This electronic newsletter is published bi-monthly for state and federal urban forestry program coordinators and other interested individuals. Please print or copy this newsletter and distribute it to volunteer coordinators, state council chairs, and other interested individuals within your state or region, or forward it electronically to them. You can always find it on-line and archived at www.treelink.org.

Submissions to this newsletter are welcomed and requested. Items suitable for inclusion are state and national urban forestry information, products or innovations, grant opportunities, and notices of regional and national urban forestry events. Please submit a maximum of two paragraphs to the editorial committee listed below by the 20th of the month for inclusion in the following month's edition.

The UCF Coordinators Newsletter is compiled and edited by:

Ed Macie, USDA Forest Service - Southern Region
(emacie@fs.fed.us) phone (404) 347-1647

Dick Rideout, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
(richard.rideout@dnr.state.wi.us) phone (608) 267-0843

Paul D. Ries, Oregon Department of Forestry
(pries@odf.state.or.us) phone 503-945-7391

Phillip D. Rodbell, USDA Forest Service - Northeastern Area
(prodbell@fs.fed.us) phone (610) 557-4133

Pepper Provenzano, TreeLink.org
(pepper@treelink.org)

NEXT DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSION: August 20, 2003

Words for thought

-- Dave Lutz, Urban Outdoors, www.treebranch.com

Around The States  [back to top]

Utah Hires New Coordinator
The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands is pleased to announce that Margaret Shao has joined the division as Utah's Urban Forestry Program Coordinator. Margaret (Maggie), a native of San Francisco, CA, received her degree in Biology from San Francisco State University in 1987 and spent the next ten years pursuing a career in biology with firms in the San Francisco Bay area. She then went on an assignment with the Peace Corps in Ghana, Africa. Upon completion of her Peace Corps assignment, Maggie attended Michigan Technological University where she attained her MS in Forestry in 2002. Before beginning her position as Urban Forestry Coordinator with Utah, Maggie worked for the Wasatch/Cache National Forest. Maggie can be reached at: Margaret Shao, Urban Forestry Coordinator, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, 1594 West North Temple, Suite 3520, P.O. Box 145703, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84114-5703, phone 801-538-5505, email margaretshao @utah.gov

Indiana Fosters New Partnership
Indiana's Community & Urban Forestry (CUF) program is creating a new partnership with a county SWCD and NRCS. The Hamilton County SWCD applied for a grant from CUF along with the Hamilton County NRCS. They plan inventories in two small communities using the CUF Tree AID database. They hired a staff person to perform the inventory and help the communities establish urban forestry programs and Tree City USA status. They met with municipal departments and town councils. Volunteers will help with the inventory so the community can take ownership of the project. With the limited staff in Indiana at this time due to budget constraints, this is a timely project that will help these communities and enhance the NRCS, SWCD partnership with CUF. Coordinator Pam Louks is providing training and technical support along with Hamilton County City Forester Scott Brewer. For more information, call Pam at 317-915-9390 or email plouks @dnr.state.in.us.

Emerald Ash Borer Identified in Ohio
An Emerald Ash Borer larvae, which was collected near Toledo, was positively identified by experts at the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Services Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland in February. Surveys of the area around the originally reported site found signs of the pest on four properties (three residences) in a 300 yard by 300 yard area. Trees on all of the properties showed symptoms of infestation. The borer is known to affect white, black, and green ash trees and some varieties of horticultural ash. A typical ash tree will die from infestation by this pest in two to three years. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates that there are 3.8 billion ash trees in Ohio which exist on 850,000 acres of the state's nearly 8 million acres of woodlands. The Emerald Ash Borer has been known to exist in North America (Michigan and Ontario) for about the last five years, where it has killed millions of ash trees. There is no practical insecticide treatment that will destroy this pest, according to ODA Plant Pest Control manager Tom Harrison. "Nothing will give us the assurance of control in an infested area except to cut, chip, and properly dispose of trees," he said. More information on detection and identification is available at the Ohio Department of Agriculture's web site at www.state.oh.us/agr.

