69th ANNUAL SHADE TREE CONFERENCE
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January 15-17, 2025
Online registration coming soon! Event Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 410 S 3rd St, Manhattan KS Reservations: via location website - Group ID: Ksarborist2025 or call 785-532-9116 with Group Code: 90 O Make reservations by December 20 for group rate of $111/night PDFs: 2025 Conference Schedule Registration Form |
2025 Conference Schedule
Registration opens 30 minutes prior to the first session each day.
Wednesday, January 15 – ADVANCED ARBORISTS TRAINING WORKSHOP
8:00 Federally-Protected Wildlife in Kansas – Michele McNulty
9:15 Break
9:30 State-Protected Wildlife in Kansas – Zack Cordes
10:45 Break
11:00 Introduction to Arborists and Wildlife Habitat – Brian French
12:00 Lunch – Provided
1:00 Impacts of the invasive emerald ash borer on tree physiology and forest ecosystem dynamics: Opportunities for mitigation – Charlie Flower
2:00 Break
2:15 Breeding for host resistance to invasive pests with a focus on EAB – Dave Carey
3:30 Break
3:45 Crane Operation – Will Branch
5:00 Social with Exhibitors – Includes complimentary drinks and appetizers
Thursday, January 16 – SHADE TREE CONFERENCE
8:00 Welcome – Levi Parkin, President KAA
8:15 Options for Invasive Plant Management in Urban and Municipal Settings – Matt Arndt
9:15 Introduction of Exhibitors
9:30 Legislative Approach to Invasive Plant Control – Matt Arndt
10:30 Break
10:45 Right Gear, Right Style – Travis Vickerson
11:45 Lunch – on your own
1:00 KAA Arborist Certification Process & Code of Ethics
1:45 Kansas Arborists Association Business Meeting
2:30 Climbing Giant Trees & Their Cultural Significance – Brian French
3:30 Break
3:45 Urban Wood Utilization – Tim O'Neill & Dave Bruton
5:00 Social with Exhibitors – Cash Bar
6:30 KAA Banquet
Friday, January 17 – SHADE TREE CONFERENCE
8:30 Plant Health Care Panel – Presentations (15 min each)
9:30 Plant Health Care Panel Discussion
10:30 Break
10:45 Branching Out: Integrating AI into Arboriculture & Urban Forestry – Jacob McMains
11:45 Lunch – on your own
1:00 Aerial Rescue; Working with First Responders – Travis Vickerson
2:00 Pesticide Regulations – Kansas Department of Agriculture
(CEU for Kansas Commercial Pesticide Applicator Licensees – 1 core hour)
3:00 Closing Remarks/Adjourn
ISA CEUs will be available and announced during the sessions
Registration opens 30 minutes prior to the first session each day.
Wednesday, January 15 – ADVANCED ARBORISTS TRAINING WORKSHOP
8:00 Federally-Protected Wildlife in Kansas – Michele McNulty
9:15 Break
9:30 State-Protected Wildlife in Kansas – Zack Cordes
10:45 Break
11:00 Introduction to Arborists and Wildlife Habitat – Brian French
12:00 Lunch – Provided
1:00 Impacts of the invasive emerald ash borer on tree physiology and forest ecosystem dynamics: Opportunities for mitigation – Charlie Flower
2:00 Break
2:15 Breeding for host resistance to invasive pests with a focus on EAB – Dave Carey
3:30 Break
3:45 Crane Operation – Will Branch
5:00 Social with Exhibitors – Includes complimentary drinks and appetizers
Thursday, January 16 – SHADE TREE CONFERENCE
8:00 Welcome – Levi Parkin, President KAA
8:15 Options for Invasive Plant Management in Urban and Municipal Settings – Matt Arndt
9:15 Introduction of Exhibitors
9:30 Legislative Approach to Invasive Plant Control – Matt Arndt
10:30 Break
10:45 Right Gear, Right Style – Travis Vickerson
11:45 Lunch – on your own
1:00 KAA Arborist Certification Process & Code of Ethics
1:45 Kansas Arborists Association Business Meeting
2:30 Climbing Giant Trees & Their Cultural Significance – Brian French
3:30 Break
3:45 Urban Wood Utilization – Tim O'Neill & Dave Bruton
5:00 Social with Exhibitors – Cash Bar
6:30 KAA Banquet
Friday, January 17 – SHADE TREE CONFERENCE
8:30 Plant Health Care Panel – Presentations (15 min each)
9:30 Plant Health Care Panel Discussion
10:30 Break
10:45 Branching Out: Integrating AI into Arboriculture & Urban Forestry – Jacob McMains
11:45 Lunch – on your own
1:00 Aerial Rescue; Working with First Responders – Travis Vickerson
2:00 Pesticide Regulations – Kansas Department of Agriculture
(CEU for Kansas Commercial Pesticide Applicator Licensees – 1 core hour)
3:00 Closing Remarks/Adjourn
ISA CEUs will be available and announced during the sessions
2025 Conference Speakers
Brian French is the principal at Arboriculture International. He is a skilled climber with a broad range of arboriculture-related experience and certifications including Certified Arborist, Certified Tree Worker, Qualified Tree Risk Assessor, and Consulting Arborist. Brian’s work spans more than 24 years in Oregon and abroad. He is dedicated to seeking and contributing to cutting-edge research in arboriculture to improve the understanding of trees and safer work practices for arborists worldwide. Brian is also interested in wildlife tree retention and habitat programs. He serves as coordinator for the Oregon Champion Tree Registry and Portland Heritage Tree Program, with focus on the preservation of significant and historic trees, flora, and fauna.
