">Truckee Meadows Community Forestry Coalition

by Ruth Anderson, Daily Sparks Tribune
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Building a sustainable community forest is the goal of the newly formed Truckee Meadows Community Forestry Coalition (TMCFC).

Lora Richards, resource planner for the Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA), briefed the Northern Nevada Water Planning Commission (NNWP) Wednesday on the future of the new organization.

“This is an investment in the community,” Richards said. “Community landscaping is key, it brings economic and aesthetic benefits. With the TMCFC, we are trying to deal with the irrigation component of landscaping as it pertains to trees.”

The TMCFC, which was formed in June 2008, was originally organized because local arborists and experts were concerned about tree loss in the community.

“Tree care isn’t really understood,” Richards said. “We knew we were having tree losses in the community and we wanted to know how we could remedy that, so we formed the forestry coalition.”

The TMCFC, which is funded by TMWA, also is working to promote efficient water use for landscaping through community education programs and the implementation of a regulated water system.

Among these programs is the TMWA 2009 Water Usage Review Program (WURP), for which Richards posed a $64,100 funding request from the Regional Water Management Fund.

Since its start in 2003, WURP has furthered conservation efforts by eliminating major sources of water inefficiency. To evaluate water needs, the program sends auditors to residential and commercial locations to reset irrigation clocks and assess adequate water use.

“We frequently resolve problems in 20 to 30 minutes,” Richards said. “The savings from efficient water use is different for everyone but expressed on a monthly basis.”

The WURP has worked to limit waste stemming primarily from excessive watering time for lawns and landscapes. Authorities from TMWA have considered the program successful, largely due to its personal customer education.

“We have one full-time auditor and two part-time auditors,” Richards said. “People just need to take the initiative to contact TMWA.”

Like WURP, the TMCFC will use their knowledge of water management in the high desert to develop an effective regional approach for landscape design in the Truckee Meadows. TMWA’s “Landscaping in the Truckee Meadows” guide will also be used to address the placement and care of the trees.

“We want to show people how to put the right tree in the right place,” Richards said.

Richards followed by saying the “right” tree is site specific and TMWA’s Web site has an archive of more than 120 drought-resistant shrubs and ground covers. Among the most drought-resistant are sagebrush, blue mist spiraea and spring crocus.

Approximately 15 local government and non-government agencies are involved with the TMCFC. Among them are the Nevada Division of Forestry, city of Reno, Washoe County, Nevada Shade Tree Council, Reno Recreation and Parks, Air Quality Division, Western Regional Water Commission and TMWA.

“There are seven times the amount of private trees than public trees,” Richards said. “We want the TMCFC to sustain and complement the private investment.”

In the next year, the TMCFC will be working to position themselves as the “builder, caretaker and sustainer of our urban forests,” according to Richards. “We want to be the source for regional tree care info.”

In April, the TMCFC will be launching an educational Web site on tree care and publishing a list of climate-compatible trees, as well as piloting a tree evaluation program for water customers to find the best tree for their specific location.

“The TMCFC will primarily exist in cyberspace,” said Richards who hopes that posting the information on the Internet will make it more accessible to citizens. “The TMCFC is a brand, not an entity.”

Although the TMCFC does not have any tree plantings scheduled, it will be working with the Reno Urban Forestry Commission to plant trees on Wells Avenue on April 24, Arbor Day.

“We will be trying to figure out how we can add to the landscape,” Richards said. “I challenge somebody to come up with a negative to more trees. There is more value than cost with trees and they make a community a really nice place to live.”