UMass Community Tree Conference 2025: When Disaster Strikes…Managing Trees and Worker Safety in Storms

AGENDA

8:00    Welcoming Remarks 
            David Bloniarz, Ph.D., USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station

8:10    Topic and Speaker TBD      

9:05    How Utility Companies Prepare
            Bob Allen, Eversource

More than ever, electricity is essential to our daily lives. When the power goes out, we lose the ability to communicate and lives can be at risk. Returning service to consumers is something utilities spend many hours preparing for. In this presentation, veteran utility arborist Bob Allen will provide an overview of how utilities prepare to deal with storms that can wreak havoc on large swaths of utility infrastructure.

10:05    Insect Pests that Follow Severe Weather 
              Tawny Simisky, M.S., UMass Extension Entomologist

Increased coarse woody debris and dead or dying trees in weather-disturbed areas increase the activity of many insects such as flatheaded borers, long-horned beetles, weevils, carpenter ants, wood wasps, and bark and ambrosia beetles. After severe weather events, such as the tornado that struck Western MA in 2011, firewood harvested from disturbed forests produced many insects—even 3 years later. This presentation will review the studies and some of the insect pests that may become more prevalent after such events.

11:00   Kick‘em When They're Down: Diseases of Storm Damaged Trees
             Nicholas Brazee, Ph.D., UMass Plant Diagnostic Laboratory

Storm damage to trees creates stress and wounds and affords establishment by a variety of opportunistic pathogens in this region. This talk will highlight some of the more common pathogens and the diseases they cause following storm injury. Examples will include large branch and trunk rots, twig cankering diseases, and Phytophthora root rot. Additionally, the detrimental impacts of flooded soils following heavy rains will also be discussed.

11:50    Lunch break

Afternoon Moderator: Kristina Bezanson, University of Massachusetts Amherst

12:20    Scholarship Presentations

• Russell Holman, Mass. Arborists Association
• Rich Parasiliti, Mass. Tree Wardens & Foresters Association 
• Kristina Bezanson, New England Chapter - International Society of Arboriculture
• Kris Amerson and Dan Cohen, Davey Tree
• Gary Nedorostek - Bartlett Tree Foundation

12:45    Storms — Are You Ready??
              Gary Nedorostek, Northern New England Vice President and Division Manager, Bartlett Tree Experts

What can you do to reduce the risk of storm damage to your trees and property? In his 40-year career, Gary has experienced many storms, responding to catastrophic tree damage and loss following extreme storms of all types. He has also managed storm support travel teams, organizing dozens of teams from Bartlett offices across the country to respond to storms in New England, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. This presentation will cover what to do as a tree owner, landscape manager, or arborist before, during, and after storms.

1:40    Interagency Operability: Working with First Responders 
            Steve Connally, ISA Certified Arborist 

It's imperative we understand how a job site incident will unfold when First Responders arrive. What is our role? What can and can't we do? How can we be involved and make the greatest impact on a positive outcome? We need to understand how Fire/EMS operates and the guidelines they follow. Through this understanding, we can set ourselves up to work with them as Subject Matter Experts and assist the rescue. The alternative is to be told to stand on the nonworking side of the yellow tape. Who's in charge? Who do I talk to? How do I prepare the scene? What should I do? All these topics and more will be covered from a technical, operational, and liability standpoint of the incident commander.

2:35    Patient Assessment for Tree Crews
            Steve Connally, ISA Certified Arborist 

Using a commonsense approach and pulling from life experience, the attendee will realize they already have the skills to perform a patient assessment on the scene of a workplace emergency. Being able to rec ognize abnormalities and share those with medically trained personnel can have the greatest positive out come for the injured or sick short of being medically trained and able to treat the findings. The patient assessment is base o f any medical procedure or evaluation. This session is intended to help personnel without medical training have the confidence to start an assessment or for medically trained personnel to brush up on the very basics. No medical training is needed to understand this information.

3:40     Adjourn, Wrap-up, Instructions for Pesticide and Association Credits