North Dakota's Lewis & Clark Cottonwoods Project
In 1999, the North Dakota Forest Service (NDFS) and a host of other public and private agencies and organizations recognized that the upcoming 200th anniversary of the Lewis & Clark Expedition was an opportunity to raise awareness about the state's natural resources and the need to conserve them for future generations. The cottonwood trees along the Missouri River are a resource that provides a rich history of the area and identified as a potential project. Cottonwoods were important to Native Americans and early explorers to provide building materials; fuel for heating; and protection against the prairie winds. It was the Native Americans that showed Lewis and Clark how to construct cottonwood dugout canoes that made their journey possible. The NDFS identified a small grove of cottonwood trees that might have seen the passing of Lewis and Clark nearly 200 years ago after measuring and coring nine trees determined to be 250-300 years old. Further research found records that showed that members of the expedition passed through or near this area on several hunting trips during their stay in North Dakota in the winter of 1804. The NDFS State Nursery collected and propagated seeds from these trees in 1999 and 2000. From the seedlings, 500 were selected for growing and distribution to schools and communities. The 5-6' trees were available to schools in the fall of 2002.

The NDFS partnered with the National Guard to deliver nearly 300 Historic Lewis & Clark Cottonwoods to schools. Each school in the state had an opportunity to receive one tree along with a "Certificate of Authenticity," instructions on planting and caring for the trees, and a plaque to be placed next to the tree when planted. In the spring of 2003, Lewis and Clark Cottonwoods were offered to over 50 Tree City USA communities for ceremonial plantings at local Arbor Day events. On Arbor Day 2003, a special event was held at Fort Mandan, the site that Lewis and Clark over-wintered while in North Dakota. The state forester, the president of the ND Lewis and Clark Foundation, and representation from the governors office planted a Lewis and Clark Cottonwood tree at the same time a mirror event was taking place at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia. The American Forest Living Witness and Historical Tree program also recognized the cottonwoods at Smith's Grove as Famous and Historic Trees. Saplings from the Lewis & Clark Cottonwoods were collected, germinated and nurtured by American Forest and can be found on the American Forest website.

North Dakota Biomass to Energy Workshop
The North Dakota Forest Service is helping communities turn some of their hazardous fire fuel problems into biomass products through the Economic Action Program of the USDA Forest Service's National Fire Plan. Funds from the program were used to engage the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) of the University of North Dakota in a study to demonstrate the feasibly of using biomass resources to mitigate wildland fire hazards. Their study showed that the benefits of using biomass include lower fuel costs when co-fired with existing systems; reduction of municipal tree waste in landfills; the creation of jobs; a local and renewable fuel source; healthier forests and an economical way to mitigation wildland fire potential. The results of the assessment were presented in June workshops in Bismarck, Minot, Williston, and Grand Forks. The workshops were free and open to the general public. Plant managers of schools, universities, and industry, manufacturers, economic and community developers, electric utility representatives, agricultural commodity groups, solid waste managers, and other biomass resource suppliers such as nursery managers and sawmill operators were invited to learn how to turn a problem into a product. For more information, contact Jackson Bird at 701-328-9944.

Stackwall Construction Project in New Mexico
Tree New Mexico is partnering with the Los Lunas Parks & Recreation Department to construct a stackwall pavilion in the community's River Park. Stackwall construction has the potential to makes excellent use of the millions of small caliper trees that desperately need to be thinned from overcrowded New Mexico upland and riparian forests. In Los Lunas, we are using various tree species that are usually considered "junk" wood by the timber industry, including New Mexico olive, elm, and mulberry. There is no commercial use for this wood, and it is traditionally used for firewood, chipped, or burned on site. Harvesting and preparation are the most labor-intensive part of stackwall building. After a site is identified, the appropriate trees are marked for harvesting, then cut at ground level and removed. The logs are stripped of their bark and left to season for several months. When the wall is ready to go up, they are all cut to the same length, typically about two feet. The walls are built using these short, small diameter logs. They are mortared in place, one row atop another; then, left as is or plastered. The technique is also called "cordwood" because of the method of stacking the logs. The finished walls are thick and solid, with something like the feel of adobe, but cheaper, easier to construct, and with a higher R value. Without the plaster, the finished walls look a lot like the river-rock construction technique.

