User:Rscote/Monterey County Reforestation

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Monterey County in California, USA, has a strong commitment to its environment, and more specifically to its forestation, and offsetting the community's carbon footprint. To that end, a number of resources have been committed to preserving and improving this precious ecosystem and its reforestation. This article is meant to be a repository of the history, current efforts, and point of contacts who might be of assistance in protecting these precious forest lands.

History of the Pines Forests in Monterey, California
A patchwork pine forest grows across the Monterey Peninsula in California, creating a rich green habitat that delights residents and visitors alike. Although the Monterey Pine tree species is widely grown on plantations in the Western Hemisphere of Northern America, the local Monterey Pine ecosystem is one of the rarest forest ecosystems in the world. Only a few thousand acres of native trees exist in four locations along the Pacific Cost of North America. The Monterey Peninsula is home to the largest of these stands, but the trees there are threatened by impacts from development, non-native invasive species and disease.

The local Monterey pine forest provides numerous benefits to the region’s economy, from its intrinsic beauty that attracts tourists, to recreational settings for residents and visitors, to valuable ecological services, such as watershed protection and enhanced air quality. However, except for a few small sites and the Point Lobos State Reserve, much of the remaining forest is not protected within conservation areas. According to The Monterey Pine Forest Watch, “Half of our native forest has already been removed” and “Much of the remaining forest is in private hands and subject to development.” Even sites that are protected from tree removal, such as Veteran’s Memorial Park, have been impacted by human activities and tree diseases, such as pine pitch canker. According to Robert Reid, the head of the City of Monterey’s Urban Forestry program, “Since the disease was first discovered in 1986, hundreds of pines of all ages have died and their loss has had a noticeable impact on the forested areas and landscapes of the Peninsula.” In the Spring 2007 issue of City Focus, he describes how scientists have been unable to find a cure or stop the spread of the pitch canker fungus: “The infection causes pines to ooze sap, which results in greater susceptibility to attack from destructive pine bark beetles.” The fungus is spread as beetles move from tree to tree. The local city forestry departments have small staffs and are charged with the responsibility of caring for many acres of public lands. In addition, city arborists are called upon to advise on property issues, construction impacts and risk assessment. The City of Monterey itself maintains more than 19,000 trees, in parks and along streets, and about 300 acres of Monterey Pine forest. Monterey currently spends nearly $1 million annually on its urban forestry program, or about $33 per citizen. Carmel spends about $450,000, which with its smaller population translates to about $112 per citizen. An active volunteer group, Friends of Carmel Forest, supports Carmel’s tree planting, surveying and education activities. Carmel’s City Council also recently voted to approve a contract with a renowned tree care specialist, Barry Coates, to provide a study of Carmel’s forest. The Council also approved spending up to $50,000 to implement changes recommended by the forest study. In the City of Monterey, crews trim an average of more than 1,800 trees and remove 150 annually. In 2005, a total of 338 trees were planted or replaced on City property, and 400 native tree seedlings were donated for planting on private property. In addition, the City of Monterey Urban Forestry Section provides tree maintenance services to the Presidio and Naval Postgraduate School. Given the tremendous workload and the importance of the local forests, volunteer groups such as Leadership Monterey Peninsula are critical partners in maintaining and improving the region’s quality of life.

Individual City Information
Polled in 2007/8 by the Leadership Monterey Peninsula Reforestation Group (LMP), the following is a breakdown of the cities in Monterey County, and their reforestation efforts.

City of Monterey
Point of Contact:

Phone Number:

Current Forestation Activities:

City of Carmel
Point of Contact: Forester Mike Branson

Phone Number: (831) 620-2010

Current Forestation Activities:

Carmel's Department of Forest and Beach is responsible for the maintenance of and improvements to the urban forest. The majority of their time is spent pruning, planting, watering, treating insects, and removing dead trees. The city's annual budget for tree-planting and maintenance is $458,000 including beach maintenance and all Forest and Beach Departmental services. This department, encompassing three employees, takes care of all the arboricultural needs of over 13,000 trees growing on public property.

City of Marina
Point of Contact: City forestry Gary Cramblett, Superintendent, 211 Hillcrest Ave., Marina, CA 93933

Phone Number: (831) 884-1242

Current Forestation Activities:

Marina has been named a "Tree City USA" community by the Arbor Day Foundation.

