At the request of tree groups affected by Hurricane Katrina, American Forests has launched a Katrina ReLeaf Fund to provide money for local communities to restore their tree canopy when conditions permit.

The effort is being undertaken with a host of local partners from universities and state forestry groups in the affected states; replanting will occur when conditions permit in 2006. Donations made to Katrina ReLeaf (http://www.americanforests.org/planttrees/) will be eligible for federal matching funds. All proceeds from a September promotion with the online auction service eBAY also were directed toward Katrina ReLeaf.

As of press time, groups signed on as partners in Katrina ReLeaf included: U.S. Forest Service, Southeast Region; Southern University, Baton Rouge; Louisiana Forestry Commission; Louisiana Dept. of Forestry and Agriculture; Mississippi Forestry Commission; Alabama Forestry Commission; Alabama Cooperative Extension System; Mississippi Urban Forest Council; Louisiana Urban Forest Council; and Alabama Urban Forest Council.

American Forests worked extensively with communities in south Florida in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, and lessons learned then can help those now dealing with Katrina, says Nancy Masterson, who served as American Forests' rep in Florida.

One imporant lesson is that it is possible to save some downed trees. Restoring existing trees will help control stormwater, cool and clean the air, and remove toxins from groundwater, which is important now, especially in New Orleans. Trees also will restore a degree of the familiar to communities attempting to rebound from the disaster.

"We lost many valuable trees in the debris-clearing stage of recovery" after Andrew, Masterson says. "Had they been marked as salvageable, they could have been righted when time permitted." Trees in USDA growing zones 8 and 9 "will show vigor and resilience if they are saved by replanting," rather than allowed to be cut down.

Masterson offered the following tips:

1. Look for blown-down trees that were planted fairly recently and are still partially rooted. Cover as much of the root ball as possible with mulch, leaves, soil, or whatever is at hand. If possible, cover the root ball with burlap, sheets, or old blankets and wet it down; do not use plastic. If long lengths of root are exposed, cut cleanly to reduce water loss.
2. Post a sign-Save This Tree-or surround the tree with marker tape. It should survive until the next rainfall.
3. When residents return to replant, excavate a broad area on the windward side of the fallen tree. Make the hole wider than the width of the root ball and as deep. If you can't pull the tree to an erect position by hand, use a car or truck. When pulling up, protect the trunk with rags or soft material. Backfill the hole with soil and make a ring of dirt around the tree to help hold water.
4. Prune off damaged or broken branches at the branch bark collar, which is the slightly larger portion of the branch where it connects to the trunk. Do not cut inside this collar.
5. Mulch and water, then treat like a newly planted tree for the next three years, giving it frequent inspections and regular watering.

To contribute to American Forests' Katrina ReLeaf, call 800/368-5748 or log onto our website.

Update on Spirit Trees

Those interested in the culturally rich and visually captivating trees of the Virgin Islands will want to check out the developing USVI Register of Big Trees, now online at www.bigtrees.net.

The USVI Register of Big Trees is sponsored by the University of the Virgin Islands and funded by the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program, V.I. Department of Agriculture. The focus is on trees that have served as mediators between mundane human life and spiritual or ancestral realms. These are classed as spirit trees and are identified as such by various authors and informants. (For more on this project click here)

Fifteen of the most noteworthy will be selected as "Landmark Trees" for inclusion in the Virgin Islands Registry of Historic Buildings, Sites and Places; on-site plaques will tell more about each.

Also in the works: an eco-heritage guidebook ID'ing the islands' most remarkable big trees. It will have maps, GIS locators, historic and contemporary photos, descriptive and cultural information. The book is due in 2006; for information, e-mail me: rnicholl@uvi.edu.

Spirit or jumbie trees are homes of ancestral spirits; these trees generally represent dual values and can be spiteful or playful, according to how they are treated or the vagaries of the moment.

Spirit trees take many forms but the most familiar are the silk cotton (Ceiba pentandra) and wild fig (Ficus trigonata, Ficus citrifolia, or Ficus spp.), which enslaved West Africans found when they crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Baobab and tamarind, spirit trees of the West African savannah, were introduced to the Caribbean, and enslaved Africans soon ascribed spiritual status to Caribbean trees such as West Indian locust and West Indian cedar. Spiritual status was also accorded trees-such as the gri-gri (Bucida buceras), whose name refers to magic-that reminded them of African trees.

