It's sure to be a "good thing": American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery guru Jeff Meyer climbed into a bucket truck with Martha Stewart at Mt. Vernon this fall to tape a segment for both "Martha Stewart Living" (MSL) and Meyer's upcoming PBS series, "Tree Stories."

Crowds at Mt. Vernon were kept away from the filming, which took place on the Bowling Green, but that didn't stop knots of tourists from gathering, watching, and snapping shots of their own.

Stewart's popular "Martha Stewart Living" filmed a segment at Mt. Vernon for airing during the November sweeps month and invited Meyer to be a part of the show. The nurseryman and the host rode a bucket truck about 60 feet in the air to collect seeds from a historic tulip poplar planted by George Washington. Later, Meyer showed Stewart how viewers can gather seeds and grow tree seedlings of their own.

Some of that footage can be seen on PBS next spring, when Meyer will debut his own weekly show, called "Tree Stories." The half-hour show takes viewers around the country and around the world, exploring trees and the people associated with them. Show topics include: Big Tree Hunters, Traveling Trees, Haunted Trees, and Trees of the Capital.

Meyer said it was a delight and an honor to appear with the immensely popular Stewart, who heads up an empire of books, magazines, TV shows, and websites. She in turn lavishly praised Meyer's recent book "Famous and Historic Trees" and commented that of all the things she enjoys planting, trees are her favorites.

While talking with Mount Vernon horticulturist Dean Norton, Stewart took especial note of the tulip poplar, white ash, and magnolia trees on the property. Seven tulip poplar, holly, and white ash trees planted by Washington remain at Mt. Vernon. The estate is also known for its enormous pecan trees. American Forests has propagated trees from Washington's tulip poplars, holly, and red maples for our Famous & Historic Trees collection. These are currently for sale, and white ash trees from Mt. Vernon are forthcoming.

Meyer appeared on MSL in early November; "Tree Stories" will debut on PBS stations in the spring. Check local listings for broadcast times.

American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery reported brisk sales, particularly of the tulip poplars, in the wake of his appearance on MSL.

Armstrong: making and recalling memories in Sarajevo.

"This is it," Debbie Armstrong says as she looks down from atop the slope of Sarajevo's Mt. Jahorina, where she won her 1984 Olympic gold medal in giant slalom. It's early October and we have been driving the mountain access roads not far from Sarajevo for nearly an hour. We've found the slalom hill, but not the one she had really hoped to see on her first trip back after nearly 17 years. Then we stop the van and peer over the crest of a ridge and there it is below, part of a gorgeous fall alpine panorama.

"I never thought it would be so emotional just being here," she says.

Yesterday Debbie was the center of attention at an event to plant trees on a Sarajevo hillside devastated during the war in Bosnia in the early 1990s. Then, townspeople cut down city trees for heat and cooking fuel when the city was surrounded in a multi-year seige.

For more than a year Debbie has been the volunteer spokesperson for Global ReLeaf Sarajevo, American Forests' campaign to plant 300,000 trees to reforest slopes at risk of collapsing from lack of tree cover. Partnering with American Forests in the effort are: the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Agency for International Development, the city and canton of Sarajevo, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the U.S. Ski Team, among others including U.S. Forest Service, who paid for the trip.

Sarajevo's fall planting began with scores of students, scouts, Embassy Charge d'Affairs Christopher Hoh, Deputy Mayor Savo Vlaski, and senior representatives from the mayor's office among others.

Debbie told those gathered that her time in Sarajevo had been a highlight of her life. She was grateful, she said, to be able to help give something of value back to the city and people who gave so much to her.

Senior Fellow Dan Smith accompanied Armstrong to Sarajevo for the planting and filed that report for us. While there, Debbie and Dan visited with officials from the city and U.S. Embassy, planted trees, and toured Olympic venues from 1984, many of them damaged by fighting.

By planting and caring for 300,000 hillside trees and more than 3,000 street trees, Global ReLeaf Sarajevo hopes to help the city return its tree cover to prewar conditions. In addition to the psychological benefits, the trees will reduce stormwater runoff and air pollution and provide wildlife habitat.

Some 26,000 trees will be planted this spring on eight slopes that were prepared and stabilized over the summer. Many of the forests that remain around the city are land-mined and inaccessible to the public. Slopes in and around the city have been deforested, raising the specter of landslides that could cause upwards of $100 million in damages.

American Forests' Global ReLeaf Sarajevo education and action campaign is supported by SLOC as part of its Plant It Green 2002! international tree-planting campaign. The program encourages individuals, organizations, agencies, and corporations to help plant and care for trees to restore the devastated urban forest of Sarajevo.

