Picture a forester and what often comes to mind is a burly man in a plaid flannel shirt striding through unbroken rows of trees with an ax slung over his shoulder.
The idea of an "urban forester" at first may seem a bit contradictory; isn't the point of urbanization to eliminate trees and erect cities?
Not if you ask Lompoc's Parks and Urban Forestry Manager, Cindy McCall. McCall and her nine-person crew spend much of their day not only caring for the city's parks and planting trees but figuring out ways to use the wood from the trees they find it necessary to remove.
"We try to have what is called a closed loop," McCall said. "Everything stays within the cycle."
And they are really good at it.
Lompoc's urban forestry program been recognized in several different forestry textbooks including "Harvesting Urban Timber" published in 2003 by the Linden Press in Fresno. The book's author, Ohio University professor Sam Sherrill has inscribed the book to McCall, whom he calls "a real pioneer in this effort." McCall was also designated as the "Most Cool City Forester of 1997" by the Urban Forest Woodworks, Logan, Utah, which specializes in urban forest products.
But Lompoc wasn't always considered innovators in the urban forestry field. McCall's position was created in 1989 in response to numerous complaints by residents that the city's policy of repeatedly "topping" trees was not only unsightly, but harmful to the trees themselves.
When she took her place as the city's new forester, McCall found several problems that needed to be addressed. The diversity of the city's tree species was, to say the least, limited, falling well below the international standard of no more than 5 percent of one species.
"At that time they only had about five varieties of street trees. There were Elm trees, Elm trees and more Elm trees, Privet, Brazilian Pepper Trees and Shammel Ash," McCall said. "There was a former street superintendent who loved the Elm trees in Disneyland, which is great because they have extensive crews to work on them, but are not really suited to a city with limited funds."
There was also a massive annual landfill bill of $75,000 - a real red flag to the budget conscious McCall.
"What they were doing was taking lumber to the landfill," McCall recalled. "I saw how much the landfill bills were and I said, 'Oh no, not on my watch.'"
She quickly instituted a firewood program that made wood that had been former landfill debris available for sale. This was followed by an offer of free mulch to city gardeners that could be delivered in large loads or picked up at one of the city's stockpile sites if only a small amount was needed.
McCall and her crew also saw potential in the large pieces of lumber secured from the removal of a tree population that was at least 15 years past its normal life expectancy.
They began to mill their own lumber, fashioning the sturdy Shammel Ash into benches, tables, bleachers, indoor paneling, picnic shelters and park signs. The program was jump started by a one-year loan of a portable sawmill from the California Department of Forestry, but continues today with the department's own Lucas Mill (a metal frame onto which a chainsaw can be attached, effectively converting it into a mill.)
The first benches were crude seats cut out of a single log, but the process has been refined and more detailed examples grace the town, including a memorial bench on the library grounds. At present, Mark Fabing, a senior tree trimmer, is working on a table for the city.
"He does incredible work; it looks like something you'd find in a boutique furniture store," McCall said.
McCall credits her crew and city officials with making the program a success.
"We have a long-standing history. All my employees are very active in the tree community," McCall said. "I really respect the mayors and city councils that I have worked for. They've allowed us to be creative in our program."Lompoc Record
