Officials plant the first trees in the Dale Eanhardt Foundation Forest in Mooresville NC. Courtesy Dale Earnhardt Foundation

The first 50 of 77,000 trees that will honor the memory of NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt were planted in Sloan Park outside Mooresville, North Carolina, in November by American Forests and The Dale Earnhardt Foundation.

Mooresville is home to The Dale Earnhardt Foundation and Dale Earnhardt Inc. The goal of the Dale Earnhardt Forest is to restore trees to the city of Charlotte and to restore wildlife habitat, expand greenways, and return trees to riparian areas in the 15-county region

surrounding Mecklenburg County. The partnership between American Forests and The Dale Earnhardt Foundation was announced with the planting of seven trees-symbolizing Earnhardt's seven NASCAR championships-at Dale Earnhardt Day, which coincides with Arbor Day and the late racing legend's birthday. The former Mooresville resident and NASCAR legend was an avid outdoorsman and conservationist who championed environmental causes and environmental education. "The planting of the first trees near the location where Dale spent so much of his time and energy is an appropriate way to formally launch the Dale Earnhardt Forest," said Dick Baker, executive director of The Dale Earnhardt Foundation.

"Through public-private partnerships with local governments, our hope is to expand the Dale Earnhardt Forest to the 16 states he raced in during his illustrious career-and ultimately across the United States." The 50 saucer magnolias, willow oaks, and red maples that were planted in the Dale Earnhardt Grove at Sloan Park will be part of the Park's Historic Tree Trail. The Historic Tree Trail consists of numerous trees propagated from trees found at various national landmarks, historic sites, and locations related to significant historical figures.

The Dale Earnhardt Foundation is also supporting American Forests' efforts to bring a high-tech environmental education program to 120 middle and high school classes in North Carolina in 2006. The program combines computer technology, math, science, and geography with tree care and hands-on activities to teach students to value trees in their local areas. "We are delighted to join with Teresa Earnhardt and The Dale Earnhardt Foundation to honor Dale's commitment to the environment-and to environmental education," American Forests executive director Deborah Gangloff said. "We hope race fans everywhere will join this effort by planting a tree in his memory."

To find out more about the Dale Earnhardt Forest or contribute by planting trees, visit www.americanforests.org and click on campaigns or visit The Dale Earnhardt Foundation's website at www.thedaleearnhardtfoundation.org.

Nature at Your Service: Summing it Up

Urban foresters, planners, researchers, educators, GIS practitioners, and citizen activists gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, in November for American Forests' 2005 National Conference On Urban Ecosystems.

The long-standing urban forest conference made an important transition to the National Conference on Urban Ecosystems. More than just a title change, it was a significant change in thinking that recognizes the ecological services that trees provide and the importance of using natural

systems to support urban areas. As we witness our communities turning from green to gray, it suggests that our community leaders need a better understanding of how closely the quality of a community is tied to the health of its urban ecosystem.

This year's program theme, Nature at Your Service, aptly demonstrated how our urban ecosystems can reconnect people to their urban natural resources. From local to regional perspectives, the conference speakers offered the latest technologies, emerging public policies, citizen action, and tools to help put the urban forest ecosystem to best use.

The spotlight was on the Carolina Piedmont Region, which includes metropolitan areas like Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, and surrounding smaller communities. All of these, regardless of size, are grappling with an expanding population, decreasing forest canopy, and associated environmental problems. With an eye to those issues, conference sessions addressed how communities can plan for growth while maintaining environmental quality.

Timely sessions discussed how communities can rebuild with nature after catastrophic events like the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast communities. A special concurrent session presented Hurricanes, Urban Forests, and Coastal Communities, with representatives from the federal and state agencies and private forest consultants.

Keynote speakers tackled that question from seemingly diverse perspectives: Paul Hearn of the U.S. Geological Survey showed how the value of nature is available to everyone via the National Map on the web. Michael Gallis, an architect, city planner, and successful consultant, described the need to put natural systems on equal footing with built infrastructure. His regional-scale approach provides the conceptual framework for integrating development into the environment. Of course, reconnecting people with nature requires public support, and many people work on environmental issues outside of the environmental community. The Reverend Fletcher Harper of GreenFaith delivered a luncheon keynote on the growing awareness of the bonds between faith communities and the environmental movement.