The potential benefits of stackwall construction are many: using free, locally harvested raw materials; creating small industries that employ local people; building affordable homes with excellent insulation; creating dollar-ended-value goods out of a waste product; and freeing our forests of excess fuel loads. Moreover, it is clear that stackwall construction addresses all three levels of sustainability - social, environmental, and economic. The Los Lunas Pavilion is scheduled for completion by the end of 2003 and we are carefully documenting and recording the details of the project so that it can be replicated elsewhere in New Mexico and beyond. Submitted by Sue Probart, Tree New Mexico.

Seattle Couple Pays Large Tree Related Fine
A Bellevue, Washington couple has agreed to pay that city $150,000 and publicly apologize for cutting 26 trees along a public trail, hoping to enhance the view from their hillside home. The couple must also put in 32 hours to "personally assist in restoration efforts" and admit to "unlawful cutting on city property" under the agreement, King County prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against the couple, saying civil penalties were adequate and would require the couple to pay a stiffer fine for what they did. Last June, the couple hired landscapers to top and severely prune 26 trees along a trail on park property the city owns. An arborist valued the lost evergreen and deciduous trees at $50,000 to $70,000.

Nebraska Still in Business
The state legislature put funding back into the University budget for the Nebraska Forest Service. The university also found additional funds. The agency is still trying to sort out how that will affect operations. Regardless, NFS has been damaged budget-wise. Some of the funding is short-term, so the agency feels it can operate for another year and maybe two. But there will have to be some structural changes with the university or NFS may be moved to a state agency in order to survive longterm. The state legislature is looking at the issue and will make recommendations. In short, the initial battle seems to have been won but the war is far from over.

Enforcements in Maryland
The Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings has ordered a 60-day license suspension for Licensed Tree Expert Nicholas Valentine of Lewis Tree Service, a commercial tree care firm in Millersville. The suspension was sought by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Service for wrongful conduct in the practice of tree care. The order concludes departmental action related to concerns from citizens in Anne Arundel County regarding tree care performed by the licensee for Baltimore Gas and Electric in February of 2002 along General's Highway (MD 178) in Crownsville and Annapolis. The complaints involved pruning trees in a manner not consistent with industry standards, which is an improper practice and considered wrongful conduct in the practice of tree care by DNR, which licenses the state's commercial tree care practitioners. The suspension is in effect from July 20, 2003 through Sept. 17, 2003. BGE is cooperating with DNR to ensure both parties agree on industry standards specifics so that there will be no confusion or misunderstanding in the future. All tree-care professionals practicing in Maryland must obtain a license. Without a license, they may not practice or advertise tree care services in the state. A complete list of licensed tree experts is available on the DNR website at www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/oflists/lte/treeexpert.html

Award Winner in New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Urban Forestry Council announced in May that Mary Tebo, volunteer coordinator for New Hampshire, was recognized with a Merit Award by the Environmental Protection Agency for her work with Tree Stewards. Mary has developed a great program and deserves the recognition. Mary.tebo @unh.edu

West Virginia Cool Communities
The Cool Community Grant program is funded through the Energy Efficiency Program of the West Virginia Development Office. The Division of Forestry administers the grants and provides technical assistance to participants. Grant funds will support planting trees on public property to improve energy efficiency. An additional goal is to establish new and support existing municipal based public tree care programs. Therefore, funding priority will be given to municipalities with a Tree City USA designation and communities working toward this goal. Schools and other public entities are also encouraged to apply for funding through this program. Goals include:

• To establish trees in the urban landscape to mitigate temperature extremes resulting in a reduction in energy consumption for heating and cooling.
• To directly improve energy efficiency by planting trees to provide shade and reduce wind velocity near public buildings.
• To indirectly improve energy efficiency by planting trees to reduce air temperatures near parking lots and other "heat islands" near public buildings.
• To strengthen and support existing comprehensive municipal tree care programs.
• To encourage the initiation and development of comprehensive municipal tree care programs.
• To provide an opportunity for local nurseries and landscaping firms to contract with local entities to plant trees on publicly owned land.

