Thompson Falls gets an urban tree health check
A statewide tree inventory has recently taken place by the Department of Natural Resource Conservation gathering vital information on urban forests, including in Thompson Falls.
“Public trees are a vital component of the infrastructure and character of our communities,” said Jamie Kirby, manager of the Montana’s DNRC Urban and Community Forestry Program. “The statewide assessment provides a set of benchmarks to help cities and towns make management decisions and create long-term strategies for their urban forests.”
The report analyzes data on tree species, size, age, location, condition and other factors in 61 communities. It calculates the benefits provided by trees in each community, including energy savings from electricity and natural gas usage, atmospheric carbon reduction, property value, stormwater runoff reduction and contributions to human and economic health.
A fact sheet for each community summarizes the most common tree species, their replacement value, the benefits provided by the urban forest, and discusses the potential loss of trees to the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect known to devastate ash tree species.
Kirby added the inventory was funded in part through a Forest Service program: the Davey Resource Group conducted the analysis.
The report comes as communities across the nation prepare to celebrate Arbor Day on Friday, April 27. Montana will hold its state celebration on Friday, May 11 in Anaconda.
According to the DNRC report, Thompson Falls’ street trees provide more than $75,632 in annual benefits ($121 per tree). Replacement of these trees with trees of similar size, species and condition would cost $1.3 million, according to information provided by the DNRC.
Best forestry practices suggest that no single species should represent more than 10 percent of the total urban tree population, and no single genus more than 20 percent.
The dominance of any single species or genus can have detrimental consequences in the event of storms, climate change, drought, disease, pests or other stressors that can severely affect an urban forest and the flow of benefits and costs over time.
In Thompson Falls, pondersoa pine (23.1 percent) and Norway maple (18 percent) are overrepresented.
The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive beetle pest native to eastern Asia which threatens significant fiscal and environmental impacts.
While not yet identified in Montana, the beetle has been spreading rapidly across the United States since its introduction. Larval feeding disrupts the flow of nutrients and water, effectively girdling (and eventually killing) the tree.
This feeding behavior combined with their fast reproduction cycle means that EAB is highly destructive to ash populations.
About 2.4 percent of Thompson Falls’ community forest is comprised of ash species. This population represents 4 percent of all leaf surface area in the community forest, and 3.5 percent ($2,635) of annual environmental benefits.