Citrus longhorned beetle: at large in Washington state?

Citizens in Washington state are asked to be on the lookout for the citrus longhorned beetle, a destructive pest that resembles its Asian counterpart currently wreaking havoc on Chicago and New York City.

A nursery owner brought the citrus beetle to the USDA's plant inspection office. The shiny beetle is 1 to 1 1/2 inches long with white patches on its back and long antennae with black and white bands. The beetles like to attack maple, poplar, and alder, boring large holes through the heartwood and gradually killing the tree.

It's the first time the beetle has been spotted in Washington state, according to the Washington State Nursery & Landscape Association's newspaper B&B. Anyone finding one is asked to scoop it into a jar or other container and call 800/443-6684.

DC Mayor Williams makes a pitch for more trees for the nation's capital.

More than 800 urban foresters, citizen activists, and other conservation professionals traded techniques and suggestions for "Investing in Natural Capital" during American Forests' 2001 National Urban Forest Conference in Washington, DC.

American Forests launched the four-day event with a news conference to unveil the results of a nationwide analysis that shows an estimated 634,407,719 trees are missing from America's urban areas due to development and other factors. "Gray to Green: Reversing the National Urban Tree Deficit" uses a "gray to green scale" to analyze communities' tree cover.

American Forests conducted the first gray to green scale in Washington, DC, using high-resolution satellite imagery to document the prevalence of gray infrastructure (sidewalks, parking lots, buildings) in comparison to "green infrastructure" (trees and vegetation). A color-coded map provides a clear view of the area's tree cover, showing local leaders which neighborhoods have sufficient tree cover and which need trees.

The satellite images show DC has an average tree canopy of 30 percent-10 percent below American Forests' recommended city average of 40 percent. To increase tree cover just 5 percent, the District would need to plant 551,040 trees.

"Most people will be amazed to see more than 634 million trees are missing from America's cities," said Gary Moll, vice president of American Forests. "But it reinforces something American Forests has documented for years: Our cities are paying a high price for the reduction of tree canopy. As trees are lost, so too are the environmental and economic benefits they provide relative to reducing stormwater runoff, air pollution, and energy usage.

"The good news," Moll added, "is that cities can now use high-resolution imagery to see almost every tree in every neighborhood and determine where and how tree canopies can be increased in their communities."

Moll was joined at the news conference by Washington mayor Anthony Williams; former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, a member of American Forests' Board of Directors; Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Casey Trees Endowment Fund; and John Hazel of the U.S. Forest Service.

Using the venue in Washington, DC, as a springboard to focus on public policy, several keynote speakers from the U.S. Congress, as well as the chief of the U.S. Forest Service, offered opinions on the importance of our urban and community forests.

Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon opened the conference by addressing the relationship between federal policies and urban forests. Both sit on congressional environmental committees and have been vocal advocates for these issues.

Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia, a proponent of urban forests and member of the House Appropriations Committee, spoke of the need for planning green space into developing urban landscapes. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth addressed the agency's well-grounded interests in the urban forests of America.

Lined up and press-conference ready: Moll, Glickman, Hogan, Willams, and Hazel. All lauded efforts to offset the nation's urban tree deficit, which tops 634 million.

In his speech, Sen. Wyden, chair of the Forests and Public Land Management Subcommittee, stressed finding ways to bring all stakeholders together to find creative solutions to national forest policies for both rural and urban forests.

"New strategies have to interweave social and economic, as well as environmental, considerations in order to be sustainable. . . The pressures placed on the ecology of the National Forest system directly relate to your ability to plan and implement for a healthy urban forest," Wyden said.

"The management of national forests for pests, disease, and fire danger dictates, in part, the problems urban forests face by presenting additional challenges to those communities that rely on those trees for a certain quality of life."

Wyden also exhorted attendees to participate in solutions that were both creative and "homegrown."

Conference-goers attended an array of workshops and seminars aimed at offering creative ways to keep trees on the public agenda. The sessions ranged from creating public policy and protecting wildlife habitat to air quality and urban forestry in classrooms. Highlights included innovative construction management practices from other countries, research on the social benefits of trees, a journalists' roundtable featuring Ray Suarez from PBS's Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and numerous tours of the city.

The Global ReLeaf banquet, which closed the conference, featured an awards ceremony honoring the tree-planting and conservation efforts of 1984 Olympic gold medal skier Debbie Armstrong, the spokesperson for American Forests' Global ReLeaf Sarajevo campaign. Also honored: the U.S. Forest Service, Eddie Bauer, Green Mountain Energy, Bruce Hardwood Floors, Wal-Mart, Scotts, The VFW Foundation, The Davey Tree Expert Company, and Exxon-Mobile.

