Have you ever leaned against a tree in Fassbinder Park and watched the clouds go by? Or driven down East Third Avenue and admired the trees in the median? Perhaps you’ve visited a relatively new subdivision, such as SkyRidge, and seen young trees that one day should give that neighborhood a canopy.
One man has led the effort to increase Durango’s community forest during the past 30 years. That man, Durango’s first city arborist, Ron Stoner, retired Friday.
“He has been the go-to person for anything tree-related for so long,” said Peter Schertz, co-owner of Maria’s Bookshop and an admitted lifelong tree fan. “Whether you needed technical advice or help to get a tree project going, he was always willing to assist any way he could.”
Stoner started Feb. 4, 1984, just four years after then city manager Bob Ledger and Parks and Recreation Director Richard Roskowinski decided the city needed to take responsibility for the trees in the city’s greenbelts and rights of way.
“A lot of trees were damaged then” Stoner said. “It was a time when a lot of urban forests were damaged, with topping and what people considered ‘proper’ pruning techniques. They (the city) wanted to set an example for the community: ‘This is how it should be done.’”
Stoner earned a bachelor’s degree in plants, soils and forestry from Colorado Mountain College and also has International Society of Arboriculture certification, the highest level in his profession. He worked for eight years with the U.S. Forest Service before taking the job in Durango.
“It was a big transition and a huge learning curve,” he said. “The forest, naturally, is all native species, but the city’s forest is about 90 percent non-native. Early pioneers brought trees from the East, the Midwest and even the West Coast.”
During his tenure, the city’s tree inventory has grown from about 2,000 to almost 8,700. They’re a valuable community asset, with an estimated worth of about $20 million, said Cathy Metz, the city’s director of Parks and Recreation.
“He’s been a tree ambassador,” she said. “He could see the value of trees to Durango. He wants to preserve trees for health and longevity.”
Trees aren’t just a beautiful addition to our landscape, Stoner said.
“Thirty years ago, we didn’t have the technology to evaluate the benefits of trees,” he said. “They store carbon, clean oxygen, provide cooling shade in the summer and serve as wind breaks to preserve heat in the winter. Trees help with storm water mitigation and store millions of gallons of water in the canopy.”
Stoner arrived to find the American elms planted along the median on East Third Avenue under siege.
“European elm scale and aphids were attacking them, with the scale sucking the juice out of the roots, and the aphids sucking the juice out of the leaves, and they had also been topped and severely damaged,” he said. “They were reeling from improper pruning.”
Stoner said he took advantage of research about root-zone systemics that treat the whole tree.
“We’ve been doing it for 20 years and have really turned around the American elm population,” he said. “They’re growing and thriving now, vibrant and healthy. We are constantly monitoring the trees all over town and are continuing to treat trees every year.”
Among Stoner’s other accomplishments:
Led the efforts to keep Durango’s designation as a Tree City USA. This will be Durango’s 35th year, and only Alamosa, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs have held the designation longer in the state. A city is required to spend $3 per resident annually to achieve that designation, he said. In Durango’s case, that would be $3 multiplied by 17,500, or about $53,000, but with a three-man department working year-round, the city spends five times that. Durango also has achieved the Arbor Day Foundation’s Growth Award for 25 years running, given for celebrating Arbor Day and other tree-related activities.
Helped start the Peter Carver Memorial Forest by writing a grant to get seed money to plant the first five mature trees. The forest was established Carver’s after the 23-year-old was killed in an avalanche two years ago.
“He brought in truckloads of mulch, loaned us a water tank, helped stake it,” said Paul Wilbert, who’s leading the project. Sixty trees were planted in 2014, with another 75 planned for the next two years.
Created a comprehensive Community Forestry Management Plan.
“That’s a real legacy,” Metz said. “The city was developing its Land Use Development Code at the time, and they were able to fold that right in.”
Led a 10-year effort to remove noxious and invasive trees and plants, particularly Russian olive and tamarisk. In collaboration with the Southwest Youth Conservation Corps, Stoner not only organized work along public Animas River frontage areas, but also extended the help to owners of privately held frontage areas.
“They’re incredibly tenacious,” Stoner said. “I want to keep the Animas River a beautiful, native river corridor.”
Created a tree cost-share program that has led to a significant portion of the increase in the urban forest. Homeowners agree to pay half the cost of a tree and provide consistent watering. The city pays the other half, picks the tree up, plants it and provides ongoing maintenance.
Stoner is not walking away from his passion for trees. He is looking at creating a part-time business to perform tree risk-assessment analysis with older trees and volunteering in the continuous fight against invasive trees. He is also planning to catch up on skiing, mountain biking and hiking, as well as traveling the Southwest with his wife.
But every stroll down every street will remind him of his enduring impact on Durango.
“The community forest is the backdrop to the beauty of Durango,” Schertz said. “Ron’s been working his magic within that backdrop. He’s a humble man who made the quality of this town quite a bit better.”
abutler@durangoherald.comThis story has been revised to reflect Richard Roskowinski’s correct first name.
Urban Forest Planting Program (PDF)
Be kind to your trees
Ron Stoner spent 30 years expanding and caring for the community forest. He recommends simple things anyone can do to help their trees thrive:
Prune only in the winter or the middle of summer. “In the spring, they’re trying to put on leaves, which takes a lot of energy. We don’t want to shift that energy to healing. And in the fall, they’re trying to lose their canopy and store energy for the winter,” he said.
Create a consistent watering plan. Our climate is tough on trees, Stoner said. While young trees may need more frequent watering, even older trees should get at least one deep-root watering per month, particularly during a drought like this.
Plant diverse trees, not all one species, which will minimize how much damage insects or disease, which tend to be species-specific, can do. A list of the shrub and tree species Stoner has selected for the city and tips about maintenance are available at http://www.durangogov.org/index.aspx?NID=560.
