History and Goals of Metria, the Metropolitan Tree Improvement Alliance

Origin

METRIA was conceived, somewhat vaguely at first, at a meeting held at The Pennsylvania State University in December 1973. The idea arose from surveys of municipal arborists and landscape nurserymen that I and my colleagues conducted in 1972 and 1973 (Long et al. 1973, Gerhold et al. 1975, Gerhold and Steiner 1976). We found widespread concern among many people who realized that urban trees were in trouble and needed help. Support from the Pinchot Institute of the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station made it possible to invite a small group of researchers and practitioners who were selected for their practical or scientific knowledge of landscape trees — their production, selection, planting, care, and related research. These founders of METRIA, joined by a few others in subsequent meetings (Exhibit 1), wanted to transform latent concern into more concerted action that would stimulate improvement of metropolitan trees. At the first meeting current practices and research were reviewed as a basis for defining critical needs, opportunities, and strategies. We agreed on the need for better trees, better information, and better cooperation.

Momentum continued at a second conference held at the U.S. National Arboretum just six months later, in June 1974. The main subjects were the formation of an organization and the planning of a symposium. Committees developed proposals for each. Initial plans for the symposium had already been made in the preceding months, and support of the sponsoring agencies had been secured. A draft of a constitution for the new organization was prepared, and the name METRIA was selected from a soupbowl-full of acronyms. Further work on the organization and the symposium occupied us during the next year.

Symposium and technical conference

The symposium “Better Trees for Metropolitan Landscapes” was held in November, 1975, at the U.S. National Arboretum. Over 200 people from 23 states and three foreign countries came to review the state of the art and science in arboriculture and tree improvement. Specialists from many disciplines and agencies presented 29 papers on principles of selecting trees for metropolitan environments; selection strategies of planners, growers, and breeders; and ways of putting improved varieties into use. The symposium and the published proceedings (Santamour et al. 1976) fulfilled two needs foreseen by the organizers of METRIA. 1) Information was assembled from several disciplines that previously had been scattered and not readily accessible; and 2), people were brought together who have related responsibilities and interests, but whose paths seldom had met.

The response to the symposium was so enthusiastic that plans were made for regular meetings of an expanded membership. The first of these was held at Lanham, Maryland in July 1976, in conjunction with the 24th Northeastern Forest Tree Improvement Conference. Fourteen papers were presented on research results and practical applications. At a brief business session a revised draft of the constitution was discussed and accepted, and the following officers were elected (Exhibit 2): Executive Director ———— Henry GerholdAssistant Director ———— Frank SantamourSecretary-Treasurer ———— Alden TownsendExecutive Council ———— Raymond Brush Frank Cech William Collins David Karnosky

Exhibit 2.

The first elected officers of METRIA:

Subsequently the constitution (Exhibit 3) was revised for the fifth time, and adopted at a business meeting in August 1977 during the 53rd Convention of the International Society of Arboriculture in Philadelphia.

Constitution

The salient features of METRIA’s constitution can be summarized briefly. The purpose of the Alliance is to provide, through education and research, opportunities for collaboration in developing better trees for metropolitan landscapes. Better trees can be developed by providing more useful information about choosing and managing trees for urban situations; by breeding improved cultivars; and by promoting the utilization of improved cultivars and better cultural techniques. Membership is open to all persons who are willing to work in the organization or otherwise support it, with no geographic restrictions. The activities of METRIA — projects, meetings, publications, and business matters — are administered by the officers and executive council. Among these are represented the interests of nurserymen, municipal arborists, highway landscaping officials, tree breeders, arboreta specialists, and related researchers. How effectively the Alliance functions, however, will depend ultimately on the contributions and energies of its entire membership.

Future activities

Looking ahead to the immediate future, we anticipate several kinds of activities. Newsletters will be sent at least annually to keep members informed of developments. Technical meetings will be held every two years, and whenever possible, these will be a part of or close to the meetings of other groups such as the International Society of Arboriculture, the Society of American Foresters, or regional Tree Improvement Conferences. Proceedings will continue to be published if it remains feasible. Workshops may be organized as needed in connection with other undertakings. A tree performance testing project is currently under development (Gerhold and Bartoe 1976), and might begin in 1978. We also want to explore possibilities for integrating soil testing and disease and insect surveys with performance testing. Another project to be investigated will select and preserve germplasm of trees that have value for breeding, via collaboration among breeders, arborists, and arboreta. Coordination among nurserymen and breeders in developing, testing, and releasing new varieties also will be considered. Promoting the use of improved cultivars and cultural techniques has both educational and legal ramifications which require further study before recommendations can be made. As these and other activities get underway, every member of METRIA will be expected to contribute to them according to his own talents.

This commitment of members to collaboration in a full range of tree improvement activities is what distinguished METRIA from related organizations. We recognize some overlap of interests with such groups as the Arboricultural Research and Education Academy of the International Society of Arboriculture, the Urban Forestry Working Group of the Society of American Foresters, and the Northeastern Forest Tree Improvement Conference. It is our intent to cooperate rather than compete with these organizations, while pursuing our interests in better metropolitan trees through the diverse affiliations of our members.