January - February - March  2002

In this Issue:

Children are invited to create a picture of their favorite Nebraska tree in any art medium. Representatives from each grade - K-4 - will be honored. Selected art will be on display at the State Capitol, and awards will be made during Statehood Week observation during the week of March 1, 2002.

Entries must be submitted by Feb. 1, 2002, on an official contest entry form. 

Now is the time to plan for joining communities throughout the nation to celebrate the 130^th anniversary of Arbor Day. Where Arbor Day is an established tradition, this milestone offers a way to increase event publicity and provide a new theme idea. In other communities, it is an excellent time to join the movement to restore annual Arbor Day activities. Arbor Day is the last Friday in April in Nebraska.

or write to: Celebrate Arbor Day Guidebook, PO Box 85784, Lincoln NE 68501-5784.

(Source: USDA USFS Monthly Alert)

In northeast Nebraska, the end of March and early April is a great time to prune trees. With no leaves on the branches there is less weight and cleanup to do. In addition, it is easier to see branch structure and orientation. Finally, insect and disease concerns are less of a worry during late winter pruning.

Pruning should always be performed sparingly; over pruning is extremely harmful because without enough leaves, a tree cannot gather and process enough sunlight to survive. Try to remove less than 25 percent of the leaves in any one year.

The final pruning cut should also be angled so that it begins in the crotch and extends down and outward at an opposite angle as the branch collar. This will not result in a cut flush with the trunk; rather, the base of the cut will extend out from the trunk.

A healthy tree will seal on its own, so wound dressings, which may actually interfere with this process, are not necessary. To aid in the recovery of cuts, water and mulch your trees well.

Four colorful and interpretive brochures have been developed to help inform and promote to Nebraska landowners using alternative specialty crops in tree and shrub plantings. These publications include:

Edible Landscapes - Whether available land is a city lot, a living snow fence, or the windbreak on a large farm, selecting the right trees and shrubs to plant can provide food for both wildlife and humans. The idea is to have decorative landscape plants do double duty, or more!

Hazelnuts - Sometimes called filberts, this nut-producing bush is singled out because of its high nutritional value, widespread demand, adaptability to site conditions, and its potential to provide a high value crop on erodible slopes.

Specialty Products - Planting the right trees and shrubs can be an important source of extra income. Woody decorative florals such as corkscrew willows or holly for Christmas and wood for handicrafts join edible plants in providing opportunities to bolster family income and improve economic conditions in rural areas.

Marketing Products - This is the key to the success of agroforestry. Suggestions include how to do direct marketing, finding a niche market, pricing and other essentials of selling what you produce.

The publications were produced through a cooperative grant with the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension program, National Agroforestry Center, National Arbor Day Foundation and UNL - Cooperative Extension. Copies of these brochures can be obtained by contacting your local Cooperative Extension office or local forester. Both Erik Duncan with the LENRD (371-7313) and I (370-4024) have a good supply of these brochures for distribution. Contact us if you are interested.

Wayne State College Arboretum is hosting a WSC Arboretum Winter Escape. This day long workshop has a variety of gardening/tree related topics that will be presented. Beginning at 9;00 A.M. in Gardner hall (located in the center area of the far east side of campus). Topics to be presented concurrently include:

2002 Season Picks for Annuals
Spring Tree and Shrub Care
Water Features for Small Areas
House Plants
Attracting Song Birds to Your Yard
Landscape Basics for Homes
Rose Gardens
Daylilies
Herbs
2002 Season Picks for Perennials

Pre-registration is requested to help with refreshments, materials needs. A cost of $5.00 per person will be charged to help defray costs. Contact Vicki Mitzel at Wayne State College, (402) 375-7081or this office at 370-4024 and I can forward on to WSC.

There will be a Tree/Shrub Pruning and Planting Workshop held at the new Corps of Discovery Welcome Center located on U.S. Highway 81, three miles south of Yankton, SD. The program will start at 1:30 P.M. Topics include information of the Lewis and Clark NRD Tree program, Crofton Courts Arboretum and others in northeast Nebraska and Proper Pruning and Planting Techniques. This workshop is free to the public. Pre-registration is requested to help get an idea on the number of materials and refreshments needed to be ordered. Contact the Welcome Center at (402) 667-6557 or Steve Rasmussen at (402) 370-4024.

DEMONSTRATION SEED PLANTING FALL - 2001

A one acre tree seed planting was put in the last week of November at the UNL - Haskell Agriculture Lab located two miles east of Concord, Nebraska.

The seed planting was done with a local tree seed planting machine that the Nebraska Forest Service, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund cooperatively bought last year for conservation tree projects. This machine plants mostly nut seeds in a furrow two to four inches deep. Spacing between nuts was varied from two to twelve inches apart within the rows to compare density differences. Approximately 15,000 seeds were planted.

