2010 Annual Training Conference: Life in the Trees

Online Registration will close on Tuesday September 21st at noon!

Once registration closes you may register on site for an added $30.

Welcome to Tacoma for the 31st Annual Training Conference of the Pacific Northwest ISA.  We have a great program lined up for you, and a wonderful conference location.  Tacoma has been maturing since the last time we hosted the PNW conference: still a city of parks, and a gateway to both Mount Rainier and the Olympic Peninsula, we are now also home to many restaurants, galleries and museums.  Our conference hotel, the Murano, employs union staff and is rated one of the best hotels in the country, with original art on each floor.  Enjoy the Tree Climbing Championship in Wright Park and field day at 600-acre Point Defiance Park developed in the 19th century with many State Champion trees.  See our Google Maps page for more information.  The indoor program will be in the convention center, a large and bright venue just a block from Hotel Murano.  

We’re going green! This year’s conference focus is on supporting arborists as stewards of the environment, so please join us in trying to minimize its environmental impacts.  We will be avoiding disposable products and promoting recycling and composting during the events.  How are we going green you might ask? Here are a few of the ways we are doing so:

• Our logowear is printed on recycled blends (hoodies and t-shirts)
• All printed materials are on 100% recycled paper with soy inks (with reduced printed materials-you conference book will have pages for your notes)
• Box lunches on Field Day will be without their boxes! They will be served on trays (reducing packaging) and water will be provided in large coolers
• Recycling (and we are working on composting) will be available for the entire conference.
• Shuttle buses will be provided for transportation from Hotel Murano and Point Defiance on Field Day (please take advantage of this as parking is limited)

Please note as well that there is no smoking allowed in Tacoma public parks anymore. Folks will need to plan ahead for the two days in parks if they want to smoke!

Registration Rates

The following early registration rates are available to members and non-members if payment is received by September 4, 2010. After September 4, registration rates will increase by $30.

Conference Locations and Points of Interest

We have a website devoted to the conference.  Click here to see points of interest, locations for events, and local tree information.

Conference Hotel

Our host hotel is the beautiful Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma. A room block has been reserved from 

Saturday, September 25 to Wednesday, September 29. To secure the conference rates below, reservations must be made by September 4, 2010, and you must specify “Pacific Northwest International Society of Arboriculture Conference” when making your reservation.

Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma, WA 98402

Room Rates

Standard single or double room:  $118 + tax
Various suites are available for $209 - $469

To make your reservation, call the Hotel Murano at 888-862-3255.

2010 Conference Committee

• Kathy Sutalo - Chair
• Ramie Pierce – Logistics & Publicity
• Chris Watson - General Program
• Hal Porter - Utilities Program
• Zeb Haney - Field Day
• Scott Baker - Trade show
• Micki McNaughton – Volunteers (if you’re interested in volunteering , please contact Micki at 360-705-0372 or mmcnaughton@pnwisa.org

Conference CEU Breakdown

• Tree Climbing Competition - 3.0 
• Tree Academy - 3.75 
• Field Day - 5.0 
• Tuesday AM - Commercial/Municipal: 3.5 
• Tuesday AM - Utility: 3.5 
• Tuesday PM - Commercial/Municipal: 3.5
• Tuesday PM - Utility: 4.0 
• Wednesday AM - 3.0

PNW ISA 2010 Annual Training Conference Schedule

For detailed Speaker Biographies Click Here

Pre-Conference Events Sunday, September 26

Tree Academy (3.75 CEUs) - Veteran Trees Management with Neville Fay 1-5 PM at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center

A program for those ready to move beyond the management of vigorous, healthy trees and learn about respectful care of old and declining trees that may have habitat, historic, aesthetic and other values. Arborists need to understand these values, as well as tree-related hazards, to appropriately advise clients and preserve valuable trees in the urban environment. Neville Fay, managing director and principal consultant at Treework Environmental Practice in England, initiated the UK seminar series Innovations in Arboriculture and lectures and publishes widely on veteran trees, arboriculture and techniques for managing hazard and habitat.

