The Traverse City Approved Trees And Shrubs List

I heard from a Commissioner that Traverse City had an "approved trees list" on the City web site.

I think I finally found it in a 2009 appendix to zoning map changes.

Source: http://www.ci.traverse-city.mi.us/zoningord/zoning.pdf

The following text comes from the source PDF except I have changed to formatting to make it easier to read which includes taking out the scientific names:

The following is a partial list of plant materials which is preferred to exotic plants when the location is visible from public rights-of-way or adjacent to areas of natural vegetation. This list is not necessarily a guideline for interior courtyards and single family residential development.

WET TO MEDIUM MOISTURE SITES:
LARGE TREES:
Balsam Fir
Red Maple
Sugar Maple
BlackAsh
Larch
Black Spruce
White Pine
Black Cherry
Black Willow
Basswood

SMALL TREES:
Serviceberry
Sweet Birch
River Birch
Alternate-Leaved Dogwood
White Cedar


LARGE SHRUBS:
Red Chokeberry
Buttonbush
Gray Dogwood
Redosier Dogwood
Common Witchhazel
Michigan Holly
American Elderberry
Highbush Blueberry
Arrowwood
Nannyberry
American Cranberry Bush

SMALL SHRUBS:
Common Juniper
Bush Cinquefoil
Canada Yew

DRY, SANDY SITES:
LARGE TREES:
Balsam Fir
Sugar Maple
American Beech
White Ash
Red Pine
White Oak
Red Oak

SMALL TREES:
Serviceberry
Cockspur Hawthorn
Downey Hawthorn
Dotted Hawthorn
Green Hawthorn
Eastern Red Cedar
Prairie Crab
Red Mulberry
Ironwood
Pin Cherry
Choke Cherry
Carolina Buckthorn
Mountain Ash
Nannyberry

LARGE SHRUBS:
American Filbert
Common Witchhazel
Michigan Holly
SmoothSumac

SMALL SHRUBS:
New Jersey Tea.
Bush Honeysuckle
Blackberry

Appreciating Juglandaceae

There are black walnut trees all over downtown Traverse City neighborhoods. This tree does not appear to be native according to the US Forest Service: Juglans nigra L.


-Native range of black walnut

but it sure has naturalized itself wonderfully.

I've often thought about collecting these walnuts but was never sure about how they compared to the English variety you get in the store.

Supposedly they are wonderful as Hank from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook discusses at TheAtlantic: Black Gold: The Pleasures of a Hard-to-Crack Nut

Looks like I have a foraging project for next Fall!

Michigan Forests Have the Second Greatest Carbon Density In The Lower 48?

TreeHugger.com - Trees In USA Hold Equivalent of 20 Years Worth Of Carbon Emissions

Could Amber Be The New Green For Farmers?

The CS Monitor reports maple sugarers are having a great year - Economic sweet spot: making maple syrup

Mr. Marsh says sugarmakers won't meet demand for the product, which has skyrocketed domestically and internationally, especially in Asia and Russia. "We're growing the market. Now we just need to grow production," he says.

Partly because of maple syrup's low-fat content and partly because of organic food's popularity, sugarmakers have been able to find new outlets beyond the familiar gallon jugs and plastic squeeze bottles found on store shelves. Dufresne sells syrup to several granola companies, a brewery, and breadmakers, all organizations that weren't interested in his crop five years ago.

"It's part of the interest in sustainable projects and it's good for carbon sequestering" because the trees are not cut down, says Marcia Maynard, a Cabot, Vt., organic sugarmaker, adding that her production is down this year but she believes it can rebound.

I love maple syrup on oatmeal in the morning and on vanilla ice cream in the evening. Want to produce your own maple syrup? (in Traverse City some people tap the maple trees along the sidewalk). MSU Extension has a guide: Homemade Maple Syrup