Remembering Bob Skiera.

Urban tree fans everywhere are mourning the passing of Bob Skiera, 73, a legendary urban forester who served as Milwaukee's city forester for 17 years and converted many to the cause of urban trees with his sense of humor and innate ability to connect people from all walks of life with nature.

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Bob had a huge impact on the way people thought about trees and the natural environment around them as well as on the environmental concerns shared by this organization. A central figure in the development of the urban forestry movement nationally, Bob was a cornerstone of the program at AMERICAN FORESTS and a speaker at more than a dozen national urban forestry conferences we organized.

He served on AMERICAN FORESTS' Board of Directors from 1984 to 1991. He was also an eloquent volunteer board member on state and national organizations.

Bob's infectious enthusiasm for nature had a solid foundation. An accomplished woodsman, hunter, arborist, and gardener, he was also a highly skilled archer and sharpshooter. When American Forests surveyed 20 cities in 1987 to determine the lifespan of the average urban tree, we found the trees under Bob's care in Milwaukee lived twice as long as the average street tree. How so? Bob had convinced city leaders that trees were part of the street development plan and needed to have growing space designed into that plan.

As Bob put it, "If you take tree out of the word street, all you have is st." Keeping trees healthy in the city is a complex issue, but in Milwaukee everybody got it--thanks to Bob.

When Bob retired from his post as Milwaukee's city forester, he devoted more time to growing herbaceous plants and teaching others about them. Bob and his wife Pat were avid community gardeners, and he dedicated many long hours to volunteering at Milwaukee's Boerner Botanical Gardens, where he earned the nickname "Hosta Bob."

Bob was an expert's expert. I met Bob in 1982 in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the first National Urban Forestry Conference organized by AMERICAN FORESTS. Tall in wit and wisdom although short in stature (Smithsonian Magazine once referred to him as a "gnomelike arborist"), Bob made his point while making them laugh. He used good science as the foundation for a public policy solution and good marketing to sell the concept to community leaders. It's a common approach today, but it's a strategy pioneered by Bob Skiera.

The abstract from his presentation in Cincinnati reveals his ability to package urban forestry management issues in a way that made them relevant to public policymakers: "The goal of the Milwaukee Forestry Bureau is to maintain the urban forest so as to increase the value of the trees and the real estate in the city." We will miss you, Bob.