Any resident with a question about any tree
on any parkway anywhere in the Village will likely find the answer from 7 - 8:30
p.m., Tues., May 11, at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. That's when
representatives of the Village's Forestry Division and internationally
recognized tree expert Mark Duntemann will unveil the results of a comprehensive
tree inventory that identified by species, measured, assessed the health and
noted the location of every single one of Oak Park's 20,000 parkway trees.
Duntemann, who heads the Worchester,
Vermont-based forestry consulting firm of Natural Path Urban Forestry, compiled
the inventory by walking every street in the Village. The information Duntemann
entered into a handheld computer tablet has since been combined with five years
of existing in-house data on pruning, plantings and removals, creating a
comprehensive historical computer database that will guide future care and
renewal of the trees in the Village's urban forest.
The data is being managed through a computer
software system that can maintain information and maintenance records on an
unlimited number of trees. The system can apply the latest International Society
of Arboriculture's tree appraisal formula to calculate the value of individual
trees should they be damaged by construction or weather; allow for easy updates
of maintenance records; automatically create lists for stump removal and
replacements following removals; analyze up to 25 different factors affecting
specific trees; and more easily monitor problem trees and species.
Purchased with a state grant, the software
program, called Canopy, also
will interface with most standard Geographic Information Systems (GIS),
which create sophisticated data management tools from sources such as maps,
aerial photos, satellites and surveys.
The Village expects to see the first
practical application of the new system in contract tree removal operations this
summer, and its budget for next year's tree trimming contracts. When contracts
are let for trimming, the Forestry Division will know exactly what the costs
should be since fees are based on tree measurements, data that already will be
contained in the inventory system. Another application with near immediate value
will be the information to select trees for future planting based on the
existing species mix and site conditions.
For more information on the new tree
inventory management system or the public presentation, contact the Forestry
Division of the Public Works Department at 358.5700 or email publicworks@oak-park.us. 