The City of Hibbing has contracted with Davey Resource Group (DRG) to conduct a comprehensive inventory and assessment of trees throughout public right-of-way and parks within Hibbing city limits.
The project is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to better manage trees, minimize the effects of future storm damage and assure the community has a healthy, sustainable urban forest. An estimated 25,000 trees on public streets will be assessed.
Since late February, teams of arborists certified by the International Society of Arboriculture have been in the city to inspect and map all the public trees. Specifically, the arborist will be assessing the condition and stability of each tree, looking for any damaged or dead material to be removed, and evaluating any signs of decay or disease.
This work being done by DRG is made possible through a $163,000 grant to the City from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ ReLeaf program.
“Better managing the natural communities and native areas of these parks is a primary objective in completing these assessments,” said DRG Project Manager Gail Nozal, who is supervising the inventory of trees in Hibbing. “We assess trees to identify species, condition, risk and maintenance needs in addition to providing detailed computer mapping of all the trees to aid the City in the future management of their community forest resources.”
DRG’s crews will be walking sidewalks to conducti the assessments. They will travel in logoed vehicles and wear yellow, high-visibility vests with ID Badges. Crews will stay in the public right of way and on city property and will not enter onto private property.
The arborists use handheld computers loaded with information and aerial photographs from existing Geographic Information System (GIS) to mark the location and record specific details of each of the trees. Once the fieldwork is complete, the City will have this inventory data uploaded into its GIS system.
“We look forward to receiving this update to our professional data,” said Nick Arola, Director of City Services. “The plan is to prioritize tree maintenance and use this information to put together a plan for the overall improvement of the City’s urban forest management program.”
The inventory and assessment work are anticipated to take about 10 weeks. Along with the tree inventory, the City will be given inventory management software.
“In addition to the benefit of risk reduction, this comprehensive inventory of our public trees will provide information to maximize the long-term benefits of the urban forest for increasing the quality of life in our community,” said Arola. “Trees are vital infrastructure that provide opportunity for recreation, stress relief and add aesthetic value -- just to mention a few of the roles they play and important benefits they provide to our city.”
Information on individual tree species and benefits will be provided for all trees collected throughout the project. An interactive website providing information on the city’s urban forest can be found at hibbingmn.treekeepersoftware.com.
For more information, contact Director of City Services Nick Arola at 218-312-1617 or nickarola@hibbingmn.gov
