Magic City is also known as Tree City USA

Minot awarded distinctive title for 16th time

By DAVE CALDWELL, Staff Writer, dcaldwell@minotdailynews.com
Minot is widely known as the “Magic City.” But the city has also earned another nickname – “Tree City USA” – for the 16th time.


As part of the celebration of Arbor Day 2008, a group of Magic City Campus students were on hand Friday for a seminar at Minot’s Maysa Arena. At the event, the city was awarded the Tree City USA distinction, accompanied by a flag commemorating the honor.


Minot city forester Brian Johnson and members of his staff, as well as other experts including speakers from Minot State University and Minot State University-Bottineau, were on hand to make presentations about tree-related careers and answer questions the students had.


“It’s important to talk to you, to tell you what they do and how it helps the environment,” Johnson told the students.


Guy Hanley, curator of collections at Cyril Moore Science Center at MSU, showed off a variety of beetles and other bugs found in North Dakota as well as more exotic locations. Hanley told the students that even for a professional collector, it’s still a challenge to keep track of all the varieties of bugs.


“The hard thing with insects is that even though I do work with insects on a daily basis, all of you could pick up a bug out in the parking lot and I probably wouldn’t know 80 percent of them,” Hanley said. “You have specialize to get a feel for what’s out there. There are easily up to 10,000 species just of beetles in North Dakota.”


City forestry technician Dorian Waller reviewed proper planting and care of trees, including the many ways people damage their trees without even realizing it. Common mistakes are growing grass next to trees – grass competes for nutrients and water with trees, and grass always wins, Waller said. People


also tend to damage bark by bumping trees


while mowing around them.


“Humans are absolutely the worst thing to ever happen to trees,” Waller said.


The morning was capped off with a ceremonial tree planting just west of the parking lot.