Forester will consult on tree management

Dan Galecki has spent his entire working life in the woods. From the University of Wisconsin, where he got his degree in forestry in 1987, to Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, he's worked for a wide variety of clients in all kinds of forest landscapes.

Now, as the proprietor of Spindrift Forestry Consulting in Bend, he's working on the urban landscape of the City of Sisters.

Galecki has been hired as a contract consultant and will be tasked with consulting the City on actions involving trees (including but not limited to removal). He is currently helping the City develop an Urban Forest Management Plan.

In a small-scale urban environment like Sisters, the forester's work gets down to the individual tree. Where a disease can cover acres of a forest like the Tillamook State Forest where Galecki has worked, "Here you have one tree. You have all these micro-remedies for one tree or a small group of trees."

There are still some broader scale elements to the work. Galecki noted that in reporting on Creekside Park, he looked at the effects of the forest canopy on that landscape.

Galecki's role is to consult - city staff makes decisions on implementation. For example, Galecki recently inspected a tree across Oak Street from Sisters Coffee Co. Dave Vitelle, a local forester himself, had noticed some heaving around the base during high winds and alerted the city. Galecki noted the significant lean on the tree and he recommended removal. The tree was not diseased.

"It was a pretty decent tree, but it was really dangerous," he said. "Structurally, it was compromised."

The City decided to have it cut down, and Vitelle did the work.

Galecki said that his inspection of Creekside Park "identified eight or nine trees that should have some sort of immediate remedy." That could mean removal or something short of that which would leave them in place.

"We'll just have to assess them as time goes on," he said.

Galecki is aware that there was a controversy over the cutting of more than two dozen trees in the park (mostly junipers), but that occurred before he was hired to be a neutral, dispassionate consultant.

He told The Nugget that the City's actions were "not out of line based on what I saw. I saw the stumps, I saw the wood, I heard the explanation. Yes, I'm supportive of what they did."

He noted that juniper trees consume gallons of water and can pose problems in a high-traffic area like a park, because their branches are low and trimming up isn't all that effective.

"I'm not saying that junipers are a bad tree, but they have a lot of bad traits that don't necessarily fit in a particular landscape," he said. "Structurally, visually, or ecologically, a tree may or may not fit. A juniper is kind of a square peg in a round hole sometimes."

Galecki will likely be tapped for consultation on planting.

"They haven't asked me that yet, but I would assume so," he said.

The forester attended Sisters' Arbor Day ceremonies last week, where the City planted 33 trees - many of them large, donated spruce trees. He met Chad Stadeli, of C&C Nursery there, and was impressed with his knowledge.

He said that the City's plans for streetscape planting are already in good hands.

"I think with Chad and other local people that they've got that handled," he said.

Galecki told The Nugget that he is passionate about his work and loves being out in the woods. He is working for a number of clients, from Warm Springs to the Klamath tribes, as well as working with the City of Sisters.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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