Northeast Coordinators Meet in Indiana
The Northeastern Area Urban Forestry Coordinator's meeting was held May 7 - 9, 2003 at Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, IN. Seventeen of the 21 states were represented. Subjects included technology, Emerald Ash Borer, and Community Outreach models. The group toured central Indiana including a stop at a recently completed Habitat for Humanity House, where the group planted trees and heard about the program "Forests for Humanity." National UCF Director Mark Buscaino attended the meeting for all three days. He addressed the group and spoke about his management approach and style. With a degree in business, Mark looks at issues and organizations from a practical side. As an arborist and forester, Mark says the success of the program lies in the support from the people that are served by the program. Mark explained he is dedicated to having an open exchange of ideas from the "field" to the Washington Office.

On The National Front

NUCFAC Nominations Due  [back to top]
The Forest Service is seeking nominations to serve on the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC). The four positions available are: a person representing a national non-profit forestry and conservation citizen organization; a person representing city/town government; a person representing academic institutions with expertise in urban and community forestry activities; and a person who is not an officer or employee of any governmental body residing in a city with a population of less than 50,000 and has expertise and has been active in urban and community forestry. The request for nominations letter has been mailed to those people on the NUCFAC mailing list. The letter and forms are also posted on the NUCFAC homepage at http://www.treelink.org/nucfac/. -- Suzy del Villar.

Research News You Can Use  [back to top]
The USDA Forest Service Center for Urban Forest Research at the University of California at Davis conducts research that demonstrates new ways that trees add value to communities, converting results into financial terms to stimulate more investment in trees. The center produces an electronic quarterly newsletter that discusses current research findings and other events at the center. The April 2003 issue contains an informative article on how research findings helped save one municipal urban forestry program from significant budget cuts. Visit the center's website at http://wcufre.ucdavis.edu/ to subscribe.

Community Landscape Law Assistance Needed  [back to top]
Prof. Buck Abbey of Louisiana State University is organizing a half-day workshop on the subject of community landscape laws (green laws) for the National Urban Forest Conference to be held in San Antonio Sept. 17-20. The theme of the conference is "Engineering Green." The workshop will cover topics related to local landscape and tree laws which are at the center or how communities are engineered (designed). There is a 30-minute time slot in the program for a co-speaker who would like to make a presentation about their community landscape ordinance or tree preservation law. Someone who could speak on the subject of tree or landscape banking or landscape laws which promote on-site storm water management would be really helpful to the workshop team. If you would like to participate, please e-mail a one-page proposal indicating what you would speak about, and your general background and qualifications, to Prof. Buck Abbey at greenlaws @aol.com, or call 225-766-0922.

Award Winning Magazine  [back to top]
The Chicago Headline Club honored Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine with its first Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism during its annual awards banquet on April 25. The club, a chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, honored Editor Debra Shore with the award for best magazine editorials in 2002. Commenting on entries titled "Everyday Heroes", "First, Do No Harm", and "Vacant Land", the judges said, "These editorials have a wise and lovely voice." The winning editorials can be read at:
http://www.Chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2002/editorsnote.html
http://www.Chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/summer2002/editorsnote.html
http://www.Chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2002/editorsnote.html

ThemMagazine, launched six years ago, is the only magazine devoted to the rare nature of the Chicago region and to the growing conservation efforts of more than 163 public and private organizations working to protect, preserve and restore natural areas in this area. The magazine has more than 7,000 subscribers. Debra Shore, the founding editor and publisher of the magazine, also serves on the board of Friends of the Forest Preserves. She has a master's degree in creative writing from Columbia College and has written for Outside, Travel Holiday, George, and the University of Chicago magazine. More information about Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine is available at www.chicagowildernessmag.org.

