What does this mean?

• Community maintenance pruning applies pruning to a community forest on a rational basis.  It relies on a rotation program built on management units and pruning cycles.

• Maintenance pruning implies ongoing and routine pruning to clean, thin, raise, restore, or reduce tree crowns, as well as remove or reduce hazards.
• Management units are discrete sections of the community that contain a certain number and type of trees.
• Pruning cycles are the number of years between sytematic prunings of a management unit.

• Rotational maintenance pruning is

• safer, because sporadically maintained trees are more damaged by storms and tend to fail unexpectedly more often
• easier and less costly, because crews are concentrated in one area at one time, and make scheduled visits during regular hours
• more legally defensible, because of the "prudent responsibility" shown by such a method.

• Many communities carry out annual pruning by relying on some combination of request pruning (from concerned citizens) and crisis pruning (from immediate needs).
• But, request pruning is highly unreliable and usually insufficient (since citizens do not always look, and are not professionals).
• And crisis pruning is the least efficient method, because much of crew time is spent in travel and set up.

• First, look at the geography of your community.  Natural units are often suggested by rivers, roads, etc.
• Sometimes, management units have already been established in the community for trash pickup, leaf or snow removal, road repair, etc.
• Then, calculate

• how many trees are in each of those units (use inventory or windshield survey), and
• how many trees you can prune in a given cycle.

• If necessary, break up the logical units into smaller units to equalize the load on work and budget.
• Number the units (and subunits, if they exist).  This determines the order of units to be pruned.
• Choose one management unit as the place to begin.  Your choice may be due to tree condition, unit location or importance, etc.
• Get some help from an arborist or forester experienced in municipal pruning questions.

• Pruning cycles vary with average tree age, species, condition, as well as local climate.
• In the northeast US, a 5-year cycle for most trees has been shown to be a reasonable goal.
• For young trees, and any others (like crabapples or declining trees) that need more frequent attention, a 3-year cycle often works best.

• Politics: The shift to maintenance pruning may demand some serious politics, since initial pruning costs often go up.  In the long run, you can expect savings of 50% or more on annual pruning budgets.
• Specifications: Put good pruning specifications in place, starting with the ANSI A300 standards.  And set up an inspection system, getting training  if you need it in recognizing poor work.
• Contracts: Decide whether you will be contracting out all or part of the pruning, and begin to sollicit bids for the work.
• Communication: Make sure you publicize and explain your changes in pruning policy, both to local officials and the entire community.