Tree Climbing Competition at Wright Park

Join the competition, learn new techniques, or just cheer on your fellow Chapter members.

ISA Certified Arborist Exam - 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center

Certification exams will be offered, and registration occurs through ISA, not the chapter. Check the ISA web page for more information about registration.

Conference Monday, September 27

Field Day at Point Defiance Park (5 CEUs) - 9am to 4pm - Buses will leave the Hotel Murano for the field day site beginning at 8am

Each presentation lasts 50 minutes, and will be repeated three times during the day.

• Mark Chisholm Crane Operation
• Bruce Smith Climbing and Aerial Work Technique Update
• Arthur Lee Jacobson Pt. Defiance Tree Tour, including 28 state champions
• Brenda Callan Pacific Northwest Fungi
• Linda Chalker-Scott Mulching and its Effects
• Neville Fay Specialist Tree Survey Method
• Chris Maser Urban Wildlife Habitat
• Paul Cunningham Wilderness and Treetop First Aid Emergency Response
• Sanders Freed/Greg Falxa Snags, Cavities and Wildlife
• Tacoma Public Utilities Bucket Truck Rescue
• Vendor Equipment Demonstrations
• Old Growth Canopy Tour/Climb for $30 - SIGNUP HERE

5:30-7:30pm -  Welcome Reception and silent auction at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center

Conference Tuesday, September 28

Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center

7:00 Breakfast with Exhibitors

Morning Keynote (1.5 CEUs):

8:00 Nalini Nadkarni - "The Tapestry of Trees in the Pacific Northwest: Perspectives from a Treetop Biologist"

9:30 Break with Exhibitors

Commercial/Municipal Session (3.5 CEUs):

10:00 Mark Chisholm - "Cranes and Modern Arboriculture"

11:00 Brenda Callan - "Fungi as Arborists"

12:00 Lunch

12:30 Linda Chalker-Scott - "Landscape mulches: the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly"

1:30 Break with Exhibitors

2:00 Afternoon Keynote: Paul Stamets – "Exploring Medicinal Mushrooms from the Forests"

3:15 Break with Exhibitors

3:45 Chris Maser – “The Design Interface Between Everyforest and Everycity”

5:00 Session ends

Utility Session (4 CEUs):

10:00  Tim Ross, Tacoma Public Utilities – “Tacoma Power’s Heritage”

10:30  Beth Rogers, Puget Sound Energy – “Storm Hardening of the PSE Electric Transmission System”

11:00  Cameron Shankland, GeoDigital International, Inc. – "Innovative Vegetation Inspection Techniques" 

11:30  Brian Cramer, Benton County PUD – “Transformation of a Vegetation Management Program”

12:00  Lunch

12:30  Afternoon Keynote: Derek Vannice, Utility Arborist Association – “Standards and their Effects on the Utility Vegetation Management Profession”

1:30  Brian Fisher, BC Hydro – “Triple Bottom Line”

2:15  Steve Narolski, Bonneville Power Administration - “Vegetation Inspection Techniques Utilized by BPA”

2:45  Ian Scott, Davey Resource Group - “UVM Strategies and Tactics for Improving Reliability”

3:15  Break with Exhibitors

3:45  Ramie Pierce/Hal Porter - Partnership Power: Utilities and Municipalities Working Together

4:30  Derek Vannice, Utility Arborist Association – “UAA Update”

5:00  Session ends Evening Banquet

6:00 Auction

7:00 Banquet

Conference Wednesday, September 29,

Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center

General Session (3 CEUs):

7:00 Breakfast with Exhibitors

7:30 Annual General Meeting

8:30 Sarah Reichard – "Invasive Plants and Pests: What Arborists Should Know"

9:30 Break with Exhibitors

10:00 Brian French/Will Koomjian - "Ascending the Giants:

11:00 Neville Fay – “Managing Veteran Trees”

12:00 Conference Ends

We believe this will be one of the best PNW conferences ever.  Don’t miss out!

Certification exams will be offered, and registration occurs through ISA, not the chapter. Check the ISA web page for more information about registration.