National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council
Annual Report
1995-1996
Recommendations to the Secretary
Part of the Council's charter is to make annual recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on issues related to urban and community forestry. Based on the Council's diverse make up and its combined knowledge of urban and community forestry, our recommendations are:
- That the USDA continue its leadership role in
providing educational, technical, and financial assistance to
support the nation's urban forests.
- That the USDA remain a strong advocate for the
science and application of urban and community forestry and work
to strengthen its research capacity.
- That the USDA continue its successful work in
building partnerships that help to achieve significant public
benefits by leveraging public and private fiscal and human resources.
The State of Urban Forestry
Message from the Chair
Genni Cross
Background
Urban and community forestry is defined as the management of trees and related natural resources in populated areas, from the inner city to the developing urban fringe and within small communities. Between 1991 and 1995 the field of urban and community forestry grew rapidly.
During that period, federal support and funding increased for almost every aspect of urban forestry. Through the USDA Forest Service's State and Private Forestry, each state received funding for its own core program and matched that funding dollar for dollar. In many states, funding also extended to community groups and nonprofit organizations for local urban and community forestry projects. Urban forestry research conducted by the Forest Service, universities, and private industry also increased. The real growth in urban forestry, though, amounted to much more than just funding.
The real growth came in the increased awareness that developed, among individuals and municipal leaders, of the contributions urban trees make to the economic, social, and environmental well-being of communities. This awareness increased the number of communities actively managing their forests and led to the involvement of community groups and individual citizens in efforts to improve urban forests.
So many community-based urban forestry groups were formed that in some states, statewide programs emerged to serve the local groups. National organizations were formed to help community groups learn from each other's programs and work together for common goals. Established organizations, that had been active in urban forestry long before 1991, grew and increased their effectiveness.
Across the country, utility companies became active urban forestry partners. Vegetation management programs were changed to reflect new thinking about how to care for trees and shade tree planting programs were created to reduce energy needs for heating and cooling.
Professional and industrial associations developed new standards for the practice of urban forestry and there was a tremendous rise in the number of people who sought out training or certification programs to increase their urban forestry knowledge.
As a condition of receiving federal funds, each state formed an urban forestry advisory council to help decide how best to use the funds. These councils varied greatly in their form, approach, and influence but they all got people actively involved in urban forestry.
But activity, interest, and success were not the only trends in urban forestry in the years between 1991 and 1995. Another clear trend was that budgets for municipal tree programs were declining. As city after city made budget cuts, urban and community forestry programs lost funding.
It is easy to think that urban trees are a luxury that can be ignored during lean times, but this is not the case. As is true with so many other management issues, urban forests respond better to steady long-term planning and management than to short-sighted, quick-fix, or cost-saving programs. Managing a living resource as a low priority item today, and expecting to assure its productivity tomorrow, is a formula that does not work. There are many compelling reasons to consider urban and community forestry an essential component of a city's infrastructure and a necessary condition for a sustainable community.
1995-1996
The questions facing the urban forestry community now are significant. With all the research that has been done, with all of the volunteers that have been mobilized, with all of the students who have been taught, and with all the increased recognition and understanding of the value of urban trees, will support for urban and community forestry continue to grow? Have cities learned the value of the resources they own?
It is clear that decision makers at every level of government have learned there is immense grass roots support for urban and community forestry. The USDA Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, and other federal and state agencies have become urban forestry advocates. Thousands of cities too, have begun to treat their urban forests as the valuable resources they are, gathering citizen support to augment municipal efforts. But there is still much to do.
In the coming years, we must invest in our urban and community forests and that means investing in all of the disciplines that support them. With adequate investment we can have healthy, beautiful, sustainable urban and community forests that contribute to healthful, livable, and sustainable cities and communities.
Council Vision
The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council seeks to establish sustainable urban forests for all communities. Sustainable urban forests can assist in providing jobs, creating healthier economies, developing stronger communities, and improving ecosystems. The Council's goals include:
- Cultivating an understanding and appreciation
of the social, economic, environmental, and aesthetic value of
trees, forests, and related resources in cities and communities.
- Fostering self-sustaining municipal and community
volunteer programs.
- Coordinating and developing multicultural
professional training and education programs for urban foresters,
arborists, and others working in related disciplines.
- Stimulating additional funding from traditional
and nontraditional sources.
- Supporting significantly expanded research
and assuring widespread distribution of the findings.
- Promoting partnerships with the private sector.
Emerging Issues
Following are the issues the Council believes should be taken into consideration when determining future urban and community forestry policy.
- Good research, information, communication, and the exchange
of technological knowledge are keys to strengthening urban forestry
programs and empowering communities and urban forestry professionals.
- A holistic view of urban forestry reveals a continuum of
urban and community forestry-related issues and concerns from
inner city gardening programs to wildfire and pest programs in
urban/rural interface areas. A holistic view also shows that a
concern for urban trees cannot be entirely separated from concerns
about urban air quality, storm water runoff, wildlife habitat
and other related ecosystem concerns.
- Providing information to people about the importance of
urban and community forestry or marketing the value of urban and
community forestry programs is a necessary part of a long-term
strategy to develop and maintain healthy urban and community forests.
- As part of a long-term plan for healthy urban and community
forestry programs nationwide, it is important to assess the values,
perceptions, and needs of our nation's growing multi-cultural
population with respect to urban and community forestry. The development
of multi-lingual educational materials will be a key to reaching
this population with an urban and community forestry message.
