UPDATE!!
After months of computer glitches, software incompatibilities and cross-country adventures, Cliff Englert, former chair of JSTAC, presented us with the final summary of the long-awaited and what we believe to be highly important, Street Tree Inventory.

On October 12, 2009 Mary Ann Buenzow, a long-time member of JSTAC, presented the finished product to the City Council, emphasizing that the data laid out in the study could give the City a way in which to estimate the potential for financial losses that could be incurred by the arrival of Emerald Ash Borer..  She spoke of Janesville's need for more street trees, and noted that we are severely under-planted in areas of new construction where you can go for blocks without seeing a single tree.  She told of the overpopulation of maples, and the need to diversify the urban forest.  

The study was well received by council members, and has the topic of a very positive and insightful editorial in the Janesville
Daily Gazette on Oct. 31, 2009.

For a full copy of the Street Tree Inventory click on one of the links below.  The study is available below.


Inventory Report - Word

Inventory Report - PDF

Counting Trees
Street Tree Inventory

Data collected will provide valuable information on Janesville's urban forest
One warm fall afternoon JSTAC members Mary Ann Kroehn-Buenzow and Mary Thompson spent several hours walking up and down Woodlane Drive in Janesville.  They weren't taking a stroll.  They were counting trees.  On other days other two member teams have done much the same at locations all over the city.

The JSTAC 2007 Street Tree Inventory was devised and undertaken to collect vital information on the condition of Janesville's urban forest.  That data will help JSTAC and the City of Janesville determine how best to serve the trees around us.  Only "street trees", or those trees that live on the terraces, will be inventoried.   This is a sample inventory, counting only 5%, or about 18 plus miles, of the 350 plus miles of Janesville streets.  

Volunteers, in teams of two, take segment maps, a tree measuring tape, "write in the rain" data sheets and pens, a tree identification field guide and a handheld PDA (personal digital assistant) loaded with STRATUM tree inventory software into the field.  One person inputs data from each tree or planting site into the PDA, and the other measures the trees.  Both give input on the general condition of each tree including condition of the wood, condition of the leaves, condition of the roots system, conflicts with overhead wires or sidewalks and curbs.  Recommendations are included as to whether the tree needs routine or immediate maintenance, if it needs to be "raised" to meet city laws for tree limbs or streets and sidewalks, if it is in danger of dropping limbs or toppling due to weakness or disease, or if it needs to be removed altogether.  Potential planting sites are identified and include recommendations for the appropriate size trees to be planted.  The inventory includes residential, business and light commercial locations.

It is anticipated that the project will be concluded this fall.  Data collected will be analyzed to determine approximate number of planting spots, types of trees on city terraces, general condition, causes for concern, trees that should be removed for safety reasons, those that need immediate care or routine maintenance.  These data can provide JSTAC and the City a way to improve the health and general welfare of Janesville's urban forest.

Funding for the inventory was through urban forestry grants.  All labor is being done by JSTAC members and unpaid volunteers.