Charlie Flower is a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service. His research focuses on the physiological responses of plants and ecosystems to biotic and abiotic stressors, in an effort to understand environmental patterns and fundamentals of ecosystem function. Greater understanding of responses at plant and forest levels may help forest managers mitigate stressors and better maintain healthy and resilient forests. Charlie’s current research includes: 1) elm tree responses to Dutch elm disease and elm yellows, 2) tree and forest-level responses to the invasive emerald ash borer, and 3) forest (urban and rural) restoration of degraded landscapes.
Dave Bruton is the Utilization and Marketing Forester for the Kansas Forest Service. He began his career with the Kansas Forest Service in 1992 as the Northeast District Forester. He has served as the Utilization & Marketing Forester twice, from 2000-2009 and 2016-present.
Dave Carey is a Tree Improvement Specialist with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. His technical expertise in tree research ranges from grafting, cell culture, and micro-propagation to DNA marker analysis including construction of genetic linkage maps of American Beech. His research focus is on host resistance to invasive pests and pathogens and has included research on Dutch elm disease, emerald ash borer, and beech bark disease.
Jacob McMains is the area manager for the Missouri-based Davey Resource Group team. Jacob has spent over 20 years helping partners, including municipal governments, better understand, care for, and benefit from their community trees. As a Missouri native, Jacob is excited to lead a regional project team that makes tree management approachable, effective, and realistic! Jacob is an ISA Certified Arborist and previously served as a forester for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Matt Arndt is a Consulting Forester and Arborist. He owns and operates Matt’s Healthy Woods & Wildlife in Cameron, Missouri. Matt has professional certifications from the Society of American Foresters and from ISA, a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries & Wildlife from the University of Missouri (2006), and a Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems from Saint Louis University (2023). He is President of the Missouri Consulting Foresters Association since 2013, Vice-chair of the Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force, Vice President of the Missouri Native Seed Association, President of the Cameron Park Board, and member of the NRCS State Technical Committee and the Missouri Farm Bureau Forestry Advisory Committee.
Michele McNulty received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Park and Natural Resources Management from Kansas State University, 1990 and since has been a federal employee working for the US Army Corps of Engineers – Hillsdale Lake (Park Ranger), the KC District Regulatory Program (Regulatory Project Manager), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Environmental Contaminants and Fish and Wildlife Biologist).
Tim O’Neill: A lifelong woodworker Tim O’Neill started sawing urban wood in 2001. In 2005 he formed the Urban Lumber Company which gathered and sawed over 3,500 logs in the KC metro area. The Urban Lumber Co. has recycled nearly 3 million pounds of wood, and close to 400,000 board feet of lumber from the urban core, and produced a huge number of tables, counters and other products from this wood for KC area residents.
Travis Vickerson has over 20 years’ experience in Arboriculture, and is a dynamic speaker who presents from a user perspective. Travis has served in various roles within tree work from production climber to trainer, company owner to safety and business consultant.
Will Branch is a 20-year tree care industry veteran. He is a BCMA, CTSP, and NCCER certified crane operator. He has worked for All About Trees in Springfield, MO for the last 13 years as a climber & crew manager, as well as the company trainer & safety manager.