25 pounds Pecan - obtained from the NE Nut Growers in Lincoln, NE.
20 pounds Hazelnuts B obtained from seed orchards at Mead, NE.
10 pounds Bur Oak - collected from trees at the UNL - WCREC at North Platte, NE.
10 pounds Horsechestnuts B collected locally from a tree in Humphrey, NE.
5 pounds Northern Red Oak B collected from a tree on UNL B East Campus, Lincoln, NE.
2 pounds Butternuts B collected from a tree in the city park at Pierce, NE.
1 pound each of Chinkapin, Black, White and Shumard Oak acorns purchased from a nursery in northern Missouri.

This planting will serve as an evaluation/demonstration site to study and research issues relative to expectations of success for direct seeding projects. Some of the issues expected to be investigated are: estimated germination percentages of each species; average germination dates; optimal seed planting density; average growth rates of the different species during the initial establishment years; weed control methods/options and others depending on initial germination and interest.

If you are interested in seeing how these different seeds germinate or how the tree seed planting method is working, plan to visit the HAL site this summer. If you are interested in using the tree seed planter on a project you have, contact Steve Rasmussen, NFS Forester, at 370-4024

Three principal components of a new UNL extension project designed to assist landowners in the establishment of Riparian (water side) Buffer Strips, is being promoted by Rod Wilke, the new Extension Project Coordinator for the Northeast Research and Extension Center. Rod is a UNL graduate with course work emphasis in conservation. He is a Nebraska native and has lived several years in the Northeast sector. Rod works directly with Dave Shelton, Scott Josiah and Tom Franti, extension professors and researchers, who work with the establishment and benefits of riparian conservation buffer strips. He also has a close working relationship with Steve Rasmussen, District Extension Forester.

Rod=s goal is to inform and educate all streamside landowners on the environmental and economic benefits of establishing Living Filter Strips between cropped areas and water sources. These living filters (a combination of trees, shrubs and grasses) are proven to reduce the soil erosion, greatly improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat, improve scenic beauty and possibly provide additional sources of income with woody stem tissue (decorative florals), nuts, berries, timber and biomass.

Managing sensitive land to benefit the environment and mankind is our responsibility.

Our actions will determine our legacy.

Steven D. Rasmussen
District/Extension Forester
Northeast Res. & Ext. Center
601 E. Benjamin Avenue, Suite 104
Norfolk, NE 68701-0812
Phone: (402) 370-4024
FAX: (402) 370-4010
E-mail: srasmussen2@unl.edu

In dealing with fire prevention problems and opportunities always remember to do the following:

A potential hot spot in homes that is often overlooked is the clothes dryer vent. Check your dryer vent and vent hose periodically to make sure lint doesn=t build up. This could ignite and start a fire.

Millions of children of all ages go home from school every day to an empty house. Using a key worn around their necks or pinned inside a jacket, they let themselves into their homes and remain alone until their parents come home from work. Most families set rules and guidelines to help these children help themselves. But they are on their own.

Emergencies strike quickly, and children should not depend on having the time to ask parents for advice. So all children should learn basic fire prevention rules:

 

• Matches and cigarette lighters are not for use by children and should be left alone;

• Cooking should be done only by older children, only if approved by the parent, and never without extreme caution; nothing should be left cooking unattended on a stove even for a minute;

• Microwave ovens can cause severe burns and scalds because children expect them to be safe. Don=t forget the cooked foods or liquids are extremely hot and can spill or boil over easily;

• If burned by something hot, run plenty of cool waterBnever butter or other greasy substanceCover the burn; call your doctor or an ambulance;

• If clothing catches fire, do not run! Stop immediately, fall to the floor and roll back and forth to smother the flames;

• If a fire starts, do not hide from it or try to fight it! Leave the house immediately.

• Go to a neighbor=s house to report the fire to the fire department.

This was forwarded to me so I thought I would share.* My former secretary had a terrible thing happen to her and her family last week, and I wanted to share it with all of you so that you could be warned and warn your friends and family as well. She had a gel candle burning in her bathroom...it exploded and caught her house on fire...the house burned down and they have lost everything. The fire marshal told her that this is not the first incident where a gel candle has exploded and caused a fire. He said that the gel builds up a gas, and often times it explodes and sets fire to the room it is in, which is what happened to her. The fire was so hot it melted the smoke alarm, and they didn=t discover the fire until there was an explosion, which was her toilet blowing up, and then it was too late...the entire upstairs was engulfed in flames. Smoke damage and water damage have destroyed what wasn=t destroyed by fire.

Thanks and take care!

We know another lady who loves the gel candles. She had one burning on her mantle and it caught fire just like in the message above. She was at home at the time and saw it happen and grabbed the candle to keep it from setting her home on fire and it came apart in her hand. She saved her home, but suffered 3^rd degree burns to her hand and 3 fingers!

Bob E Vogltance, Fire Resource Manager
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
441 S. Colfax
West Point, NE 68788
(402) 372-5665
E-mail: bv55315@navix.net