into the later instars. This is when the bulk of the defoliation occurs. Will we have had enough rain by then to activate the maimaiga fungus? Will the NPV virus spread through the population, killing off the caterpillars as they become crowded? This is hard to predict and is something we will just have to wait to see what happens.

It will be helpful, as we move into the season, for arborists to let the Experiment Station know if they note that the gypsy moth population is being knocked back in an area or if it seems to be moving into a new area.

The US Drought Monitor continues to show Connecticut as being in a drought. The drought is most severe in western parts of the state, but does cover the whole state.

CT’s 2017 Legislative Session – Tree Legislation

February 5, 2017 by

The Connecticut State Legislature is once again hard at work, considering bills that will be put up for a vote later in the session. Those bills that have been discussed, voted on and approved, first by the legislators and then by the Governor, will become law. So, it is always worthwhile paying attention to what it is the Legislature, also known as the General Assembly, it up to.

There are several tree related bills that may be of interest to arborists. Since there are too many to simply list here, and since it is not yet clear which of these bills will advance beyond the very earliest stages, I will not go into each one of them.

Before getting going, it should be pointed out, there are many, many steps along the way to a bill becoming a law. The CGA site has a very good diagram illustrating the process. This is worth keeping handy if there are any bills you wish to follow.

To start, I will mention two bills specifically that both are up for a public hearing before the Environment Committee on this Wednesday, February 8th. The first bill is HB-6123 “TREE REMOVAL ALONG LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAYS” and the second is HB-6356 “PUBLIC NOTICE OF TREE REMOVAL ON MUNICIPAL PROPERTY”.

Please note that there are links included to the text of each of these bills. The first sets rules on the DOT before than can remove trees alongside of a limited access highway; the second extends some of the responsibilities of the tree wardens to trees and shrubs on “municipal properties” and not just “any public way and ground”. (Just for the record, I am not sure if I know the distinction either).

If anyone is interested in knowing more about these bills or attending the public hearing, details are on the Environment Committee page. Details regarding committee membership and how to contact the committee as well as how to submit testimony without attending the hearing is also given. If you feel strongly about a bill, don’t forget to also contact your personal State Senator or Representative (the main CT General Assembly page will help you with that – www.cga.ct.gov.)

Connecticut State Capitol with Tree Work sign

Connecticut State Capitol – the General Assembly Considers Tree Legislation

OK – what about all of the rest of the legislation. Just to make one comment – I have found the search feature on the main CGA page to be fairly useless for finding bills by subject. I would skip that.

Instead, as most (but not all) bills relating to trees, tree care and/or arborists come through the Environment Committee, I would suggest going to their page directly, then clicking on the Bill Record Book. Once there, you will get a whole list of bills on a variety of topics – from “taking mushrooms at State Parks” to “the state’s industrial hemp industry”. There is a variety.

You can search for specific words by using ‘control-f’. Or, you can take a few minutes to scroll through the list.

If you scroll, you might notice a couple things. There are some bills that start with the letters “SB” – that stands for Senate Bill, and just means that a Senator has introduced it. Similarly, HB means House Bill.

Some of the bills start with either PSB or PHB. The P stands for proposed. If you look at most of the proposed bills, you will find there is nothing more to them than a general statement of purpose. These are what are known as placeholder bills. They may or may not be filled in with more detail later. Right now, they are just holding open the opportunity for a full bill to introduced.

Bills that have made it to being called either an HB or an SB will have meaningful language associated with them. Some of the bills may have an R in front of them (as in RHB or RSB) – this stands for ‘raised’ bill. This means that the committee has chosen to re-write the bill – the important thing is that these bills also have meaningful language attached to them.

The next step in the process is a public hearing. If it fails to get a public hearing, the bill dies. A bill may get a public hearing and still die – perhaps due to the public hearing. Or, a bill might get significantly rewritten following a public hearing.

The public hearing is the only time that the public as a whole gets a chance to provide feedback as a whole. Feedback as a private citizen is always possible and is sometimes needed to help push a bill on into law.

Certain tree-related bills that might be of interest to arborists and others may not be on the Environment Committee web page. For instance, two Proposed House Bills (PHB-5655 and PHB-6443) are on the Judiciary Committee page. These both relate to the property owners responsibility should a tree or limb fall across the property boundary. Others, such as those related to the utilities, would be expected to be first seen on the Energy and Technology Committee page. (I am not currently aware of any tree-related bills that are being handled by this committee.)

Yes, this is all complicated. Members of the CTPA board will attempt to keep up with these activities as they evolve and will weigh in if it is appropriate to do so. CTPA is helped in this effort through our involvement with the Connecticut Environmental Council. CT EC actively represents the interests of its members at the Connecticut General Assembly.

-Chris Donnelly

March 14th – Winter Tree Identification Workshop

January 27, 2017 by

Many learn to identify trees by their leaves, but for 6 months of the year deciduous trees have no leaves. In this workshop, John Kehoe will show us how to identify trees in the winter. There will be a classroom talk and an outdoor tree walk. Come dressed for the weather!

March 14, 2017 at Connecticut College in New London.
This is a half day workshop. Registration starts at 8am at the Olin Science Center. The talk with John Kehoe starts at 8:30. The day is wrapped up with the outside walk ending at noon in the arboretum.

Continental breakfast is included.

Space is limited so register early!

Tree Wardens’ Association of CT 25th Anniversary

January 7, 2017 by

The Tree Wardens’ of Connecticut is proud to announce their 25th Anniversary. To commemorate this event, they are having
a special annual meeting to be held at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT on Friday, April 28, 2017.
If you are interested in being an Exhibitor at this event or would like an opportunity to be a Sponsor, please print out the flyers below:

The details of the day are coming soon! Please go to the Tree Wardens’ Association of Connecticut website to check at www.cttreewardens.org

CTPA’s 95th Annual Meeting

November 29, 2016 by

2016-01-21 13.59.42 Please join us for our 95th Annual Meeting. We have a great line-up of speakers (Dr. Michael J. Donoghue, Wayne Dubin, Dr. Jeff Ward and Dr. Brian Kane), our always packed trade show and, of course, an excellent lunch. The following CEU’s are available at the end of the day: CT DEEP 3A/ 1.5 CEU’s, CT DEEP 2,3D/4.25 CEU’s, CT Forest Practitioner/2.0 CEU’s, ISA Certification/4.25 CEU’s, TCIA CTSP/1.5 CEU’s and Advanced Certified Tree Wardens’/4.25 CEU’s.