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TH: Fledgling hometown forestry
Post-To: Tree-House@Majordomo.Flora.Com (Community Forestry) ----------
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Hello Tree-House,
Hoping to tap into your collective wisdom regarding several issues
related to our fledgling community forestry project (see URL address
below). Santa Margarita has a population of very old (100+ yrs) and very
large (100 ft. +) European elms which are the main focus of our project.
Most of these elms are essentially healthy and sound in spite of serious
elm leaf beetle infestation (another issue that we are dealing with). A
few (<10 of the 70 + elms) of the elms, however, are not in good shape
(mostly due to having been ravaged by improper pruning practices aka
butchering done years ago) and really need to be removed and replaced.
Selective removal and replacement will, I think, also help us to better
preserve the trees that are still in good shape now.
Any suggestions regarding possible funding sources for removal (most
trees are on public right-of-way and cost of removal per tree estimate =
$1500 - $2000). It is very unlikely that the county will provide the
funds. Should we try a community fund drive? Any successes to report out
there in tackling a similar problem? It seems that most of the grants
available are geared toward tree planting/care --- do you know of grants
that provide for tree removal?
Another question: We would like to develop a good system for tracking
tree data, any suggestions? Recommended software?
Finally, are there liability issues that we need to become educated
about? We do not have non-profit group status (haven't decided how to
approach this issue yet) but we do have a bank account and
responsibility for tracking grant funds. Do we need to have insurance to
cover our activities (citizen stewardship of community trees,
educational programs, planting and caring for demonstration forest,
etc.)?
Thanks for any suggestions you can offer. I appreciate this opportunity
for discussion and the chance to learn from the experiences of others.
Beverly Gingg, Coordinator
Santa Margarita Community Forestry
http://www.slonet.org/~bgingg/
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