HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-15-26 Public Comment - Jerry DiMarco - Urban Forest Mgmt Plan commentsFrom:jerrydimarco@mail.com
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Urban Forest Mgmt Plan comments
Date:Tuesday, September 15, 2026 5:36:38 PM
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This document seems to be overly wordy. It made me wonder if some of it was AI
generated. Several passages showed up in multiple parts of the document. It could have beenshorter. Something seems to be missing on pg 11, perhaps it is item no. 7 in Table 1.
The City has not been keeping up with clearing vegetation blocking road signs, includingstreet signs at intersections. I don't know if this is part of urban forest management, if not
could you please forward this information to the appropriate party. Since volunteers arementioned, have you considered using student interns from appropriate majors at MSU? How
does slow tree growth (pg 52) cause a decline in health of the urban forest? Figure 24 (pg 53)shows a good reason for keeping downtowns and commercial districts small.
I knew a former Parks employee who was in charge of tree trimming, and he remarked oneday that there were 2000(?) linden trees in town that were in bad shape. Later on I found out
that lindens were stream bank trees. It looked like most of the lindens were not planted bystreams, so no wonder they weren't doing well. So I'm hoping that you are or will be planting
trees in appropriate habitats.
Regarding water efficiency, with or without climate change, I saw no mention of planting
trees in depressions that would hold water, instead of planting trees on elevated ground thatallows water to run off. I hope "water conscious landscape design" includes that, because all
around town I see irrigation water flowing onto sidewalks and into streets because the groundthat is being watered is elevated. This causes an additional problem in winter when snow
melts and runs onto sidewalks, then turns into ice at night.
As an example, the ground between sidewalks and curbs (or in medians) could be lower,
gradually going downhill toward the center which might be a few inches below the level of thesidewalk and curb, or whatever is deemed to be a safe drop in elevation. If trees were planted
in depressions in parkways, it might make it less likely that the roots would buckle sidewalks.
I'm glad to see you are addressing invasive species. So many non-native species (all types
of vegetation) have been planted around town over the years. I think the City should bediscouraging this, and I hope the Urban Forest Management Plan either directly or indirectly
expresses that need to our citizens.
I have mixed feelings about your plan to plant non-native tree species that you think will do
better in a warmer climate. What will the ratio of native to non-native trees be? I hope youfavor native trees. The reason I'm raising this point is because native species are barely
mentioned, and I got the impression that you would be aggressively replacing them with non-native species.
I am in agreement with the 4th bullet item on pg 54, especially "Gradually reduce relianceon species showing increased decline...". To me this means that you will wait for signs that a
species is in decline, and then gradually reduce only affected trees. I hope that is the correctinterpretation.
If that is the case, I'm wondering why you are already removing green ash trees, since itsounds like the ash borer is not here. You have already removed a significant number of green
ash trees which are needed right now for climate mitigation, and for habitat since cedarwaxwings eat the berries in winter time.
I think it is unwise to try to get ahead of climate projections, lest you become guilty ofintroducing a non-native species that causes other problems. What if some of those green ash
trees turn out to be resistant to the ash borer? What if a repellent or other defense against theash borer is developed? We are losing the ecosystem services provided by those native trees
far sooner than necessary. You should be doing what is stated on page 54.
I like the idea of habitat logs (pg 111). When trees are removed from a forest, that takes
away nutrients needed by the next generation of trees. Consequently, those trees grow moreslowly and are less hardy, and therefore less resilient. I was going to ask if trunks or branches
could be left on the ground in parks, or near creeks and in groves so that soils don't getdepleted. I don't necessarily support spreading wood or bark chips. There should be no
vegetation going to landfills or being used for firewood. Wood fires contribute to climatewarming, and that practice will have to be stopped someday.
Thank you for your time and efforts,
Jerry DiMarco
Bozeman