The biennial conference was sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, Casey Trees Endowment Fund, Eddie Bauer, The Davey Tree Expert Company, ESRI, Pictometry, and O'Doul's.

The September 11 terrorist attacks and later anthrax letters have thrown legislative schedules and priorities into disarray. There's heightened uncertainty about whether and how key pieces of forestry legislation-such as the FY 2002 Interior Appropriations bill and the 2002 Farm Bill (which American Forests helped craft)-would move. However, extraordinary determination by some congressional leaders has pushed the process forward.

The FY 2002 Interior Appropriations bill (HR 2217), which funds the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other Department of Interior agencies, passed Congress in early October. It moved easily through a conference between House and Senate appropriators and was one of the first of the 13 annual spending bills to clear Congress. The final bill provided strong funding for American Forests' priorities for Forest Service Cooperative Forestry programs, including: $36 million for Urban and Community Forestry; $33 million for Forest Stewardship; $65 million for Forest Legacy; $35 million for Economic Action Programs; and $9 million for Pacific Northwest Assistance.

It also included a second year of strong funding for the National Fire Plan, as well as continued commitments by congressional appropriators to support long-term fire protection strategies. Conference report language expresses keen interest in ensuring that the Forest Service and BLM work collaboratively with states and local communities through a recently adopted 10-year framework; use cooperative agreements and grants with community groups, nonprofits, and small businesses in implementing the National Fire Plan; and emphasize urban-wildland interface areas for thinning and prescribed burns o reduce hazardous fuels.

The 2002 Farm Bill has surged forward in the House and Senate this fall, even though farm programs do not need to be reauthorized until next year, and many participants have suggested Congress postpone action until then. However, a favorable budget resolution-when large budget surpluses were still projected-give many farm interests and political leaders an opportunity to build higher spending levels into the 5-10 year Farm Bill if action is completed this year. Funding has clearly motivated the forceful efforts of House and Senate Agriculture chairmen Larry Combest (TX) and Tom Harkin (IA) to get a bill passed this year. Whether they succeed remains to be seen, as Congress reconvenes for a rare post-Thanksgiving session.

American Forests has worked with a wide range of forestry, conservation, and environmental groups in pursuing our priorities in the Farm Bill. These priorities build on our own "ecosystem restoration and maintenance agenda" and discussions with community partners in urban and rural areas. They include: providing incentives for nonfederal forest landowners to engage in planning and collaborative efforts to ensure forestry issues are addressed at a landscape level; ensuring communities a substantive role in planning, implementing, and monitoring activities under the National Fire Plan; and strengthening funding and direction in the Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Program for restoring and protecting "green infrastructure in large metropolitan areas." We have had substantial access to and built good relationships with committee staff but have had limited success in getting our priorities in the Farm Bill. We will continue to work with partners and staff, in hopes that we'll have more success in the final stages of this process.
-Gerry Gray

The car door suddenly swings open, then slams shut. "Tickets, please," says the conductor. It's just after 1 p.m. on a humid August day in Washington, DC, and the train is pulling away from Union Station. I'm headed for New York City to meet Academy award-winning actress Meryl Streep, who has agreed to narrate public service announcements for American Forests.

Outside Penn Station, I line up behind other commuters vying for taxis. The cab ride is like an out-of-control amusement park roller coaster and I'm grateful to arrive at the hotel in Tribeca. Ms. Streep is scheduled to record at 1:30 the next day. I settle in for a night of calming my nerves.

I arrive at the radio station around 1, soon enough to get a tour from the audio engineer, Claudia. Seeing the reel-to-reel and cart machines brings back memories of my days as a radio announcer and news hound. Claudia and I run through the schedule for today: Ms. Streep will be recording a 30-second and a 60-second spot.

I'm waiting in the "green room" through what could be the longest 10 minutes of my life when my hip begins to vibrate and chirp. I wrestle out the cell phone but never figure out how to turn off that particular function. The chauffer is calling to let us know he and his famous passenger are about 5 minutes away.

Now my nerves are vibrating like the cell phone. When I worked in radio I had the chance to interview several famous people-Gov. Mario Cuomo and singer Don Henley among them-but this is Meryl Streep, one of my favorite actresses. "Kramer vs. Kramer," "The Deer Hunter," 'Sophie's Choice." She's in a category by herself.

When I arrive at Claudia's office, she's on the phone with the chauffer, describing our appearances. She hangs up and we make the 25-story trip down to meet the car, joined along the way by the building's head of security. Claudia arranged to have the sizable gent escort Ms. Streep as a precautionary measure.