This year, 127 minority and underserved people attended on scholarship; several presentations explored nontraditional greening programs (see Earthkeepers), social justice, environmental education with GIS, and

citizen action that goes beyond tree planting into public policy efforts.

Just as an ecosystem itself is complex and dynamic, each of the perspectives presented at the conference seemed to converge to provide a catalyst for connecting urban growth and natural systems. The result, we hope, will be better communities in the future, ones that embrace "Nature at Your Service."-Cheryl Kollin

Tree Doctor

Dear Tree Doctor: This spring I planted a seedling from the Wye Oak (Maryland's former national champion white oak). The tree is now about 15-18 inches tall and very hearty. The main "trunk" sprouted well with our wet spring and early summer then, after a quiet spell, one of the branches grew rapidly, almost doubling the size of the tree. This vigorous offshoot branch, which is obviously not the main trunk, has caused the tree to have two competing headers, the most dominant being the late-developing branch, which projects out from the main trunk for 3/4 of an inch or so before going straight up. Should I prune the offshoot branch or let it take over? I don't want the tree to have a crook in the trunk.

The most vigorous branch will take over the leadership position, and one leader is all that any tree needs or it will be forked and thus weaker. I would lop off the weaker shoot and not worry about any stem crook at that point. The tree's healing process will produce callous tissue to finally cover the wound, and succeeding year's annual rings will hide the irregularity in only a few years. As long as your tree is growing vigorously and is adequately cared for, you will probably not be able to detect the crook in three or four years or so.

Be sure to do the pruning so the wound drains rainwater, trimming enough bark at the bottom of the cut so that no water will be trapped. And do not treat the wound with any kind of sealant, regardless of what stores offer. The best recent research finds trees heal themselves perfectly well, and any sealant only encourages insects and diseases by trapping moisture.

Maples, and some other species, are subject to a number of leaf diseases. A common one is "tar spot" fungal disease, which usually occurs in mid- to late summer. Since the leaves have done the vast majority of furnishing nourishment to the tree by the time mid-summer rolls around, it's a problem in aesthetics only.

To minimize re-infection rate in the future, rake and dispose of all fallen leaves in autumn, and keep the tree healthy by following standard nursery practices for water, fertilizer, and mulch. If the spots are really objectionable, spraying with Bordeaux mixture will control them, but this should not be necessary.

Although research scientists are working on this problem, I am not aware of any way to cure or stop the spread of oak wilt, which is spread by root grafts and insects. Root graft barriers might be possible for some specimen lawn trees, but stopping the insects would still be a problem, especially in a forest setting. Again, for specimen trees, pruning only in the dormant season is recommended so as not to spread the fungus by carrying spores on the pruning tools, but this, too, is not for forest settings.

Drought may slow things down but won't stop the spread or effectiveness of the fungus. It would please me to say, "Now for the good news," but I can't. The good news we all want to hear about oak wilt is still ahead of us.

The leaflet probably refers to beech scale. There are some borers, like the birch borer, and some leaf-eating caterpillars that attack beech trees, but they are seldom serious threats and are best controlled by keeping the trees healthy in the first place.

Beech scale insects are another matter. They are less than a millimeter in size and look like a white powder on the bark of the beech tree. These tiny fellows are suckers and weaken the trees to a point where normally ineffective diseases or insects can cause the tree to die. Beech scale is a major threat to beech across the northeastern United States and Canada, affecting both forest and yard trees.

Ornamentals can be sprayed, but forest tree spraying is out of the question. The only tool forest managers have is to minimize infestations by salvage cuttings to reduce the possibility of spreading. And, of course, cutting of any kind raises objections of one kind or another, and may or may not be possible. As to the expected spread, unfortunately, at this time there is no reason to think beech scale will not spread to wherever there are beech trees.

Soil problems are often a problem for pecans. Contact your area Cooperative Extension agent for local recommendations for pecan culture. The agent would also know of any diseases or other problems common in your area.

