Minnesota Shade Tree Advisory Committee

Membership Meeting Minutes

October 16, 2003, 9:30am – 11:30a.m.
MN State Horticultural Society,
Center for Northern Gardeners,
Saint Paul, MN
www.mnstac.org

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Lorrie Stromme, President, on Thursday, October 16, 2003, at the MN State Horticultural Society Center for Northern Gardening, 1755 Prior Ave., St. Paul, MN.

Attendance:

Name	Affiliation
Kirk Brown	Tree Trust
Lisa Burban	USDA Forest Service
James Burks	City of Crystal/Robbinsdale
Bob Condon	Tree Care Advisor
Glen Hambelton	Tree Care Advisor
Dave Hanson	University of Minnesota
Katie Himanga	Heartwood Forestry
Ken Holman	Minnesota DNR, Forestry
Diane Jensen	Minnesota Project
Michael Max	EnvironMentor Systems
Sandy McCartney	City of St. Louis Park
Jim Nayes	Living Sculpture, arborist
Lara Newberger	City of Plymouth
Steve Nicholson	Kunde Co., Inc.
Mark Schnobrich	City of Hutchinson
Ken Simons	Heritage Shade Tree Consultants
Mark Stennes	Top Notch Tree Care
Lorrie Stromme	Tree Care Advisor
Kimberly Thielen-Cremers	MN Dept of Agriculture
Jim Vaughan	City of St. Louis Park
Nancy Witta	League of Women Voters

Approval of Minutes. The minutes of the 9/18/03 MnSTAC membership meeting were reviewed and approved as corrected. Motion/Second/Carried: Michael Max/Kirk Brown.

Announcements, Open Forum, Calendar Items:

· Lara Newberger distributed flyers promoting MnSTAC’s annual photo contest. This year’s theme is “Illuminated Trees.” Send entries to Lara by November 28, 2003. (Forms are on MnSTAC’s web site.) Entries will be judged and the winner selected by the MnSTAC Awards Committee.

· Lisa Burban announced that Detroit had hired a staff person to deal with Emerald Ash Borer. Also, the US Forest Service is in the process of identifying funding mechanisms to help communities hire their own urban foresters. Lisa passed around a copy of a good resource, “Harvesting Urban Timber,” a book by Steve Bratkovich of the U.S. Forest Service. Lisa also announced that now is the time to submit pre-proposals for NUCFAC grants. Also, the Forest Service is looking at how to combine UFORE and STRATUM programs and use hand-held data collectors; that should happen within two years.

· Jim Nayes announced that the Minnesota Society of Arboriculture (MSA) is sponsoring a Service Day at the Veterans Hospital on Veteran’s Day (11/11/03) at 9 a.m. to do pruning on the hospital grounds and to demonstrate how to prune trees correctly. Bring your own lunch. MSA is considering hiring an Executive Secretary. MSA and MnSTAC folks agreed to meet together after today’s meeting to talk about collaborating on the search, since MnSTAC has also decided to hire a part-time Executive Secretary.

· James Burks, acting Chair of the Constitution and Elections Committee, announced that there are two non-designated director positions on the MnSTAC Board of Directors. Ken Simons has offered to serve as MnSTAC President, 2004-2006. Lorrie Stromme is not available to serve a second term as president. The Elections Committee will present a slate of candidates for election by the membership by December.

Agency and Committee Reports.

MN Dept of Agriculture (MDA). Kimberly Thielen-Cremers reported that MDA trapped 535 gypsy moths this year. That’s a 449% increase from last year. Moth numbers are predicted to increase substantially in the next couple of years. Between 30 and 40 egg masses were removed from a site in Edina this year; that area will be treated with Btk in the Spring of 2004. Anyone interested in volunteering to help the MDA conduct an egg mass survey in Winona on Octber 22^nd should contact Kimberly. Kimberly announced that a new state law requires tree care companies to register with the MDA. Anyone doing tree work “for hire” must register. City foresters are encouraged to register, as well. The purpose of the Tree Care and Tree Trimming Company Registry is to enable the MDA to notify tree companies quickly in urgent situations (e.g., gypsy moth quarantine, outbreak of an invasive pest, etc.).

MN Department of Natural Resources. Ken Holman reported the U.S. House Appropriations Investigative Team would be in Minneapolis/St. Paul on November 6^th. Also on November 6^th, the DNR and Tree Trust will host the kick-off event for the S.E. Asian urban forest NUCFAC project.

Report on National Urban Forest Conference in San Antonio. Michael Max attended the National Urban Forest Conference in San Antonio, TX, in September 2003. Michael reported on the topics covered at the conference, including hand-held data collectors (“They’re everywhere. They’re a solution in search of a problem.”); quantifying the benefits of trees; City Green remote sensing and land-cover analysis; UFORE and STRATUM programs for remote sensing and tree inventories; tree waste/wood utilization innovations.

Feature Presentation: “How to Make a Difference: Schmoozing with Decision Makers 101.” Facilitator: Diane Jensen, Executive Director of the Minnesota Project. Topics covered:

· Who can lobby? Just about everyone!

· Why lobby?
- to build organization
– to influence policy issues and decision makers’ votes
– to sit it out on the sidelines is not to exist

· Why not lobby?
– It’s a lot of work
– Rarely a clean win
– Hard to win alone
– Can’t always control your message

· So you have an idea…
- Does it need to be a law?
– Is there a law that covers it already?
– Which agency has the issue?
– Who else wants this law? – Make a list.
– What do you really want to change?
– Who is powering this issue? That’s your target.
– Who is your legislator and where does s/he stand on the issue?

· People will pay for what they believe in. Give them reasons to believe.
– Be specific.
– Be brief. Make your point in 5 minutes max.
– Stick to your issue.
– Don’t’ be an expert. Be informed. (“An expert is someone from another state with a briefcase and a plane ticket.”)
– Be yourself.
- Listen to feedback.
– Ask what information would help you make your case.

· Two types of lobbying: 1) directly to legislators; 2) grass roots (You encourage someone else to contact the legislature)

· Never burn bridges. There are 134 State Representatives and 67 Senators. You’ll need him/her another day. Learn about the legislators, what they care about, their committees.

· If you fail the first time around, go back and try again the next legislative session.

· Believe. Be passionate. Decision-makers respond to people who believe in what they’re doing.

· Keep the message simple, straightforward.
– simple repetitive actions
– find simple ways to communicate solutions

· Resources:
- www.leg.state.mn.us – find your legislators and monitor legislative bills on-line
– Directory Red Book
– Legislative Committee Chairs and Schedules

Brainstorming among MnSTAC Members. Problems that were identified:

- Budget cutbacks. Doing more with less.
– The public and decision-makers don’t understand the benefits of trees and the need for management.

- Pick a problem that people care about.
Public concerns about trees: power outages, storm damage, trees lost and not replaced, sidewalk vs. trees (infrastructure issues).
- We should focus on the benefits of trees and why lack of management is a problem.
– Trees that are not managed become a problem, a liability.

MnSTAC’s Roadmap for Advocacy:

2004 is our messaging year. 2005 is the year to go to the legislature with a bill.

1. Identify 1 to 3 problems involving trees (problems that the public cares about).

2. Build a message that is really simple, easy, and positive.
– No more than 12 words. Examples: “A place in Minnesota is not a place without trees” or “People like healthy trees.”

3. Make our case to anyone and everyone. Be repetitive. Say the same, simple message every time. Be consistent. Examples of simple messages that stick: “Built Ford tough” or “Ivory soap…it floats.”

Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.