Historically, the silk cotton is the paramount jumbie tree, although it has come to be rivaled by the tamarind. Those connected with the big trees project are gathering the trees' stories through interviews with elders and experts and by locating, photographing, and measuring the trees.

When Christopher Columbus observed the Caribbean islands during his first Atlantic crossing in 1492, he wrote, "I've never seen such a beautiful thing, full of trees, beautiful and green, and different from ours." The Virgin Islands can never return to their pristine pre-Columbian condition, but much can be done to reinvigorate rare native species, protect spirit trees, and highlight remarkable specimens. Projects such as USVI Register of Big Trees aim to do just that.-Robert Nicholls

Remembering Bob Skiera

Urban tree fans everywhere are mourning the passing of Bob Skiera, 73, a legendary urban forester who served as Milwaukee's city forester for 17 years and converted many to the cause of urban trees with his sense of humor and innate ability to connect people from all walks of life with nature.

Bob had a huge impact on the way people thought about trees and the natural environment around them as well as on the environmental concerns shared by this organization. A central figure in the development of the urban forestry movement nationally, Bob was a cornerstone of the program at American Forests and a speaker at more than a dozen national urban forestry conferences we organized.

He served on American Forests' Board of Directors from 1984 to 1991. He was also an eloquent volunteer board member on state and national organizations.

Bob's infectious enthusiasm for nature had a solid foundation. An accomplished woodsman, hunter, arborist, and gardener, he was also a highly skilled archer and sharpshooter. When American Forests surveyed 20 cities in 1987 to determine the lifespan of the average urban tree, we found the trees under Bob's care in Milwaukee lived twice as long as the average street tree. How so? Bob had convinced city leaders that trees were part of the street development plan and needed to have growing space designed into that plan.

As Bob put it, "If you take tree out of the word street, all you have is st." Keeping trees healthy in the city is a complex issue, but in Milwaukee everybody got it-thanks to Bob.

When Bob retired from his post as Milwaukee's city forester, he devoted more time to growing herbaceous plants and teaching others about them. Bob and his wife Pat were avid community gardeners, and he dedicated many long hours to volunteering at Milwaukee's Boerner Botanical Gardens, where he earned the nickname "Hosta Bob."

Bob was an expert's expert. I met Bob in 1982 in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the first National Urban Forestry Conference organized by American Forests. Tall in wit and wisdom although short in stature (Smithsonian Magazine once referred to him as a "gnomelike arborist"), Bob made his point while making them laugh. He used good science as the foundation for a public policy solution and good marketing to sell the concept to community leaders. It's a common approach today, but it's a strategy pioneered by Bob Skiera.

The abstract from his presentation in Cincinnati reveals his ability to package urban forestry management issues in a way that made them relevant to public policymakers: "The goal of the Milwaukee Forestry Bureau is to maintain the urban forest so as to increase the value of the trees and the real estate in the city." We will miss you, Bob.-Gary Moll

Washington Outlook

Every five years or so, a lot of folks in Washington, DC, and around the country gear up to engage in the Farm Bill debate. This debate historically has dealt with policies and programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in support of commodity prices and farm income. In recent years, increasing debate has focused on issues related to the conservation of agricultural lands, including private forestlands.

The Farm Bill debate is intense and unwieldy for a couple of reasons. First, everyone wants to be involved because they know Congress will pass a bill, and second, a huge amount of federal funding is at stake. As in the past, the 2007 Farm Bill presents a great opportunity for those of us interested in conserving private forests both for the ecological services they provide and for their potential contributions to rural development.

The Farm Bill is the primary legislative vehicle for people interested in changing or creating new policies and programs related to nonfederal forests in our country. The first major set of provisions addressing nonfederal forests were included in a "Forestry Title" of the 1990 Farm Bill. This title addressed a range of issues related to the conservation of private forestlands and urban forests through new programs such as Forest Stewardship, Forest Legacy, and Urban and Community Forestry.

In addition to the Forestry Title, the 1990 Farm Bill included a rural development title that helped revitalize forest-dependent communities through forestry assistance.

