News
Arbor Day observed in Bottineau
Scott Wagar
06/11/2013
Although it was a rainy, cold, windy day during Bottineau’s annual Arbor Day celebration on June 4, it was a sincere and special day where memorial trees were planted in memory of loved ones and the city of Bottineau was honored by the North Dakota Forest Service for being a member of Tree City USA for 25 years.
Penny Nostdahl, city auditor of Bottineau, gave the opening remarks and keynote speech for the Arbor Day event where she spoke on Tree City USA and the city’s origin on its Memorial Tree program.
“Welcome to Arbor Day. In order for the city to obtain Tree City USA status we have to meet certain requirements and one of them is to hold an annual Arbor Day Celebration. This is our 25th anniversary of Tree City USA,” Nostdahl said. “In 2004 the city and park district started a memorial trees program. For a fee of $75 you can purchase a tree and plaque in memory of a loved one or a special event. After today we will have planted 27 memorial trees at Forestry Park.”
During the event, Memorial Trees were planted in memory of Bevdi (Anderson) Swanson, Toni (Anderson) Doughtery, Trevor Beyer and Zach Reinoehl.
Wayne Miller, Bottineau’s city forester; Bruce Miller of Soil Conservation; Kari Beckman of Soil Conservation and a member of Bottineau’s Shade Tree committee and Joel Nichols of the North Dakota Forest Service planted the Memorial Trees with assistance at times from family members who remembered their loved ones through the memorial trees.
One of those individuals was Clint Reinoehl, who received a memorial tree as a gift from Fred and Lisa Kainz. The tree was given to Reinoehl in remembrance of his son, Zachary, who lost his life in 2012 in an accident.
Reinoehl felt it was the perfect gift for him and his son.
“The tree was probably one of the nicest gifts ever received and means so much. It’s a permanent living memorial that will continue to grow and be enjoyed for generations to come. The dedication and the plaque are such a nice reminder of who he was. This tree will be visited often and I look forward to watching it grow,” Reinoehl said. “Zack’s nieces and nephews will be able to enjoy it and their kids and so on. I picked a cottonless cottonwood as it will be one of the larger trees in the park someday, which is like Zack, very large and strong. The location is also very appropriate as Zack spent a lot of time in that park as well. I eat lunch there all the time. It’s such a beautiful, peaceful place.”
Once the trees were planted, the North Dakota Forest Service, in association with Soil Conservation in Bottineau and the Bottineau County Agent Office under the direction of James Kapp, gave two presentations at the Bottineau Community Arena on planting and pruning trees and brushes.
The two symposiums conducted by Nichols granted guests at the lectures on the proper way to plant trees and prune them, tools which should be utilized in the process and safety precautions which should be taken when conducting these procedures.