Forestry Division

The City of Oconomowoc Forestry Division has been awarded Tree City USA status for 30 year. We received a growth award for 7 straight years starting in 2016.  

What does this mean?  

“The Tree City USA Growth Award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate higher levels of tree care and community engagement during the calendar year.  

The Growth Award recognizes major milestones and annual activities in five categories that combine to build sustainable community forestry programs over the long term. 

Each activity has a value between 1 and 10 points, and communities must document activities that total at least 10 points—from any of the subcategories—to receive the Growth Award for the calendar year. Work we have done to earn this recognition includes our response to prioritize forestry activities during insect/disease outbreaks. The city put in considerable effort to recover lost trees due to Emerald Ash Borer infestation.  

Other notable work includes:

• Continuing education - We have certified arborists on staff who continue to train each year.
  
  
• Tree inventory program - Extensive work has been done in the last decade to compile and maintain a complete inventory of the city's public trees. The city maintains more than 1,000 public trees.
  
  
• Tree planting projects - Each year the city plants more than 100 trees in spring and fall. We also have a street tree planting program which allows residents to request a free street tree in front of their home. We also proudly celebrate Arbor Day each year donating and planting trees in other locations in Oconomowoc.
  
  
• Planting-to-Removals Ratio - The number of trees planted in the city exceeds the number we have to remove.
  
  
• Young Tree Training - Trees need haircuts.. or more officially pruning. They also need more care and supervision. Our arborists are trained in this  subject and utilize it throughout the year on the thousands of young trees in the city.
  
  
• Tree Debris and Recycling - The city chips more than 200 stumps and trees, or tree parts each year. That material is reused as mulch that is also made available for the public to use at their homes.