Committee approves Bluestem contract for city tree inventory

The New London Park and Recreation Committee voted Feb. 4 to approve an agreement with Bluestem Forestry to conduct a city tree inventory and provide GIS-formatted data for ongoing urban-forest management.

Ginger, parks and recreation staff, said Bluestem previously completed an inventory in 2006 that had issues but that Bluestem’s president and the city’s urban forestry coordinator reviewed and agreed corrections were made. The service will include GIS formatting so the city can integrate and maintain tree inventory data, aiding prioritization of removals, pruning and future plantings. The project is partially funded by an Urban Forestry Grant.

Committee member Bernie Ritchie moved to approve the agreement; the motion was seconded by John Shea and carried on a voice vote.

Ginger said the inventory will help staff categorize trees by crown dieback, diameter and age, and allow the city to manage removals and plantings in zones rather than reacting across the city. The inventory is intended to inform a multi-year management schedule tied to the larger plan the committee is developing.

The agreement passed with no recorded roll-call tallies in the meeting transcript; staff will proceed with the contract and implementation steps with Bluestem.