State forestry specialist urges tree canopy mapping, grants and ordinances for Atlantic Beach

Ann Huyler, urban forestry specialist with the South Carolina Forestry Commission, spoke to the Atlantic Beach Town Council on Sept. 9 about the agency's programs and local technical assistance.

Huyler described the Commission's grants and services for cities — technical-assistance grants, tree-canopy mapping, food-forest grants and the Tree City USA recognition program. She said the Inflation Reduction Act included a large program (which she summarized as $5.1 billion) aimed at disadvantaged communities to support canopy mapping, tree-planting campaigns and related work, but she noted a current 5,000-population cutoff for that funding which limits immediate eligibility for many smaller towns.

"One of the main jobs that I have is bringing benefits from the Forestry Commission to the cities," Huyler said. She recommended that Atlantic Beach begin with a tree canopy map to identify where trees exist, where new plantings should go and how much maintenance funding will be required.

Huyler also reviewed other supports: free webinars on storm planning and debris contracting, sample public-tree ordinances and Tree City USA application steps. She encouraged council to consider a tree board and to budget approximately $2 per capita annually for tree work as a practical starting point.

In response to a question from Councilwoman Jacqueline Gore about crape myrtle scale, Huyler cautioned that soil-drench treatments require repeated application and implicate neonicotinoid insecticides, which can affect pollinators. She offered to inspect city trees at no charge and to add Atlantic Beach to forestry email updates on upcoming grants and webinars.