Heather Leff

DCR announces there will be a public meeting on Tuesday, September 23, 2014 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Arnold Arboretum Visitors Center (Hunnewell Building), 125 Arborway, Boston 02130.

At this meeting, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), in cooperation with the Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR), the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the USDA’s Forest Service, will address the implications surrounding the recent discovery of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Suffolk County.

Central to this meeting is the issue of establishing a quarantine that would restrict the movement of certain wood products under certain conditions.   Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a question-and-answer session, and general feedback will be elicited to help guide the state’s actions as it moves forward with responding to the discovery of this destructive pest.  If you have questions about the public meeting, please call 617-626-4974 or email DCR.Updates@state.ma.us.

Thank you to all who registered for the Chain Saw Safety workshop with Dan Tilton.  The class filled up quickly and registration is now closed.  Please note: All who are successfully registered have received an email or phone confirmation. Contact us if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support of safety training – there is clearly a need!

BOSTON –Wednesday, July 30, 2014 – The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) today announced that the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been detected in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The destructive beetle was detected in a trap at the Arnold Arboretum  on July 16, 2014, and was confirmed by federal officials on July 18. Suffolk County is the third county in the Commonwealth to have a confirmed detection of EAB. Read the entire press release.

The first workshop to be held “in the west” (Amherst) in a long time has filled up quickly.  Thank you to all for your interest – it should be a great program!

UMass Summer College is a pre-college experience for high school sophomores and juniors who come to UMass for 2 weeks in July to learn about different majors. For the first time, Brian Kane, Dennis Ryan and Rick Harper will be offering a 2-week intensive course in arboriculture and urban forestry that will balance academic study of the science and business of arboriculture with an introduction to the basic skills required to work in the field. This should be a great recruiting tool to attract more young people to the field of arboriculture and urban forestry.  Help spread the word!