We stand at curbside looking first one way, then the other for a chauffeur who might be looking for us. He waves us toward a black Mercedes-Benz with black tinted windows.

After a handshake and a brief chat with the driver about logistics for picking up Ms. Streep, he opens the rear door and out steps Meryl Streep. I extend a shaky hand to introduce myself, Claudia, and the head of security. Between the excitement of meeting the actress and the deafening traffic noise on Centre Street, I'm feeling a little numb.

She has a plain loveliness about her. Unless you looked closely, you probably wouldn't recognize hers among the many faces in New York City. She just looks like someone's mom (which she is, four times over).

"Thank you so much, Ms. Streep, for taking time out of your busy schedule to record the PSAs," I say as we approach the building. "It's very nice of you to do this for American Forests."

We arrive at the recording studio and I retreat momentarily to get her a glass of water. When I return, they are finishing a conversation about Claudia's background. I've brought a gift and lead Ms. Streep to a wooden box with an engraved, brass nameplate that reads, "Presented to Meryl Streep, From American Forests. The paw print of a Siberian tiger benefiting from American Forests' tree-planting project in the Russian Far East."

Meryl Streep's eyes grow big as I open the box. Set in black velvet is a plaster mold of a tiger paw print. "Thank you; it's great," she says. "My children will love it."

She enters the studio and, with amazing ease, records the two PSAs in no time. Her voice is soft, sincere, and oh so recognizable. As she leaves I thank her again and talk about some of the tree planting projects we have done. She says she appreciates the work we do. Claudia telephones the chauffer, and the two of us escort Ms. Streep in the elevator and to the front of the building.

The traffic noise and smell of exhaust are overwhelming. "Again, thanks so much, Ms. Streep," I shout. She passes into the comfort of plush leather seats, the door closes, and the car pulls away. The entire visit was about 30 minutes, just long enough to voice two PSAs and leave an indelible impression on a big fan.-Steve Westcott

You can see the Meryl Streep-narrated PSAs on ABC, CBS, HGTV, and local and national cable channels nationwide.

Don't know when to purne? Curious about lobed leaves? Have no fear-the Tree Doctor is here.

A: A good book to start with is the old favorite "Little Golden Book of Trees." Study the sections on leaf characteristics, branching types (opposite or alternate), bark patterns, and so forth, and try to absorb some of the language used to describe the differences among species. Then get out there among the trees and go to work!Most any good bookstore has a variety of books expounding on trees. For beginners, my only caution is to not go too deep, too soon; learn native species first. Here's a couple of short cuts: Learn to separate red oaks from white oaks as groups, and worry about learning the different species within each group later. Same for hickories. If you get stumped, call your nearest forester or local horticulturalist for help.

Q: My wife asked me if, as a tree grows, the bottom branches move up with the growth. I said the growth is from the top and branches stay the same distance from the ground. Please give me your answer; am I right?
Don Gerken
Via e-mail

A: At the risk of offending your spouse, I have to say you are correct. Tree growth is from the top and the branches elongate, but cannot move upward. If you think of a tree as an upside down ice cream cone with a toothpick stuck in it to represent a limb, and each year's growth as an overall added layer of waffle, you can see that it gets higher, but any blemish on the cone will stay where it is. Granted, the toothpick will get thicker, but it can't go higher. To prove this to doubters, measure a tree's total height and the height of a limb above ground, and then do the same thing a year from now. The limb will probably be larger in diameter, and the tree higher overall, but the limb will not have advanced upward.

Q: I am the gardener at Locust Grove Historic Home (home of George Rogers Clark, explorer and brother to William Clark of Lewis & Clark fame). We have an American elm (200+ years) that has had, and perhaps is still suffering with, Dutch elm disease. Two years ago tree surgeons did a drastic trim and shot the ground with medication, but we are noticing new distress. I am wondering if elms respond to softwood cuttings, as nobody has ever seen a single seed or seedling from this tree, and if such a sprout could be successfully medicated to eliminate the disease.
Sarah Dickerson
Louisville, Kentucky

A: Jeff Meyer of American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery confirms that traditional nursery practices do not provide the know-how to reproduce an elm from cuttings. It might be possible in a laboratory but at considerable expense, and there is no way to protect cuttings from Dutch elm disease.

Better to turn your thoughts toward enhancing Locust Grove after the elm succumbs. Perhaps local tree people can keep it going long enough to give you a cushion of time in which to get replacement trees established. Some, like the zelkovia, look much like elm; some nurseries can also find a few disease-resistant elm varieties. Or, consider contacting Jeff at jmeyer@historictrees.org to see if he has some historic tree seedlings related to the Lewis & Clark expedition, which might add to the quality of visitors' experience.