Judith Davidoff
A hackberry tree planted along Eastwood Drive could grow to 75 feet and live 200 years.
The sky is blue, musician Sean Michael Dargan is singing John Denver’s classic “Trees for America” and children frolic in the grass. It is, as promised, a sweet, old-fashioned Arbor Day celebration. Less obvious is the coming together of perceived foes. Madison residents, who have been pushing the city hard to protect urban canopy trees from street reconstruction projects and other threats, are joined by officials from the forestry division, parks division and mayor’s office.
“It has taken us a full year for [forestry officials] to believe us that we want to be their supporters and not yell at them,” says Leslie Schroeder, an eastside resident.
At a time of rampant government bashing and ideological extremes, this is a hopeful tale about problem-solving, cooperation and understanding.
The story begins around January 2015, when Schroeder and her neighbors start organizing against a street reconstruction project that threatens the lush canopy trees lining four blocks of Jenifer Street, from Spaight Street to South Few Street. Not only are many trees targeted, but the city will be replacing these large trees with smaller, ornamental ones that won’t interfere with overhead power lines. The Marquette Neighborhood Association creates a special tree subcommittee to research the situation and come up with solutions.
The members of this committee contact residents in other neighborhoods also hit by tree loss, mainly due to emerald ash borer infestation. A city-wide group, Madison Canopy Street Trees, forms and reaches out to the city’s Sustainable Madison Committee. “We wanted to try to inspire them to…. [increase] the city’s canopy coverage,” says Schroeder. The committee formed a subcommittee, the Sustainable Madison Committee Tree Working Group, and met for nine or 10 months.
Madison Canopy Street Trees went to all of the meetings. “They were really gracious about letting us contribute what we had learned,” says Schroeder. “That’s when we really got connected with city staff.”
At first, she says, some staff were wary. “[Forestry staff] get yelled at by everybody so at first they were pretty defensive,” says Schroeder.
But the conversations eventually produced an understanding of shared goals and the threats to trees.
“I think when we started that group there were a lot of misconceptions and misperceptions from the public that [forestry] has a lot more say on certain matters than we do,” says Charlie Romines, assistant superintendent of operations for Madison parks. In other words, what can be planted where is usually determined by how developments get built and other factors outside the control of forestry staff.
“Forestry is given a box and told to plant a tree,” he says. “We don’t decide if there are overhead power lines. We don’t decide what the [building] setbacks are. We don’t decide where the utilities are. We do not decide if lanes are widened or bike lanes put in.”
After meeting in the committee, says Romines, “A lot more people understand that is how the process works,” he says. The next step, he says, is putting together a working group, with staff from engineering, streets, forestry, zoning and planning, among others, to evaluate city policies and practices that affect tree planting and develop “a shared set of goals.”
Moving forward Schroeder is hopeful that the city might approve a pilot program on the east side to partially bury the one high-voltage line that poses a risk. Undergrounding all power lines one day in the city — just as is done in new developments — is a long-range goal. She is also hopeful the city will establish goals to add more canopy coverage.
Which brings us back to the Arbor Day celebration. There are no overhead lines on this stretch of road, so the tree being planted is a hackberry tree, which can grow to 75 feet. Native to Wisconsin, the tree’s fruit is a winter food source for birds and flying squirrels, among others.
Jeremy Kane of the Urban Tree Alliance tells the small gathering that trees have personalities. Now, it’s sort of a wild, juvenile tree. But as it matures, it will assume a much more regular form and, at 30 feet, start branching out. “This tree will hopefully get quite big,” he says.
Children help staff plant the tree and water it. Schroeder concludes the ceremony: “Thank you all for being here, for making a difference, and giving this gift of a tree to the future.”
Area covered by city forestry department: 700 miles of city streets
Number of trees on those city streets: 96,000
Time it takes forestry to replace trees on terraces: Usually within 3 planting cycles
When forestry plants trees: Twice a year, in the spring and fall
Who determines species and planting location on the terrace? Forestry
Lifespan of a hackberry tree: 150 to 200 years