To succeed in passing provisions like those in the 1990 Farm Bill, many pieces of the policy puzzle need to fall into place, but a key piece is a strong interest on the part of Congressional committee leaders overseeing the process. Those leaders, in turn, rely on committee staff to work with federal agencies and nonfederal entities to develop a set of ideas for a Forestry Title. When a broad array of nonfederal constituencies become involved in the process and develop support for a set of ideas-as occurred in 1990-the legislation has a good chance of passing.

The pieces for a Forestry Title did not come together during the 1995 Farm Bill debate, but emerged once again in 2002, resulting in new programs such as Forest Land Enhance-ment and Sustainable Forestry Outreach.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has published a Federal Register notice (Fed. Reg. Vol. 70, No. 116, Friday, June 17, 2005) announcing a series of public forums and the opportunity to provide written comments on Farm Bill issues and programs. Those comments will help decide USDA's recommendations to Congress. Questions in the Federal Register notice provide a framework for considering Farm Bill issues. They range from broad global and domestic trade issues and the appropriateness and effectiveness of farm support programs, to the achievement of conservation and environmental goals and the enhancement of rural economies.

Several questions offer an opportunity to address current concerns and propose new ideas about private forest conservation programs. Questions 4, 5, and 6 for example, recognize the importance of:

o Encouraging natural resource stewardship to provide critical ecosystem services, such as clean water and air, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.

o Investing in community infrastructure such as new technologies, workforce development, and small-business enterprises, to enhance rural development.

o Expanding applied research and markets for innovative and value-added products, including specialty wood products from small-diameter trees, biomass energy, and nontimber forest products.

The deadline for written comments is December 30. We encourage readers to prepare their own comments or to work with local organizations with which they are affiliated to develop and submit comments.

Many national, regional, and local conservation organizations are preparing materials and strategies for the 2007 Farm Bill debate. Some are dealing with big-picture policy issues, such as efforts to redirect to conservation programs a portion of the billions of dollars traditionally spent on commodity support. Other organizations are focusing more narrowly on specific Farm Bill

programs, exploring ways to improve existing programs or to bring new program ideas to the policy table.

American Forests is doing some of each, as we have with previous Farm Bills. We will join in a broad coalition to pursue increased Farm Bill conservation funding. Increased conservation spending might receive some impetus from international trade negotiations through the World Trade Organization, but current demands on Congress for disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina, on top of an already tight federal budget, will make any spending increases difficult.

Hurricane Katrina has left major social, economic, and environmental challenges in its wake, and it is having serious effects on the tenor of policy debate in DC. It is too early to tell, however, what the ultimate effects of the late August storm will be on prospects for conservation spending in the 2007 Farm Bill.

We'll focus American Forests' Farm Bill efforts on helping community-based forestry partners develop policy objectives and ideas for the debate. We are working with national, regional, and local partners to bring together ideas from different regions of the country. The common thread is the vision of community-based forestry, which focuses on the interdependence of healthy ecosystems and communities, seeking to integrate forest conservation and community development.

Our strategy is to help identify a set of common objectives or an agenda that can be broadly supported by community-based forestry groups. We then hope to use this agenda both to bring these ideas into the Farm Bill debate and to build coalitions with other organizations.

We also plan to convene various commodity and conservation interests to explore common ground related to conservation and stewardship incentives. By finding common ground among unlikely allies and creating support for a few widely shared principles, we hope to improve the likelihood that the Farm Bill will include some innovative policy provisions supporting ecosystem conservation. -Gerry Gray

Handpicked Leaves of Art

Need a unique and historic gift for a tree lover? Handpicked leaves from historic trees are now immortalized on notecards and bookmarks and in art.

Choose the origin of your leafy art-a red maple from George Washington's Mount Vernon home in Virginia, a weeping willow from Thoreau's Walden Woods, a sycamore whose seeds traveled to the moon, or a sweetgum from Elvis Presley's Graceland estate. All are preserved on herbarium paper.

Notecards are $5 or four for $15. Bookmarks are $3 each or two for $5. The leaf art is $55 per piece. Call the Historic Tree Nursery for more information or to order, 800/320-TREE. You can also see and order the artwork online: www.historictrees.org.