“Good”

Information Your Role as a Community Steward

Benefit Professionally, Benefit Personally!

As a landscape architect, planner, city engineer, arborist,

tree care specialist, park and recreation director…any pro-

fessional who holds responsibility for the placement and

maintenance of public trees, two complimentary resources

are available to help you at no cost.

1. The Road to a Thoughtful Street Tree Master Plan

& Master Plan tutorial Power Point™ series. A prag-

matic primer which, enables the user to avoid com-

mon design and tree selection issues through a series

of thoughtful sequential steps, guiding you through

the ten most common “issues” associated with

achieving a successful outcome. The Master Plan

Tutorial Power Point™ series Ten lessons, each

representing one of the ten “Issues” from the Master

Plan. These applied examples of the 10 governing

principles, complete with notes, can be presented for

workshops in their entirety or as individual areas of

focus.

2. The MnDOT Plant Selector on-line tool.

Thoughtful and the most comprehensive tool of its

kind , allowing users to easily narrow search queries

by region, species and any number of environmental

factors unique to Minnesota’s roadsides. Used and

improved for more than 15 years!

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The Road To A Thoughtful Street Tree Master

Plan &

The Minnesota Department of Transportation

(MnDOT) Plant Selector On-Line

Practical, Labor and Cost Saving Information for Tree

Care Practitioners

Resources for the landscape architect, planner,

city engineer, arborist, tree care specialist, park and

recreation director… any professional who holds

responsibility for the placement and maintenance of

public trees.

The Master Plan and the Plant Selector Will Guide You

Through:

Planting in spaces that accommodate healthy trees.

Matching tree species to locations with size restrictions.

Planting of trees for longevity. Only at maturity do

trees realize their full environmental potential.

Developing a planting arrangement that enhances traffic

flow and guides pedestrian and motorist behavior.

Your Green Assets

Whether your community is newly developed, expanding,

or in the process of renewal, trees are an important part of

its infrastructure. Your community’s urban forest helps

define the character of your community, one that is green,

safe and business-friendly.

In particular, trees that line the entrance to your commu-

nity guide traffic and views through the residential and

commercial areas and shade and buffer pedestrians from the

hot sun or winter winds.

Thoughtful Planning or Brown Liabilities?

Misguided tree species selection, placement and arrange-

ment all too often lead to short-lived trees, damaged infra-

structure and strained maintenance budgets. The majority

of these problems can be avoided or turned-around with

some guidance and a better understanding of the potential

that trees offer to your community.

The Road to a Thoughtful Street Tree Master Plan

guides you through the ten most common “issues” that ei-

ther “make or break” a street tree master plan. The Master

Plan was written as a pragmatic primer that enables the

user to avoid common design and tree selection issues

through a series of thoughtful sequential steps. Time in-

vested with the Master Plan, will be exponentially returned

by the economic and aesthetic benefits your community

will realize.

The Master Plan Tutorial

Power Point™ Series

Includes Ten lessons, each representing one of the ten

“Issues” from the Master Plan. The lessons are not verbatim

chapters from the Master Plan; rather, applied examples of

the 10 governing principles. Complete with notes, the les-

sons can be presented for workshops in their entirety or as

individual areas of focus.

The MnDOT Plant Selector

On-line Tool

Thoughtful and the most comprehensive tool of its kind ,

allowing users to easily narrow search queries by region,

species and any number of environmental factors unique to

Minnesota’s roadsides. Used and improved since 1995!

“The Road to a Thoughtful

Street Tree Master Plan”

The Complete 93 Page

Viewable/Printable PDF

available free of charge

@

http://bit.ly/odKfFH

http://dotapp7.dot.state.mn.us/plant/

This Resource made available

@

The Reality of Poor Street Tree Designs:

A Stretched Labor Force and a Stretched Budget!

Public tree life spans average 10-30 years. versus their

potential for 80-250 years.

Utility line conflicts and increased pruning schedules

shorten life spans and strain budgets.

Catastrophic tree losses due to diseases, invasive insects,

wind-loading events are becoming too common.

However, a thoughtful, pragmatic and utilitarian design proc-

ess can minimize those problems and create a more functional

and visually-pleasing streetscape.

Good Choices Bad Choices

The MnDOT Plant Selector

Both The Road to a Thoughtful Street Tree Master Plan and the

MnDOT Plant Selector were designed, developed and written by

experienced landscape architects and urban forestry professionals

from the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of

Transportation and regional Parks and Recreation Departments.

These are not generic resources with their names changed! These

tools were developed specifically for Minnesota with the singular

goal of creating more effective and economical streetscapes.

Funding for the Production of

The Road to a Thoughtful Street Tree Master Plan and

Master Plan Tutorial Power Point™ lesson series provided by:

The Minnesota Local Road Research Board

The U.S.D.A. Forest Service – Northeastern Area

The University of Minnesota,

Department of Forest Resources

Photos: Dave Hanson, Gary Johnson, Chad Giblin, MnDOT

All Design Elements 2011 Sean A. Peterson