Sept 15 2026 Riley Smith, a Report on Ely’s City Trees

Hi folks

This month Ely Climate Group will meet on Tuesday September 15^th at 4pm at the Ely Community Center (27 S 1^st Ave East, Ely MN). Riley Smith from Ely’s Tree Board and Community Coordinator at Friends of the Boundary Waters will talk about Ely’s trees. A new (2026) survey of our city trees was presented to the city council recently by the Tree Board. A lot of careful work was involved with data collection and analysis. The report is available on the Tree Board website. Search for “Ely Tree Board” and look for the pdf at the bottom of the page. Riley will explain the data and implications.

There is a lot of work and planning needed to maintain a healthy and diverse population of trees in a city. For example we need to deal with the emerald ash borer which is expected to arrive here in the next few years. Ash trees make up about 8% of Ely’s trees, but some blocks are mostly ash.  New trees must be planted each year to make up for those that die due to natural causes like climate, diseases and aging, or to loss from interference with city functions. Maintaining a healthy canopy creates a more livable environment but needs an investment of time, effort and funds.

As usual we will meet in person and by zoom, here is the zoom link:

Topic: Ely Climate Group Sept 15th 2026

Time: Sep 15, 2026 04:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89564672565?pwd=sEzbuDo80o6DhKXipp040o6yDjYwK8.1

Meeting ID: 895 6467 2565

Passcode: 373021

Last month we had a lively discussion about Ely’s response to help residents and evacuees from the July fires. We had three speakers. Megan Wind represented Ely Community Response Team (ECRT), Bret Pence spoke for Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light (MNIPL) with his experience developing “Resilience Hubs”, and Aaron Kania, candidate for MN House seat 3A, talked about community organizing in the face of fires. Thank you to our presenters.  A recording of this meeting is available on the Ely Climate Group YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6hoIaPpo4w&t=3743s

Finally here is another resource with emphasis on local trees. Sam Reed, who is the Climate and Conservation Manager from Friends of the Boundary Waters, has started a new Substack called “Boreal Compass”. The first post is written by Sam Reed and Lee Frehlich. It discusses the effects of climate on northern ecosystems, especially the Boundary Waters. It is short, readable and excellently done. You can find it here and subscribe for future postings. https://borealcompass.substack.com/

Thanks for all your help and interest, hoping to see you Tuesday September 15^th

Barb

B2jonesmn@gmail.com