MORENCI — If you noticed somebody walking down your street one day in September and taking careful note of all the trees, that was Steve Lane.
Lane, an urban forestry consultant, has been engaged by the city of Morenci to work on a 20-year plan for managing all of the trees on public property on the city. The grant-funded project aims to help the city be proactive, rather than reactive, about managing its tree population, and it includes a comprehensive inventory of all the trees on public land in Morenci — about 1,350 in total.
Lane spent about two weeks in Morenci in September, walking every block as well as going carefully through city parks and cemeteries, logging all of the trees, measuring them, and making notes on their overall health, preparing to put together recommendations for future management.
“Trees, especially when you have a lot of them and they’re large, can be a tricky asset to manage,” Lane said.
Some trees may be recommended for placement on a standard pruning cycle of once every six or seven years. Others may need pruning more urgently. And some will be recommended for removal. A removal recommendation will be more urgent if the tree poses a hazard to people or property, less urgent if it does not.
Lane noted that having dead limbs doesn’t necessarily mean a tree is unhealthy. As a tree grows taller, the leaves in the lower part of its canopy start to get less light — and, recognizing this, it’ll shut the lower branches down.
“It’s just a part of what trees do,” he said.
Developing an urban forestry management plan is a cooperative process between Lane and city leaders, and there needs to be some flexibility — in part because the initial cost estimate for implementing the ideal plan always ends up being too high. Then Lane can help with the process of prioritizing. An urban forestry management plan usually goes through several drafts before it’s finished.
Of course, storms can throw a wrench into things — but because it’s a given that they will happen, with the only question being when, storm response planning is part of the strategy.
“Adaptive management is the name of the game,” Lane said.
When the process is finished, Morenci will have a complete inventory of every tree on public land in the city along with notes on its condition and management recommendations. Lane will also assemble a list of open planting spaces, which are places that could benefit from having a tree planted there. That list will come with recommendations for suitable species — for example, if the space is under a power line, the recommendation will be for a tree that won’t grow tall enough to pose a hazard.
A healthy tree canopy provides a lot of benefits for a city, Lane said, including shade, temperature reduction, energy savings, and even improved stormwater uptake coming from the fact that trees pull up water through their roots, helping to reduce flooding risk and ease the burden on stormwater systems.
An open house was held in September to get residents’ input on the forestry plan, and another meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 10, from 4-6 p.m. at Stair District Library, 228 W. Main St.
The community conversation will give residents a chance to review the first draft of the plan and provide feedback on the future of Morenci’s trees. Attendees will learn how the tree inventory works and how it helps plan pruning schedules, tree plantings, and removals, ensuring that public trees remain healthy, vibrant, and well cared for, according to Heather Sarnac, the city’s community and economic development director.
The project to develop a 20-year forestry management plan is funded by the USDA Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Urban and Community Forestry Program. The city of Morenci, USDA Forest Service and Michigan Department of Natural Resources are equal opportunity providers.