Late forester established a legacy that will keep growing

GROSSE POINTE PARK — Driving through the Grosse Pointes, some people notice the stately homes, the lush gardens or the lakefront vistas. What caught Brian Colter’s eye was the trees.

“Brian knew the trees,” said Colter’s longtime partner, Grosse Pointe Park Beautification Commission Chair Lisa Kyle. “If we were going to pick up a carryout, we’d be driving through the Grosse Pointes and he’d say, ‘Look at that tree — it’s doing great now.’ It’s because he actually really cared about that tree.”

As Grosse Pointe Park’s urban forester for the last 30 years, and concurrently the urban forester for Grosse Pointe City and Grosse Pointe Farms since 2023, Colter selected, monitored, cared for and often planted many of the city-owned trees residents and visitors enjoy today. It was never just a job for him.

Colter, 57, died March 15 at home in Grosse Pointe Park. For a man who just a day earlier had been attending tree board meetings and making plans for future plantings and projects, it was a shocking loss. Even though Colter had been dealing with health problems in recent years, he remained a tireless advocate for trees, as well as a beloved father, brother and friend.

On Arbor Day — April 25 — family, friends and city officials gathered at Patterson Park in the Park to plant a tree in Colter’s honor. It was a tricolor beech, Colter’s favorite tree, planted on his favorite day of the year. The tree was placed next to one Colter had planted years earlier in honor of his mother.

The Park honored Colter with a resolution in his honor at an April 14 City Council meeting, at which multiple members of the city’s Beautification Commission were on hand, including Pat Deck, a former commission chair who worked on the city’s annual Arbor Day poster contest.

“I think we can all see how loved he was by seeing all of the people here tonight,” Park Mayor Michele Hodges said.

Deck concurred.

“He was so dear and so important to us,” said Deck, who spoke on behalf of the commission.

Colter was born to parents Lorne “Larry” and Doris Colter on June 1, 1967; he also has a sister, Nancy Hascall, and a brother, Alan Colter. After he graduated from Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn, Colter moved to Alaska, where he was a field biologist for five years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the summers, studying migratory birds.

When not in Alaska, Colter was attending Henry Ford College — which was then Henry Ford Community College — the same college where his parents served on the English Department faculty for more than 20 years. After he received his associate degree in liberal arts, Colter went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, from which he earned his bachelor’s degree in general studies.

Colter then earned a master’s degree in urban forestry from Michigan State University.

“His parents were both English professors,” Kyle said. “Education was always valued in his family. He never stopped educating himself.”

Colter was also an International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborist. Thanks to his expertise and the close attention he paid to trees in the Pointes, Colter was the first to find emerald ash borer in the community in 2002, and the first to diagnose pear trellis rust in the Pointes in 2014.

Colter not only worked as an arborist, but also volunteered on multiple boards, guided tree tours, wrote articles and conducted speaking engagements.

“That’s what he liked to do — he liked to teach people (about trees),” Kyle said.

Colter could often be found working with children, as during Arbor Day-centered tree plantings with the Maire Elementary Green Team.

“He was passionate about education — especially with kids and planting trees,” said Grosse Pointe City Public Service Director Peter Randazzo, whose desk neighbored Colter’s.

Because of his tireless efforts, Colter was honored by his peers. On Feb. 12, 2021, during a virtual arbor conference, the International Society of Arboriculture Michigan presented Colter with its Honors Award, which acknowledges his “dedicated, faithful and honorable service to arboriculture and urban forestry.” It’s the ISA’s highest honor.

When the Park needed to remove ash trees due to the emerald ash borer infestation, Deck said Colter “worked to find creative uses for the ash wood. … The wood floor of the Lindell Lodge came from blighted trees, and he recommended their use for park benches.”

Kyle said even in the dead of winter, Colter could identify each tree species.

“He could tell a tree by the twig, by the bark,” Kyle said.

That was knowledge he shared with Kyle, a fellow outdoor enthusiast. Kyle said Colter was helping her to become a certified arborist herself by the end of the year.

“He was passionate about arboriculture and he was passionate about urban forestry,” Kyle said. “That’s how I would want him to be remembered — (as someone) always ready to leap into his truck and head out to a site. … It went way beyond the 9-to-5 for him.”

During a catastrophic windstorm on July 26, 2023 — during which a tornado touched down in the Farms and uprooted scores of trees, especially in the Farms and City — Randazzo said Colter went above and beyond.

“He worked literally nonstop with all the Grosse Pointes to get these streets clear,” Randazzo said.

