Maintaining the health and vitality of Washington's urban and community forests is a serious issue.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports that nearly 13 percent of forests' potential annual growth is lost each year to diseases.

"The Washington Community Forestry Council met last week for a regular business meeting at the WSU Prosser Research and Extension Center to work on communication strategies and outreach programs for the state," said Sarah Griffith, program manager for Urban and Community Forestry Resource Protective Division.

The 20-member council is made up of representatives from private, city, county, professional, state, highway, non-profit, and environmental organizations all working together.

The advisory committee, funded by the United States Forestry Service, holds six meetings annually in different locations around Washington so citizens have the opportunity to participate in the efforts and learn about the urban forestry grants program.

The purpose of the group is to educate citizens and decision-makers about the economic, environmental, psychological, and aesthetic benefits of trees and to assist local governments, citizen groups and volunteers in planting and sustaining the health of trees and vegetation wherever people live and work throughout Washington State.

"We recognize the importance of trees in the community." said Committee Chair Kelly Punteney.

The meeting, lasting nearly six hours, included a meeting break to plant two trees in Prosser.

The Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council and the Washington Community Forestry Council joined in planting a Sweet Gum tree at the Mid-Columbia Library located on Seventh Street and another tree, an Austrian Pine, at Crawford River View Park.

County Commissioner and Prosser resident Max Benitz donated one of the trees, and the Mid-Columbia Council donated the other.

During the planting of the trees, both volunteers and council members discussed new information recently studied about proper tree planting procedures.

Jim Flott of the Spokane Parks Department and member on the council discussed common planting practices and how planting incorrectly can significantly affect the life span of a tree.

"In an urban environment trees are inherently stressed out," Flott said.

Current research is showing that many of the problems urban, suburban or rural trees exhibit can be traced back to the day they were planted, Flott said.

"We are finding that the current requirements for planting a ball or burlap wrapped tree is not necessarily good for the tree," Flott said. "Here in Spokane I have seen trees that have been planted two to 12 inches too deep."

Due to current production practices, commercial and private nurseries often receive trees buried beneath the main root system, creating a hostile environment for the tree right off the bat.

Common recommendations have been to plant the tree at root level, this means planting the tree at the base of the burlap where it meets the tree, Flott said.

However, this is not always true the right way. Many times the root system or "root flare," where all the roots originate, are found much deeper in the soil.

"The old rule of planting at ball depth is killing trees." Flott told council members.

Tree roots require oxygen in order to grow successfully, Flott said.

"As you go deeper and deeper into the soil you lose this oxygen and trees cannot carry on a normal development." he said.

It may take years before the symptoms are visibly noticeable, Flott said. Many trees become stressed and weakened over time becoming vulnerable to secondary problems such as reduction in canopy size, pest and disease.

According to Flott, those in the industry work to treat these secondary problems that could have been avoided in the first place.

A tree's life span can be significantly reduced due to how they are planted, causing them to decline prematurely, Flott said.

Matt Warner, a Take Pride in America volunteer from Wenatchee said, "It is fantastic to see this new technology, To see a tree live for only 30 years is horrible when they should live much longer."

Warner's organization was responsible for the planting of nearly 200,000 trees in Central Washington last year.

The advisory committee encourages participation in the Urban Forestry Grant Program. Communities are eligible for up to $10,000 in order to promote forestry growth.