Program Update — The Ward Award for Leadership in Invasive Species Control Efforts
Ward Award being presented to Tony Fessler by LNRP Board President Rolf Johnson, Rotary and LNRP Board Member Mike Vandersteen, and City of Sheboygan Forester, Tim Bull.
Given annually in recognition of Tom Ward for years of dedicated and inspirational service to our Lakeshore communities, the Ward Award honors individuals, landowners, businesses, and local units of government for leadership of collaborative efforts to control and eradicate invasive species in the Lakeshore region of Wisconsin.
This year, the 3rd annual Ward award goes to Tony Fessler, representing Restoration of our Trees Sheboygan (ROOTS). Joe Kerlin, Superintendent of Parks and Forestry for the City of Sheboygan, nominated Tony for his outstanding contributions to mitigating the impacts of the emerald ash borer (EAB) throughout Sheboygan County.
How Tony Got Involved
Tony Fessler became a Sheboygan Rotary Club member in 1996. In 2017, Rotary International President Ian Riseley issued a challenge to all Rotary Clubs to plant 1.2 million trees, one for every Rotarian in the world, because planting trees shows long-term commitment to the community and defines Rotary’s commitment to sustainability. Clubs around the world embraced that challenge.
Tony chaired this effort for Sheboygan Rotary clubs and its success was celebrated on Arbor Day 2018. Along the way Tony discovered that the devastation to the ash trees caused by the emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation meant that there was much more work to be done to address this challenge. Tony helped establish and organize ROOTS in 2018, and chaired the initiative as it completed reforestation projects in sixteen municipalities.
ROOTS Origins & Impacts
The City of Sheboygan discovered EAB in city street trees in 2016. In 2017, the city adopted an Urban Forest and Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan. At that time the city had documented 5,139 ash trees, which consisted of 23.2% of the city’s street canopy!
Within two months of meeting with the City, Tony drafted a two-page, collaborative emerald ash borer education and remediation initiative for Sheboygan area communities. The draft included education and support of local governments. Tony worked with Maywood to put on classes, met with other communities like Oshkosh to learn about their ash tree replacement initiative, and facilitated a partnership with Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership (LNRP).
Thanks to Tony’s tremendous leadership and a partnership with LNRP, the Sheboygan Rotary club was able to establish ROOTS in 2018. ROOTS is designed to support local and regional governmental units throughout Sheboygan County in mitigating impacts of the emerald ash borer (EAB). ROOTS supports communities like Sheboygan in marshaling private resources and seeking external grant funding from both private and government sources to be administered in enhanced forestry management, increased public engagement, and matching grant support for local and regional government units engaged in EAB mitigation.
Tony and the ROOTS organization worked with the City of Sheboygan and were able to use its annual forestry budget as a match for several other grants. Between the years 2020 and 2023, the city gained $93,487 in grants through ROOTS, planted 1,007 new trees, and constructed a gravel bed for bare root trees. These trees are helping to replace the environmental, economic, and aesthetic benefits lost to the city from the removal of approximately 2,500 ash trees.
If you ask Tony how he did this he would probably say “with a lot of help”. That may be true, but Tony had the passion and perseverance to get this done. He asked for ideas, continuously followed up, and demonstrated to local Rotary clubs that this was a worthwhile project.
LNRP Staff can think of no individual or organization more deserving of the Ward Award than Tony Fessler. Thank you for your outstanding leadership, Tony!
