“I am the first full-time forester for the city of Blaine,” Paulseth said.
Paulseth’s passion is green space. He’s ecstatic Blaine has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation for decades, because of the city’s focus on planting trees.
“The city of Blaine should be proud for having 32 years of Tree City,” Paulseth said. “It shows a long term commitment to green spaces.”
Being a Tree City USA recipient means a town has to check certain boxes.
“There’s four requirements to get that Tree City,” Paulseth said. “You have to have a designated staff or tree board, a designated budget, a designated ordinance and actively planting trees.”
Emerald green oasis
In spring, the North Metro morphs into an emerald green oasis, as grass grows and trees blossom after a long winter. Blaine declared April as arbor month to shine a light on how important trees are to the city.
“I think it’s very important,” Paulseth said. “Trees are an infrastructure like roads and water. They’re very necessary for like the quality of life. The livability of the city. Trees are a very important thing for the community. They provide many benefits. Aesthetics. Property value. Storm water runoff.”
Blaine is definitely tree-centric, but the city is always striving to put more of them in the ground.
“Our goal is to replace a lot of canopy that’s being lost with things like the tree sale that we just had,” Paulseth said. “It gives residents the chance to purchase a tree and plant it in their yard. We’re also partnering with the DNR and Met Council and tree trust to plant as many trees as we can to replace the lost canopy.”
Cities can apply every year to get named a Tree City USA.
