City-Wide Tree Inventory

The City of Monticello received a DNR grant to provide an opportunity to conduct a city-wide inventory of all public trees, including those in the right-of-way. The current Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infestation has and will continue to grow and transform Monticello’s urban forest. As we are in the beginning stages of the EAB program, staff turned their attention to developing a post-EAB forestry approach. The first step in that process is updating the City’s tree inventory.

What is a Tree Inventory?

A public tree inventory is a hand count of all the City’s public trees including their species, size, and condition. In the development of the City’s approach to EAB mitigation, staff found that some existing tree survey data is incorrect or outdated. One of the best practices for urban forest management is to update a community’s tree inventory every 10 years to ensure the data is accurate and contains up-to-date condition ratings.

Additionally, a survey can identify prospective future planting locations on public property. This information can be used to identify possible weak spots in the City’s urban tree canopy, including preparedness for future pests such as the Asian Longhorned Beetle, and for the development of a plan to address these deficiencies. This data can be utilized to develop a 5-year or 15-year forestry plan.

Project Background

The City of Monticello has contracted with Davey Resource Group, Inc. to conduct the city-wide public tree inventory and create an EAB Management Plan. The City of Monticello also received additional funding from the MN DNR's Preparing for EAB grants program. These funds will provide additional support for:

• The city-wide tree inventory
• EAB Management Plan
• Updating the City's tree ordinance
• A storm preparedness plan
• The tree inventory map
• Tree watering, injections and inspections
• Ongoing maintenance
• Replanting with bare root trees and conifer trees

The tree planting will include diverse tree species to prohibit monocultures for future pests and generations. Without the additional grant funding, the City would not have been able to accomplish all these goals and would have sustained significant canopy loss.

Project Goals

• Continue with the tree inventory, EAB Management Plan, updating the city’s tree ordinance, storm preparedness plan, mapping, and a comprehensive inventory of public property and ROW trees.
  
• Multi-year diverse bare root and conifer tree planting in community parks and public spaces. Replacement trees will be shade tree, conifer and native species. Trees will be planted within proximity to the tree that was removed as site conditions allow. The 20-10-5 diversity guidelines and the MN DNR Tree Planting Guide will be followed for replacement trees. 
  
• City staff will continue to treat large community legacy trees and inject trees throughout the grant timeline. Our goal is to increase public awareness of EAB and the importance of our community’s urban canopy (its role and benefits), while also educating residents about the importance of planting diverse trees.

Request a Tree Inspection

If you’re seeing symptoms of EAB and would like to request an inspection of your ash tree, please contact the Parks Department at 763-295-2711, or via email Parks.Info@ci.monticello.mn.us. You can also contact Arrest the Pest at: Arrest.the.pest@state.mn.us or call 1-888-545-6684.