Had to meet four standards to get this designation:

1) has a tree board or department

2) has a community tree ordinance

3) has a community forestry program w/ an annual budget of at least $2 per capita (budget is $50,554.36; population is 18,824)

4) has an Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation (Dec. 17, 2007)

The tree committee has recently been reorganized; it is now a subcommittee of the planning commission. Tree planting activities are now done by a non-profit: "Marina Tree and Garden Club" (www.marinatreeandgarden.org). Their mission includes "Improve the streets and public areas of the city of Marina by planting and cultivating trees and gardens therein"

The city does not have an arborist or a tree-planting program.

City of Seaside
Point of Contact: Nancy Towne, Service Manager from Parks and Recreation.

Phone Number:

Current Forestation Activities:

No formal reforestation program. Parks and Recreation Dept has an annual budget of approximately $150,000, and did plant 50+ trees in 2007. A limited number of trees are taken care (watered) of by the city parks department.

There is an established relationship with their neighborhood associations to assist with planting of trees within Seaside.

City of Del Ray Oaks
Point of Contact:

Phone Number:

Current Forestation Activities:

City of Pacific Grove
Point of Contact:

Phone Number:

Current Forestation Activities:

Links
Some links relevant to this article include:

Leadership Monterey Peninsula http://www.leadershipmonterey.org/

LMP Class of 2008 Reforestation Project on ning.com http://lmptrees.ning.com/

Yahoo Group Monterey Green Action

Monterey, CA, on wikipedia

City of Monterey, CA, Public Works Parks Dept

City of Monterey, CA, "Green Pages"

City of Pacific Grove, CA

Friends of Carmel Forest

American Forests A National organization that sponsors reforestation projects and gives grants as part of their Global ReLeaf program

Monterey Bay, CA, on wikipedia

Monterey Peninsula, CA, on wikipedia

Reforestation on wikipedia

Canopy.org

Sacramento Tree Foundation

Bibliographies

 * Plants. Research conducted in Northern Santa Lucia Mountains, Big Sur, and surrounding areas, 1994-1997. Santa Lucia Natural History Symposium (sponsored by Esalen Institute and University of California Big Creek Reserve. http://www.redshift.com/~bigcreek/projects/natural_history/slnhs_bibliography/slm_plants.html


 * Selected biological, ecological, and genetic literature relevant to Monterey pine (360 references in alphabetical order by author) / Genetic Resources Conservation Program, University of California http://www.grcp.ucdavis.edu/projects/MPRefs/MPRefList.htm


 * Technical bibliography on Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata (updated 23 October 1998) / Galen Rathbun, Piedras Blancas Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, US Geological Survey, San Simeon, CA 93452. http://www.greenspacecambria.org/Documents/MontereyPinesBibliography.pdf

Care and Disease

 * Monterey Pine – Tree Planting Guide http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/plantguides/trees/plantguide.asp?symbol=PIRA2


 * Monterey Pine – Plant Heath Care Program / Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories, Charlotte, NC, PHC-13 BTRL 12/99 http://www.onlinegardener.com/trees/Monterey%20pine.pdf


 * Recommendations for reforestation in areas affected by pitch canker (12/18/00). frap.cdf.ca.gov/pitch_canker/images/pdfs/resist_tree_policy.pdf


 * USDA Pitch Canker Task Force http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/pitch_canker/


 * Silvical characteristics of Monterey Pine (P. radiata D. Don) / by Douglass F. Roy. U.S. Forest Service Research Paper PSW-21.  Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experimkent Station, Berkeley, CA. 1966.

Silviculture Organizations

 * Monterey Pine Forest Ecology Cooperative, University of California,l Davis http://www.grcp.ucdavis.edu/projects/MPCoop/MtyPineCoop.htm


 * Monterey Pine Conservation Projects http://www.grcp.ucdavis.edu/projects/MtyPineCons.htm

Reforestation

 * Volunteers plant pines in Veterans Park / by Leslie Ricketts. City of Monterey California, FOCUS e-newsletter. V1, n1, July 2007. http://www.monterey.org/efocus/jul07/

Carbon Offsets

 * Good Old Days, 2008, Pacific Grove, CA / by Kristin Cushman http://www.pacificgrove.org/god/TEAMTREEPG.pdf


 * Monterey Music Summit, 2008 http://www.montereymusicsummit.com/2008/community/


 * The Watershed Institute, California State University, Monterey Bay http://watershed.csumb.edu/wi/

Ecology Action

 * http://www.ecoact.org/