Zack Cordes is an Ecologist in the Ecological Services Division of the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks (KDWP). The Ecological Services Division focuses on nongame species conservation with an emphasis on state-listed species, and administering the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act.
Plant Health Care Panel: KAA members Skyler Delmott, Randy James, Jeff Otto, and Ryan Rastok.
Brian French is the principal at Arboriculture International. He is a skilled climber with a broad range of arboriculture-related experience and certifications including Certified Arborist, Certified Tree Worker, Qualified Tree Risk Assessor, and Consulting Arborist. Brian’s work spans more than 24 years in Oregon and abroad. He is dedicated to seeking and contributing to cutting-edge research in arboriculture to improve the understanding of trees and safer work practices for arborists worldwide. Brian is also interested in wildlife tree retention and habitat programs. He serves as coordinator for the Oregon Champion Tree Registry and Portland Heritage Tree Program, with focus on the preservation of significant and historic trees, flora, and fauna.
Charlie Flower is a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service. His research focuses on the physiological responses of plants and ecosystems to biotic and abiotic stressors, in an effort to understand environmental patterns and fundamentals of ecosystem function. Greater understanding of responses at plant and forest levels may help forest managers mitigate stressors and better maintain healthy and resilient forests. Charlie’s current research includes: 1) elm tree responses to Dutch elm disease and elm yellows, 2) tree and forest-level responses to the invasive emerald ash borer, and 3) forest (urban and rural) restoration of degraded landscapes.
Dave Bruton is the Utilization and Marketing Forester for the Kansas Forest Service. He began his career with the Kansas Forest Service in 1992 as the Northeast District Forester. He has served as the Utilization & Marketing Forester twice, from 2000-2009 and 2016-present.
Dave Carey is a Tree Improvement Specialist with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. His technical expertise in tree research ranges from grafting, cell culture, and micro-propagation to DNA marker analysis including construction of genetic linkage maps of American Beech. His research focus is on host resistance to invasive pests and pathogens and has included research on Dutch elm disease, emerald ash borer, and beech bark disease.
Jacob McMains is the area manager for the Missouri-based Davey Resource Group team. Jacob has spent over 20 years helping partners, including municipal governments, better understand, care for, and benefit from their community trees. As a Missouri native, Jacob is excited to lead a regional project team that makes tree management approachable, effective, and realistic! Jacob is an ISA Certified Arborist and previously served as a forester for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Matt Arndt is a Consulting Forester and Arborist. He owns and operates Matt’s Healthy Woods & Wildlife in Cameron, Missouri. Matt has professional certifications from the Society of American Foresters and from ISA, a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries & Wildlife from the University of Missouri (2006), and a Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems from Saint Louis University (2023). He is President of the Missouri Consulting Foresters Association since 2013, Vice-chair of the Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force, Vice President of the Missouri Native Seed Association, President of the Cameron Park Board, and member of the NRCS State Technical Committee and the Missouri Farm Bureau Forestry Advisory Committee.
Michele McNulty received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Park and Natural Resources Management from Kansas State University, 1990 and since has been a federal employee working for the US Army Corps of Engineers – Hillsdale Lake (Park Ranger), the KC District Regulatory Program (Regulatory Project Manager), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Environmental Contaminants and Fish and Wildlife Biologist).
Tim O’Neill: A lifelong woodworker Tim O’Neill started sawing urban wood in 2001. In 2005 he formed the Urban Lumber Company which gathered and sawed over 3,500 logs in the KC metro area. The Urban Lumber Co. has recycled nearly 3 million pounds of wood, and close to 400,000 board feet of lumber from the urban core, and produced a huge number of tables, counters and other products from this wood for KC area residents.
Travis Vickerson has over 20 years’ experience in Arboriculture, and is a dynamic speaker who presents from a user perspective. Travis has served in various roles within tree work from production climber to trainer, company owner to safety and business consultant.
Will Branch is a 20-year tree care industry veteran. He is a BCMA, CTSP, and NCCER certified crane operator. He has worked for All About Trees in Springfield, MO for the last 13 years as a climber & crew manager, as well as the company trainer & safety manager.
Zack Cordes is an Ecologist in the Ecological Services Division of the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks (KDWP). The Ecological Services Division focuses on nongame species conservation with an emphasis on state-listed species, and administering the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act.
Plant Health Care Panel: KAA members Skyler Delmott, Randy James, Jeff Otto, and Ryan Rastok.