Minutes of MnSTAC Membership Meeting
Thursday, November 15, 2001 - 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
90 West Plato Boulevard, St. Paul, Minnesota

Call to Order.
The meeting was called to order at 9:37 a.m. by Lorrie Stromme, President.

Approval of Minutes of Membership Meeting on 10/18/01.
Motion/Second (M/S): Ken Holman/James Burks: To approve the 10/18/01 Minutes of the Membership Meeting. Motion carried.

Introduction of Visitors and New Members.
MnSTAC members introduced themselves to the visitors (Graham Mahal, John Kyhl, Marika Yamato) and the new members, Marc Neuman, Sara Smith, and Barb Kirkpatrick.
M/S Michael Max/ Bob Condon, nominating Sara Smith, Barb Kirkpatrick, and Marc Neuman to be members of MnSTAC. Motion carried.

Announcements, Calendar Items, Open Forum.
• Lorrie Stromme announced that the deadline for submitting photographs for the MnSTAC photo contest is November 15, 2001, and the deadline for nominations for two non-designated board members is November 20, 2001.
• Michael Max announced that a web-based survey would be sent to MnSTAC members to update the contact list and membership profile. Michael also announced that MnSTAC has initiated a message board on the MnSTAC website. Currently, the message board is provided through a free service with commercial pop-up messages that appear on screen. To avoid this problem, Michael suggested paying for server software to eliminate the pop-up messages.
M/S Michael Max/Gary Johnson: To allocate up to $100 to improve the message board. Motion carried.
• Kathy Widin announced that the MSA Winter Picnic would take place on December 5, 2001, at the Columbia Park Golf Course. Kathy is gathering items for the silent auction, all proceeds of which will go to the ISA Research Trust Fund.
• Sara Smith, Tree Trust, distributed copies of the revised “The Right Tree” publication. Contact Tree Trust for additional copies.
• Paul Buck, City of Plymouth, announced that a chain saw training clinic will take place on February 19 and 20, 2002. Contact Paul if your city would like to host a training session. 
• Don Mueller, DNR, distributed copies of a new DNR publication, “Beyond the Suburbs.” Don also distributed a sheet with calendar items, grant opportunities, publications, and websites.
• Gary Johnson pointed out that the MnSTAC meeting scheduled for February 21, 2002, conflicts with the Northeast Regional Urban Forestry Conference. MnSTAC had scheduled an evening meeting for February 21 in the Twin Cities area. Lorrie will check with Dan Jordan, IRRRB, on an opportunity for MnSTAC to have a meeting in the northeast Minnesota.
• Ken Holman, DNR, announced that the Minnesota State Horticultural Society would be hosting a Greening Conference in 2002. Ken also announced that the DNR is finalizing its strategic plan. Kim Sullivan, independent contractor, is facilitating that work. 
• Jim Hermann, Minneapolis Park & Rec Board/Forestry, said that a gypsy moth quarantine is in place in South Minneapolis. Buckthorn that was removed from that area was chipped and will be burned. Contact the Minnesota Department of Agriculture if you need to move materials out of the quarantine area.
• Mark Stennes, MSA President, announced that the video on planting depth and stem-girdling roots has been completed. A loop of the tape will be available at the MNLA conference, and videotapes will be available for sale at the Shade Tree Short Course.
• Marie Jones, University of Minnesota, showed the membership a new brochure about the Tree Care Advisor program. Marie encouraged city arborists to use TCA volunteers for their urban forestry projects. 
• Bruce Bacon, City of Ramsey, announced the formation of a green sprawl working group. 
• Gail Nozal, Tree Trust, announced that Tree Trust is looking for interns to work with neighborhood groups. 