- Tools and techniques are needed for restoring ecosystems
to a more natural state after they have been damaged by construction,
storms, and invasive species. Restoring (urban) ecosystems to
a more natural state includes planning for species diversity in
both plants and wildlife, and using indigenous species where appropriate.
Using the same tools and techniques on new projects can prevent
many problems in the future.
- Understanding and practicing good urban forestry can benefit
many small communities that are struggling to retain businesses
or bring businesses back to a newly revitalized downtown area.
Healthy urban forests give communities a more livable image and
can assist in improving their economy.
The Challenge Cost-Share Grant Program
A program to provide support for and stimulation of urban and community forestry.
To date, 33 projects have been supported by the Council's challenge cost-share grant program. Projects are leveraged by at least equal amounts of non-federal funding and contribute to the knowledge and application of urban and community forestry.
Recently Funded Projects
Urban Ecological Analysis: Modeling the Air, Water, and Energy
Cost and Benefits Produced By Urban Forests
This project will provide a detailed economic analysis for the
cities of Austin, Baltimore, and Milwaukee of the air, water,
and energy benefits produced by urban forests. The benefits will
be documented for use by city decision makers so that the true
value of urban forests, as a part of the urban infrastructure,
is known and can be factored into local resource allocation and
budget decisions.
American Forests
Grant Amount: $135,000
Matching Amount: $135,000
The Forest Where We Live
This project will produce a one hour documentary by the Foundation
for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting that documents
the latest research findings on the environmental, economic, and
social benefits of urban and community forests to American cities.
Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting
Grant Amount: $120,000
Matching Amount: $123,506
Public Knowledge of Urban Forests Benefits and Values in Commercial
and Retail Environments
This project will document the benefits and costs of trees in
commercial and retail business districts of Seattle. The influence
of the urban forest on the behavior of visitors to retail districts
will be determined along with the understanding of business owners
about the contributions that trees can make to their business
enterprises.
University of Washington, College of Forest Resources
Grant Amount: $64,629
Matching Amount: $ 64,629
T.R.E.E.S. Transagency Resources for Environmental and Economic
Sustainability
The focus of this grant is the development of a pilot project
for integrated watershed management on an urban forest landscape.
The project will demonstrate the benefits of combined use of strategic
tree planting, greenwaste chipping, and mulching with cisterns
and gray water systems. Documenting the economic and environmental
benefits in water and energy conservation, stormwater mitigation,
improved air quality, waste reduction, and erosion control are
the project goals.
TreePeople
Grant Amount: $150,000
Matching Amount: $ 345,000
A Study for the Effects of Vegetation on Microclimate and Residential
Energy Use in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Energy conservation attributable to trees through shade, evapotranspiration,
and wind shielding translates to lower utility bills and diminished
peak load energy demands. This project will monitor air temperature,
wind speed, and wind direction in different urban forest sites
to determine the relationship between micro climate and energy
use.
ACRT Inc.
Grant Amount: $ 55,000
Matching Amount: $ 60,250
Common Knowledge: Turning Local Gems Into National Treasures
This project will provide a national assessment of available education
and training programs and materials for community forestry groups
across the country to access and use for their programs. The project
responds to the recent growth of urban and community forestry
programs and the need to provide reliable information about organizing,
planning, fundraising, partnership building, and tree planting.
American Forests
Grant Amount: $100,000
Matching Amount: $ 100,000
Evaluating Air Quality Effects of Urban Trees: Developing Directionally
Sound Programs for Use In State Ozone Attainment Goals
The main focus of this project is on the overall effect that trees
have on ozone in city environments. The analysis will be used
to determine the impact of urban vegetation on air quality, greenhouse
gas reduction, cooling and heating energy use, and emissions of
volatile organic compounds by vegetation in cities. This research
will aid in developing directionally sound ozone programs, thereby
creating cost-effective ozone control strategies using urban vegetation.
ACRT Inc.
Grant Amount: $175,000
Matching Amount: $ 208,000
Growing Hope: Children, Trees and Urban Public Housing
The purpose of this project is to determine whether access to
"green" outdoor spaces plays an important role in children's
intellectual, moral, and social development. It compares the developmental
outcomes for children living in urban public housing whose everyday
play spaces have trees and grass to their counterparts whose everyday
play spaces are barren. The concern is whether or not this barrenness
has anything to do with academic achievement, delinquency, and
violent crime.
University of Illinois, Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Sciences
Grant Amount: $200,000
Matching Amount: $ 201,025
Council Members
Genni Cross, Chair
The Trust for Public Land/California ReLeaf
Patti Armstrong
Finny Farms
David Bernard-Stevens
President, North Platte Chamber of Commerce
Larry Biles
USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
Cara Boucher
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Gordon Bradley
University of Washington
Kim Coder
University of Georgia
Joan Comanor
USDA Forest Service
Mark Francis
American Society of Landscape Architects
Richard Henkel
Princeton Horticultural Services
Suzanne Malec
Chicago Department of Environment
Stewart Pequignot
NASF Urban Forestry Committee
Virginia Plauche
Louisiana Urban Forest Council
Annabeth Surbaugh
Johnson County Commissioner
Suzy del Villar, Executive Assistant
USDA Forest Service
1042 Park West Court
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Phone: (970) 928-9264
FAX: (970) 945-6058