Laura M. Miller, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, North Texas Urban Forestry Conference Chair
The 2023 North Texas Urban Forestry Conference will provide tree professionals with an opportunity to learn about the ways we can best protect valuable trees while accommodating the need for housing, transportation, and commercial development in one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.
Each year, members of the Cross Timbers Urban Forestry Council and the Trinity Blacklands Urban Forestry Council work together to provide a conference packed with relevant information in a convenient location to provide busy North Texas commercial and municipal arborists with an opportunity to learn and build a strong professional network.
On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, we will welcome back Dr. Todd Watson. Dr. Watson’s last North Texas Urban Forestry Conference speaking engagement occurred when Dr. Ed Gilman was stuck in a snowed in airport (presumably not in Florida) one February in the early 2000s. This year, he’ll have time to prepare to tell us everything he knows about trees and construction, well everything he can fit into two hours, in a keynote presentation entitled “Deconstructing construction damage to trees.” Dr. Watson will take a break and hear from one of his former students at Texas A&M University, Gareth Harrier with Bartlett Tree Experts, who will give us some examples of tree protection projects in North Texas. We will also hear from a great panel of municipal arborists: Keith Martin, City of Southlake, Colleen Fitzgerald, City of Denton, and Jimmy Hoefert, Town of Flower Mound, and find out how they really feel about their tree ordinances. Since Emerald Ash Borer is still an issue, we’ll have a quick update and display from Texas A&M Forest Service Forest Health Specialists, and Dr. Watson will once again take the stage to talk about tree valuation formulas.
In honor of the first ISA Board Certified Master Arborist in the state of Texas, the one and only Dr. Todd Watson, we will be offering BCMA CEUs in both the Practice and Management categories and a total of 6 CEUs for Certified Arborists, Utility Specialists, and Municipal Specialists.
Who should attend? Anyone who is interested in helping trees and people live in proximity is welcome, but in past years about half of the participants in North Texas Urban Forestry Conference have been commercial arborists who work for tree care companies, but we also attract municipal employees and a variety of tree enthusiasts who work for educational and nonprofit organizations, as well as Citizen Forester volunteers and students.
Registration is available at http://ctufc.org/conference/