Today, the Park has a tree canopy cover of 38% — the most in the Pointes — but that wasn’t the case when he started working for the city.

“We were losing our majestic elm trees due to Dutch elm disease,” Deck said.

Now, the Park is home to more than 8,000 city-owned trees.

Kyle said local nurseries and people in the arbor industry have been coming forward since Colter’s death to offer to plant trees in his honor. Colter was well respected in his field and worked closely with other tree professionals, as well as utility companies like DTE Energy.

The cities are also acknowledging Colter’s contributions in visible ways.

The Farms planted a memorial tree in Colter’s honor on Arbor Day.

“The city is deeply saddened by the passing of Brian,” Farms City Manager Shane Reeside said. “He was highly regarded by all city staff and developed strong relationships in the community. Under Brian’s guidance, the city has placed a greater emphasis on maintaining the city’s urban forest. This is exemplified by enhanced tree maintenance and planning. In just the last two years, more than 150 trees have been planted in city right-of-ways, with an emphasis on trees that will create a greater tree canopy and a variety of species.”

Reeside said Colter’s efforts led this year to the naming of the Farms, City and Park as recipients of Growth Awards from the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program. The three Pointes were among only 11 cities in Michigan to receive this honor this year.

And the Park is one of only five Michigan cities that’s been designated a Sterling Community by the Arbor Day Foundation, Deck said.

Retired Grosse Pointe Park City Manager Dale Krajniak was the person who hired Colter.

“As a manager, it was one of the best investments (the city) ever made,” Krajniak said. “Looking at the city’s landscape, treescape, you can see the contributions he made to the community.”

Krajniak said Colter was also “a good person — hardworking, dedicated.” And for Krajniak, Colter wasn’t just another hire.

“The city may have lost a forester, but I’ll miss a good friend,” Krajniak said.

Randazzo considered Colter a good friend as well.

“Not only was he a phenomenal forester, but he was also a good person, a good-hearted person,” Randazzo said. “He always took the time to educate anyone who would listen to him.”

Randazzo said Colter “absolutely adored” his two children, Zack and Jane. He said Colter’s daughter called him every day at 2 p.m.

An avid outdoorsman, Colter enjoyed fishing, camping and watching sports. He was known for his infectious laugh and the wooden tie and belt he would often wear when he gave presentations.

One of the side projects Colter ardently supported was restoration of an old sawmill on Belle Isle. Colter and Kyle were among the founding directors of the nonprofit Arboriculture Society of Michigan Foundation, which was spearheaded by Joe Aiken, the ASMF president. Since the ASMF was founded in 2015, they’ve been working to restore the sawmill, which had long been abandoned and had fallen into disrepair. The goal is to create a museum at the sawmill with historical displays, live demonstrations and presentations. Kyle said they’re about halfway through the restoration process but they’re still in need of volunteers and donations to complete it.

Colter was involved with Keep Michigan Beautiful and the Beautification Council of Southeastern Michigan as well.

Colter’s legacy will be visible in the community for decades. Krajniak said he encouraged Colter to plant London plane trees on either side of Jefferson Avenue in the Park a number of years ago.

“The intent was to create a canopy that will come together (over) the street,” Krajniak said. “When you see that in a few years, you’ll think of Brian.”

Deck likewise said Colter’s work will live on.

“Like the Lorax in Dr. Seuss’ book, Brian spoke on behalf of the trees,” Deck said. “He was the ultimate forester, and his presence in the Pointes will be felt in the legacy of the many trees he planted that will outlive us all.”

Kyle and others said they’re determined to carry on Colter’s work in groups like the Park Beautification Commission and the City Urban Forestry Commission.

“We’re really committed to keeping his legacy and his mission going,” Kyle said. “I keep thinking what Brian would say. Letting things fall apart at the seams is not going to help.”

Besides Kyle — Colter’s partner of the last 14 years — he is survived by his siblings, young adult children and stepson, William Kyle.

Randazzo said Colter was an invaluable asset as well as a great person. 

“He left a hole in our hearts,” Randazzo said. “You’re not going to replace Brian Colter. They don’t grow (people like him) on trees.”

Colter didn’t want flowers or a funeral. Instead, he asked for memorial donations to be made to Keep Michigan Beautiful, P.O. Box 2562, Lansing, MI 48909 or the Arboriculture Society of Michigan Foundation, 7876 S. Van Dyke Road, Marlette, MI 48453 or arboriculturesocietymichigan.org.