Field Reports/Agency Reports.
• Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT): Tina Klein reported that from mid-April to mid-June, MnDOT moved 182 lilac bushes from the path of a Highway 100 construction in the Robbinsdale area to Highway 100 locations in Brooklyn Center. The 60-year-old lilacs have historic significance, because they are part of the original landscape plantings installed in the late 1930’s. So far 181 of the plants are thriving, with 2 to 4 feet of new growth. The plants were moved with a 60-inch-diameter tree spade. 
• Minnesota Department of Agriculture: Rich Hauer reported that gypsy moth egg masses have been found in Golden Valley, as well as SW Minneapolis. MDA’s 2001 State Gypsy Moth Report will be completed soon.
• University of Minnesota: Marie Jones reported that she and Chad Giblin (U of MN Department of Horticultural Science) conducted a planting-depth study this past summer at of the University of Minnesota. They pruned the root systems of Malus sp. to be approximately the same size and planted some with the soil line at the first main-order root and others 2, 4, and 6 inches too deep. Preliminary findings show that the trees planted with the first main-order root at the soil line showed greater root development than those planted with the first main-order roots planted 2 to 6 inches below the soil line. Trees planted with the first main-order root at the soil line and staked using two different methods also exhibited a decrease in root development. Trees planted deeper developed sockets from rocking back and forth in the container during windier days. The preliminary findings contradict a standard nursery practice of planting nursery stock deeper to prevent them from tipping over. Findings show that trees planted at the proper depth developed a larger root system faster and became established in the container faster, indicating that deep planting is not beneficial. This experiment will be conducted again in the spring of 2002 with a pot-in-pot system installed in the research plots on the U of MN St. Paul campus. Researchers will monitor wind speed and before-and-after data about root-system development. 

Committee Reports.
• Planning Committee - Lorrie Stromme distributed copies of the Strategic Plan that was prepared by the MnSTAC Planning Committee. The board has approved the Strategic Plan and is presenting it now to the membership for final approval. The Strategic Plan identifies specific tasks for each MnSTAC committee and will be posted on the MnSTAC website. 
M/S Michael Max/Mark Stennes: To approve MnSTAC’s Strategic Plan.
Motion carried.
• Forest Health Committee: Will meet in December
• Legislative Committee met in November and is preparing a fact sheet for distribution to legislators for the 2002 session.

Feature Presentation. Potential, emerging, and refined tools for oak wilt control: a research update.
Presenters: Jenny Juzwik, U.S. Forest Service; John Kyhl, University of Minnesota graduate student; Graham Mahal, University of Minnesota graduate student; and, Marc Neuman, U.S. Forest Service.

The presenters gave a power-point presentation summarizing the results of studies on refining root graft barrier lime placement, potential biocontrol fungus to prevent overland spread of oak wilt, and insect vector control guidelines. 

Jenny Juzwik’s overview:
* 1940’s: oak wilt fungus was discovered
* 1950-60’s: biology, spread, and control methods were researched
* 1970-80’s plow research and community programs were initiated
* 1990’s state and federal suppression projects began and Alamo treatment was researched
* 1999: research was undertaken to compare French and Bruhn root-graft models.

Summary of Marc Neuman’s report:
* Gliocladium roseum (G.r.) grows over C. fagacearum (C.f.) and kills fungus in lab 
* Minnesota isolates are more aggressive than Texas isolates
* Only open mats were treated in field tests 
* Treatment with G.r. increased presence of G.r. from 5 to 19% and decreased the presence of C.f.
* None of the beetles tested produced G.r., but sample were very small
* While effect on spore load was noticeable, G.r. treatments do not look like a viable treatment option due to remaining spore load
* G.r. may work as repellent to keep beetles away

Summary of John Kyhl’s report:
* Coloperus truncatus and Carpoplilus sayi are the 2 most likely vectors
* Tested aggregation pheromone produced by C. truncatus with and without bread dough; combination produced best results
* Peak beetle activity occurred between 4/9 and 5/29
* In 2000, beetles collected as early as March 8th (@ 35 base – 50-degree days), evidence that they overwinter as adults
* Glischrochilus (picnic beetle) emergence more erratic over season
* Wood chips may not carry fungus, but may attract beetles into an area; until further research is done, leaving fresh wood chips on site during peak infection period may be risky

Summary of Graham Mahal’s report:
* More than 90% of oak mortality is the result of root-graft transmission of oak wilt
* 30-40% of captured beetles (C. truncatus and C. sayi) carry C.f. 
* Evaluation Bruhn and French root-graft models at 25-foot increments based on cost/benefit ratios and treatment failure
* Results are due in December.

Adjournment.
M/S Mark Stennes/Rich Hauer: to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. 
The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

Recorder’s Name: Sue Burks, MN DNR – Forestry
[Thank you, Sue, especially for the detailed notes on the oak wilt presentations!]

2001 MDA Gypsy Moth Report

How to: Identify, Prevent, and Control Oak Wilt

How to: Identify Common Nitidulid Beetles Associated with Oak Wilt Mats in Minnesota

How to: Collect Field Samples and Identify the Oak Wilt Fungus in the Laboratory