AMES, Iowa -- Twenty-six northwest Iowa residents have recently completed the Iowa Community Tree Steward Program offered in the Cherokee, O’Brien, Plymouth and Sioux counties.

This educational program involves 24 hours of intensive community forestry instruction designed specifically for citizen volunteers, community forestry and park staff, tree care professionals, utility company representatives and county conservation board staff.

The course focuses on various aspects of community tree management including tree and shrub identification, basic tree biology, species selection, pest management, value assessment, tree planting, inventory techniques, program planning, funding and implementation.

The Iowa Community Tree Steward Program is sponsored by Iowa State University (ISU) Extension, ISU Forestry Extension, the Forestry Division of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Community and Urban Forestry Council, and Trees Forever.

Four hundred ninety-nine people have graduated from this program since it started in 1992, and almost 13,200 public service hours have been contributed. For more information, contact Chris Feeley, Extension Forester, Iowa State University, 253 Bessey Hall, Ames, Iowa, 50011, phone (515) 294-6739 or e-mail cfeeley@iastate.edu.

Participants in this year's program included, by hometown:

Akron: Kevin Deboer

LeMars: Al Vonnahme, Mark Bohner, Mike Becker, Sue Becker

Merrill: Gary DeRocher

Onawa: Cherri Archer

Orange City: Dale A Bolkema

Paullina: Rona Frank, Steve Berntson

Primghar: Sally DeKok, Teresa Stoll

Remsen: Gary Larson, Gaylen Lassen, Joy Larson

Ruthven: Patricia Helmich

Sanborn: Sue Hengeveld

Sioux Center  Arlan Nederhoff, Cheri Hulstein, Dave Eekhoff, Lynette Nystrom, Randy Wiese, Ron Rynders, Stan Oordt

Sioux City: Dennis Bandstra

Storm Lake: Jerry Kahl

-30-