An Evaluation Culture and Collaborative Partnerships  [back to top] Concerned that many agencies lack credible performance and evaluation information, the General Accounting Office (GAO) examined the experiences of five diverse agencies that demonstrated evaluation capacity in their performance reports. GAO found that the key elements of evaluation capacity in these agencies were an evaluation culture; regular assessments to inform program improvement; data quality; credibility, reliability, and consistency; analytic expertise, in both research methods and relevant subject matter; and collaborative partnerships; sharing resources and expertise among stakeholders. The report describes various strategies the five agencies used to build capacity and obtain useful evaluations. Agency managers institutionalized an evaluation culture through sustaining a commitment to accountability and to improving program performance. Some partnerships developed naturally through pursuit of common goals, while other agencies actively solicited their stakeholders' involvement. GAO encourages agencies to consider adopting similar strategies to obtain the data and expertise needed to produce useful and credible information on results. This report can be accessed on GAO's home page at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03454.pdf

Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery  [back to top]
Almost 30 Senators signed a letter encouraging Senate appropriators to provide $25 million in FY04 funding for the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR). Funding for the vital urban parks program was eliminated in FY03, and the Bush Administration has again asked Congress to zero out UPARR funding in the upcoming fiscal year. The letter to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior was circulated by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN). The letter received broad bipartisan support and comes on heels of a similar effort in the House requesting $30 million for UPARR in FY03. The House letter, circulated by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), was joined by more than 100 Members of Congress.

UPARR is the only federal program specifically aimed at bolstering parks in cities and distressed neighborhoods. UPARR provides matching grants and technical assistance to communities and is administered through the National Park Service. The program provides aid for rehabilitation of critically needed parks and recreation facilities and encourages systematic local planning for programs, sites, and facilities. Despite the promise of guaranteed funding as part of 2000's Title VIII conservation trust fund, UPARR has been regularly targeted by the Bush Administration for elimination. Last year the House approved $30 million for UPARR and the Senate called for $10 million before the program was cut to zero in omnibus budget negotiations with the White House.

National Tree Trust Names Acting Executive Director  [back to top]
The National Tree Trust (NTT) has named Beth Applegate, an experienced organization development practitioner, as acting executive director. Applegate, through her firm Applegate Consulting Group, has been a consultant with the National Tree Trust, the US Forest Service and other state and local urban forestry organizations, including three Grassroots Summit leadership teams. "After working with NTT as a consultant since 1999, it's a very exciting prospect for me to return in a leadership role and to work with the board and staff to help the organization during this executive transition," said Applegate. "Particularly because it comes at a time when NTT is making comprehensive changes to its programming and I look forward to guiding that process, too." A graduate of Indiana University, Applegate has extensive experience with executive coaching, managing group dynamics, organizational transitions, leadership development, grassroots organizing and policy and program development. She earned a Masters degree in Organization Development from the American University/Institute for Applied Behavioral Sciences.

Applegate will serve as acting executive director of the National Tree Trust. During that time, an executive search will be conducted to identify additional candidates to apply for the permanent position. Established as a non-profit organization in 1990, the National Tree Trust is a leader in programs supporting local and regional community tree planting and education projects. The National Tree Trust promotes healthy communities by providing resources that educate and empower people to grow and care for urban and community forests. For more information, visit the National Tree Trust website at www.nationaltreetrust.org.

Federal Grants Approved to Benefit Urban and Community Forests  [back to top]
On June 9, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth announced the selection $1,046,987 in projects to benefit the nation's urban and community forests. The 15 successful organizations will match those funds with $1,374,201 for research and education projects for urban forests. These competitive grants will make available more than $2.4 million for communities, organizations, and universities to work together with the Federal government to create and improve urban forests. Recipients of the 2003 grants were selected from among 118 proposals, in a competitive process based on criteria developed by the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC). Chief Dale Bosworth will release details of the individual recipients in an upcoming news release. Contact: Suzanne M. del Villar, NUCFAC Council Program Manager, at 707-642-9201 or sdelvillar @fs.fed.us.

$$ Grant Opportunities $$  [back to top]

Below is a list of the 10 sites every nonprofit in the United States should know about. If you have a moment, please share this message with friends and colleagues so that the whole sector can benefit from these resources.

1. At http://www.foundationcenter.org, the Foundation Center provides information about every foundation in the country. Much of this information is free, but some of it is for paying subscribers only.
   
   
2. At http://www.guidestar.org, Guidestar lists financial information for 800,000 nonprofits. You can use Guidestar for research, and you can also update your organization's entry there.
   