Skiing Toward Success

For the third consecutive season, skiers and snowboarders at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will be able to help restore a wildfire-scorched area while enjoying time outdoors. Donations to Jackson Hole's Green Season Pass program support the planting of indigenous whitebark pine in the Targhee National Forest near Yellowstone National Park. The goal is to restore an area devastated in 1998's North Fork Fire. In recognition of their support, participants are given a unique lanyard for holding their season lift pass.

Jackson Hole was the first U.S. resort to partner with American Forests, and officials there say the response has been impressive. The hope is that the Targhee project will be completely funded by the end of the season, in which case a new project will be selected for skier's and riders' contributions.

Picture-Perfect Partnership

Larson-Juhl, which designs, manufactures, and distributes custom picture frames, believes both in adding beauty to its works of art and conserving beauty in the environment. Its Global ReLeaf Forest Foundation has partnered with American Forests since 1994, supporting the planting of more than a quarter-million trees in nearly two dozen Global ReLeaf Forests sites in the U.S. and around the world.

Larson-Juhl, a Berkshire Hathaway company, draws a parallel between the unique, individualized care afforded each Global ReLeaf site and the care it takes with craftsmanship, sending artisans worldwide in search of unique

finishes, exquisite embossings, and intriguing patterns. The company has made custom frames for more than 100 years and has 24 facilities in the United States and locations in 15 countries.

Washington Outlook

The most significant-and much anticipated-forestry legislation of 2005 emerged late in the year as House and Senate members introduced bills on forest restoration or recovery following significant natural disturbances, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and insect or disease outbreaks. The introduction of three bills in October and November kicked off a debate on specific legislative proposals for addressing a set of important issues, some of them controversial, related to "post-disturbance" forest restoration.

Congress began to explore post-wildfire, or post-disturbance, forest restoration during the summer of 2004 in hearings initiated by the House Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. It was generally felt that Congress had dealt with many pre-wildfire issues related to forest restoration when it passed the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) at the end of 2003. Title I of HFRA provided new authorities for hazardous fuels reduction projects to protect communities and forest ecosystems from the threat of destructive wildfires.

American Forests submitted testimony for one of the initial hearings (see Washington Outlook, Autumn 2004) in which we expressed concerns about post-wildfire reforestation. We questioned the accuracy of current data on reforestation needs after wildfires, the increasing backlog of reforestation needs on federal lands, and the amount of funding available for post-fire reforestation and other restoration activities.

One of our major concerns was that Congress and federal agencies had directed so much attention to emergency wildfire suppression and hazardous fuel reduction activities in recent years that post-fire needs were being neglected, due both to immediate policy priorities and limited resources. We emphasized the importance of understanding ecological effects of increasingly large and intense wildfires and of providing appropriate restoration treatments where forests and their ecosystem services were at risk.

The most controversial post-disturbance restoration issues relate to salvage logging. Some see salvage logging as an essential activity in rehabilitating and regenerating forests and believe that salvage timber sales can provide a critical source of revenue to help cover the costs of restoration treatments. Others see it as an activity that often causes further environmental damage on disturbed forest sites, one done primarily for economic purposes. Due to limited scientific evidence on the environmental effects of salvage sales, there is much room for disagreement. And, due to the recent historical conflict over salvage sales, related to the so-called "salvage rider" of 1995, there remains a significant amount of political distrust.

Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM), ranking minority member on the House Resources forests subcommittee, introduced the first bill on October 6, the "National Forests Rehabilitation and Recovery Act of 2005" (HR 3973). This bill proposes "a series of pilot projects to encourage collaborative approaches to, and to provide research on, the rehabilitation of forest ecosystem health following uncharacteristic disturbances of forested federal lands."

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), who chairs the forests subcommittee, introduced his bill, the "Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act" (HR 4200) on November 2. This bill, which as the Chairman's bill, is considered the lead bill in the House-seeks to improve and expedite the process for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to respond to "catastrophic forest events." At a November 10 hearing on the bill, Walden said it "is narrowly written to focus on the removal of dead and dying trees where appropriate, to encourage quicker replanting and habitat restoration using native plants, and provide comprehensive research protocols for future recovery efforts."

Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced the "Forests for Future Generations Act" (S 2079) on November 18, setting the stage for debate in the Senate. Although similar to HR 4200, the bill differs in a number of ways. For example, it proposes to establish a special fund for communities affected by natural disturbances with 5 percent of excess receipts from certain salvage timber sales. It also proposes new requirements for federal lands to be reforested within five years of natural disturbances, if those lands are part of the commercial forestland base.

American Forests submitted testimony for the Nov. 10 hearing on Walden's HR 4200 (look under Testimony). We provided comments on how the bill might be improved through stronger authorities for local collaboration, community-based planning, monitoring, participatory research, and capacity-building in rural communities.

We also raised questions about the bill's funding provisions, recognizing current federal budget constraints but urging Congress to view these activities as long-term investments in restoring functioning forest ecosystems. We suggested that Congress should provide direct appropriation or clearer direction on how the federal agencies should establish funding priorities between pre- and post-wildfire forest restoration activities.

The most important message in our testimony, however, urged the leaders of these legislative proposals to continue to explore post-disturbance restoration issues through an open and bipartisan process. Many of the issues, particularly salvage sales, are very contentious. It will take time and discussion to understand them and develop common-ground solutions. There are good ideas in each of the three bills introduced so far, and we hope these ideas will receive a lot more attention and debate next year.-Gerry Gray

Celebrating with IKEA

American Forests was front and center in October when Swedish retailer IKEA celebrated 20 years in the U.S. at festivities in Chicago. American Forests is one of IKEA's three nonprofit partners. Over the past seven years, IKEA has partnered with American Forests to plant more than 210,000 trees in Global ReLeaf and urban community planting projects.

These include an elementary school near Baltimore, Maryland; a city park in Chicago, and a portion of national forestland burned by a wildfire near Los Angeles. IKEA has also sponsored Living Classrooms-gifts of trees, lesson plans, and high-tech computer software that teach students to integrate math, science, and geography by studying the beneficial effects of trees on communities.

Regreening the Lower Rio Grande

Packaging giant Tetra Pak has donated $9,800 to American Forests' effort to regreen the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Tetra Pak made the donation to American Forests' Global ReLeaf Forests program to offset the environmental effects of its corporate air travel.

You can see how your travels affect the environment by American Forests' Climate Change Calculator at www.americanforests.org/resources/ccc. You can learn more about American Forests' work with the Lower Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in the archives portion of the organization's website: www.americanforests.org/

Voices Among the Trees

Pat and Ken Wilcox as Elanor Roosevelt and Teodore Roosevelt. Courtesy Montpelier Park Department

When Montpelier, Ohio's Sesquicentennial rolled around in 1995, park director and village forester Rick Nelson had a unique idea for reclaiming an area around a retaining pond in the village. Working with the village administration and Tree Commission, he convinced the community to purchase 150 historic trees from American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery.

The trees are the progeny of ones connected to famous people, places, and events.

Much has happened in the 10 years since astronaut Col. Tom Henricks, whose family owns adjoining land, came to dedicate the grove. The trees have thrived, wildlife has begun to return, local Boy Scouts have use the area for Eagle Scout projects, including the construction of a pergola, a bridge over a creek, and benches around the pond.

As the trees grew taller, officials discussed how to get more people aware of and using the grove. The answer? An evening of candlelit walking tours.

"Voices from the Past" kicked off in 2003, featuring four trees from the grove and one grave from a nearby cemetery. Tour guides led groups from site to site by candlelit lanterns; along the way they heard from reenactors in period clothes. The trees and histories are researched by the village's park department but interpreted by living historians.

Over the years attendees have seen and heard portrayals of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Theodore Roosevelt, Abigail Adams, and Nathan Hale by their trees.

"It's a way for the community to enjoy the grove, learn about the trees, and even learn a little history along the way," says Sandy Damschroder of Montpelier Park Department.

"We are now looking ahead as our new K-12 school facility is being constructed just a short distance away from the grove," she adds. "That leaves us full of possibilities for the future."