Tree Line designations available

LANSING — Time is running short for Michigan communities, college campuses and utilities seeking Tree City, Tree Campus or Tree Line USA designation.

These annual programs are sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and administered by forestry agencies in each state. Applicants must meet criteria established by the foundation, which can be found online at arborday.org/programs/. Apply or contact the Michigan Department of Natural Resources by the end of the year.

Specifically, communities wishing to be certified as a Tree City USA must have met these standards during 2018: a tree board or department responsible for public tree management, a public tree ordinance, a tree-care program and annual budget of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance and formal proclamation.

This program began in 1976 as a bicentennial project to promote tree planting in urban areas and call attention to the economic, health and aesthetic benefits trees provide.

“Michigan has seen a steady increase in the number of communities, utilities and, most recently, college campuses being certified,” said Kevin Sayers, the DNR’s urban forestry program coordinator, in a news release. “Last year, 117 communities, two utilities and five campuses achieved designations.”

Michigan currently ranks ninth among all states in total number of certified communities. Online and paper application materials for Tree City USA are available at: arborday.org/programs/treecityusa/. Send completed paper applications to: DNR, Forest Resources Division, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing, MI 48909. For more information, contact Sayers at 517-284-5898.

DNR patch contest open

LANSING — Since the early 1970s, the Michigan Deer Management Cooperator Patch — with a new look and design every year — has been a collector’s item for many hunters around the state. The DNR again is asking the public’s help in designing the next patch.

The DNR provides the patch as a thank-you to hunters who bring their deer to check stations during hunting seasons. At check stations, DNR staff members collect valuable data about the state’s deer population for a given season — things like the age and sex of the deer taken, locations where hunters have been successful, and an overall look at herd health. The contest is open to everyone. Those interested should submit their designs by Feb. 1. Patch designs may be done in any medium, but must be hand-drawn or printed and include a maximum of seven colors.

Complete contest information and submission guidelines are available at michigan.gov/deer under Cooperator Patches. The winner will be contacted in early March.

Contact the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453.