Mike Garvey & Mark Ellison

1. 245 THOUSAND SQUARE MILES OF COMMUNITY FORESTS:
CREATING, PROMOTING, AND SUSTAINING A VIABLE
PARTNERSHIP IN TWO LARGE RURAL STATES
PRESENTED FOR:
2015 PARTNERS IN COMMUNITY FORESTRY CONFERENCE
DENVER, COLORADO
PRESENTED BY:
Mike Garvey, Registered Consulting Arborist® Billings, Montana
Mark Ellison, Community Forester, City of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Red Lodge, Montana, The “Hi Bug” District, 1908.
Photo courtesy: Carbon County Historical Society

2. “Howdy Pardners”- Welcome to Partners in Community Forestry
LIVINGSTON, MONTANA

3. IT’S ALL THE SAME
DISTANCE!
1,152 km – 720 miles
LIBBY, MT to CHEYENNE, WY
CHICAGO to TALLAHASSEE
BOSTON to COLUMBIA, S.C
SEATTLE to SAN FRANSISCO
DENVER to SAINT LOUIS
DRIVE TIME
LIBBY to CHEYENNE
1,579 km - 987 miles =
14 HOURS 23 MINUTES

4. Land of Wide Open Spaces
Wyoming
Population: 584,153
Largest city: 62,448
People/sq. mi: 5.8
Total Cattle: 1,300,000
Montana
Population: 1, 024,000
Largest city: 109,059
People/sq. mi: 6.8
Total Cattle: 2,500,000

5. We Value our Trees
 Early settlers brought trees with
them
 You don’t grow trees by luck out
west
Cheyenne, Wyoming
1930

6. MT/WY ARBORISTS
OFTEN UNDERSERVED
 ISA Chapter runs from Canadian border to Mexican border
 Majority of chapter resides along the Front Range of CO
 MT/WY are mostly rural – intimidated by “The City”
 Rural states often have very different needs/issues

7. URBAN FORESTRY OR COMMUNITY FORESTRY?
VARIANT VENUES – SIMILAR SITUATIONS
Providence, Rhode Island
Neihart, Montana

8. Fish Creek,
Montana
Central Park, NYC
COMMUNITY FORESTRY IS
WHERE YOU FIND IT

9. THE GENESIS OF THE NORTHERN ROCKIES TREE SCHOOL
PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN TWO STATES:
WYOMING - MONTANA
PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN PUBLIC
AGENCIES & PRIVATE
BUSINESSES
PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE
INFORMATION BASED
ON CONTEMPORY
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
UTILIZE LOCAL
EXPERT EXPERIENCE

10. Built on Past Successes
 Are there successful workshops you
could partner with?
 Tap into their resources – reputation,
marketing, grant funding,
sponsorships, expertise, logistical
support
 Build your workshop by lessening
your responsibilities/work load – split
the responsibilities, alternate
between jurisdictions, avoid burnout,
encourage local involvement/support

11. PARTNERSHIPS
It all started with a private/public
partnership
How can we help each other?
What do I have to gain?
We all grow together
Broad reach

12. It’s About the People
Build camaraderie between
jurisdictions
Friendly rivalry
Build traditions
Lasting relationships

13. Local Expertise Goes a Long Way
 You don’t need to bring in national speakers to
pack ‘em in
 Get to know your local and regional experts –
more hands approach
 Local experts have a strong connection to nearby
communities and can better relate to local issues
 Survey the needs of your constituents – most
want to hear about local and regional subjects
 Backup national speakers with local/regional
examples

14. 2015 TREE SCHOOL:
LIVINGSTON,
MONTANA
INNOVATIVE
CLASSROOM TOPIC
AND VENUE
“THE AFTERLIFE OF
GREEN ASH TREES”

15. “PAINTING OUTSIDE THE
BARK”
A partnership of talent:
Led by a Municipal
Forester who is an artist!
INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP :
CONNECTING TREES AND PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION OF TREES

16. INTRODUCING… MONTANA’S
NATIONAL CONSERVATION
FOUNDATION ENVIROTHON TEAM:
MONTANA CHAMPS & 20TH PLACE
IN NATIONAL COMPETITION!
NCF-ENVIROTHON 2015
THEME:
URBAN -COMMUNITY
FORESTS
PARTNERSHIPS WITH
CONSERVATION DISTRICTS-
US FOREST SERVICES-
SCHOOLS
“A NATURAL RESOURCE
ENCOUNTER FOR THE
NEXT GENERATION”

17. AN ONGOING LEARNING EXPERIENCE
PARTNERSHIP COLLABORATION:
“THE CHALLENGE IS GETTING EVERYONE IN THE SAME DIRECTION”
VOLUNTEERS – TREE BOARDS-UTILITY PROVIDERS-SCHOOLS-CIVIC GROUPS
Photo courtesy:
John Hill

18. LOOKING UP:
THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THE NRTS PARTNERSHIP
125-175 ATTENDEES
ALWAYS A PROFIT
ACCESSABLE EDUCATION
NEW FRIENDSHIPS
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
GREAT SCENARIO FOR
TIME WITH LEADING
EXPERTS
SHOWCASE THE
BEAUTIFUL STATES OF
WYOMING & MONTANA

19. The Success is in the Numbers
Red Lodge, 2011: 130 attendees
Dillon, 2013: 160 attendees
Livingston, 2015: 200 attendees
Cody, 2010: 90 attendees
Sheridan, 2012: 120 attendees
Cody, 2014: 140 attendees

20. THE DOWNSIDE OF SUCCESS:
“WE’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER BOAT”
LIMITED FUNDING
SOURCES
NO CONSENSUS
FOR NFP STATUS
ACCOUNTING
ISSUES
PRO TEM
COMMITTEES
DIFFICULTY OF
GOING BIG IN A
SMALL COMMUNITY
LOSING THE
PERSONAL TOUCH

21. PCF 2013 CONFERENCE,PITTSBURGH
RIVER RESTORATION TREE & BIKE
TOUR
EXPANDING THE PARTNERSHIP PALETTE:
INVITE THE LOCK MAKERS!!!
Manhattan, NYC Missoula,
Montana