   
3. At http://www.idealist.org, Idealist.org has built the leading nonprofit job site in the country. In addition to jobs, you can also list events, volunteer opportunities and internships, and at http://www.idealist.org/consultants you can find the most comprehensive directory of nonprofit consultants on the Web.
   
   
4. At http://news.gilbert.org, Michael Gilbert maintains a great site with daily news updates bridging the online and nonprofit worlds. You can read the news there, or you can subscribe for weekly email updates.
   
   
5. At http://www.nonprofitbasics.org, the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership is building a resource center with lots of great information for starting, running and funding an organization.
   
   
6. At http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq, Putnam Barber maintains the Nonprofit FAQ - an older resource center that is special because it is based on actual questions and answers posted by nonprofit managers over the years.
   
   
7. At http://www.networkforgood.org, people can find volunteer opportunities, and they can also make donations to hundreds of thousands of nonprofits. Most importantly, you can use this site to add a free Donate button to your Web site.
   
   
8. At http://www.serviceleader.org, you will find a huge site covering every aspect of volunteer management, from screening, matching, record keeping and evaluation, to legal issues, risk management and virtual volunteering.
   
   
9. At http://www.techsoup.org, Techsoup has built the leading resource center for all issues related to nonprofit technology. In addition, they offer steep discounts on software for nonprofits, sometimes up to 90% off the list price.
   
   
10. At http://www.volunteermatch.org, people can find volunteer opportunities all over the country by ZIP code or area of interest.

Miscellaneous Funding Opportunities and HUD-related info
River Network's Directory of Funding Sources -
http://www.rivernetwork.org/library/index.cfm?doc_id=117. Lists over 300 private, corporate and federal funding sources for river and watershed groups.

Florida Wetland Information Center -
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wetlands/fwric/funding.htm. A searchable funding database containing current and future funding sources for financing wetland restoration projects in Florida and elsewhere.

Environmental Protection Agency's on-line catalog of Federal funding sources for watershed protection - http://cfpub.epa.gov/fedfund/. The Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection Web site is a searchable database of financial assistance sources (grants, loans, cost-sharing) available to fund a variety of watershed protection projects.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's National Wildlife Refuge Support Group Grant - http://www.nfwf.org/programs/nwrgp.htm -
"Refuge Support Groups are eligible to apply for start-up grants, capacity-building grants, or project-specific grants including habitat restoration projects. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation accepts applications year round.

Environmental Justice: Partnerships for Communication
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-03-007.html
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: Sept. 17, 2003; Application Receipt Date: Oct. 17, 2003 Eligible institutions - Community-based organizations are especially encouraged to apply. You may submit (an) application(s) if your institution has any of the following characteristics:

• For-profit or non-profit organizations
• Public or private institutions, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and laboratories
• Units of State and local governments
• Eligible agencies of the Federal government
• Domestic
• Faith-based or community-based organizations

Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving
EPA's Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) has created a new grants program called the "Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Grant Program." The grants program provides financial assistance to community-based organizations who wish to engage in capacity-building initiatives, and also utilize constructive engagement and collaborative problem-solving to seek viable solutions for their community's environmental and/or public health issues. Only not for profit 501 (c) (3) organizations are eligible to apply. The grants are due Sept. 30, 2003, and will be awarded at $100,000, for a project period of up to three years. The Request for Applications (RFA) can be downloaded from: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/recent/ej.html

Publications & Websites  [back to top]

2001 Urban and Community Forestry Accomplishments
The 2001 National Accomplishment Report is online, the address is: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/ucf2001rpt

Mapping Housing Density across the North Central U.S., 1940-2000
The North Central Research Station with the University of Wisconsin has been mapping residential development across the landscape and now has a PowerPoint presentation that helps convey the results. You can access the PowerPoint presentations at the following project website as well as the website for the Landscape Change Integrated Program at our station. http://ncrs.fs.fed.us/4902/Highlights.htm and the Landscape Change page http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/IntegratedPrograms/lc/.

New Green Infrastructure Website
The partnerships has recast the website (http://www.greeninfrastructure.net). It's fast, easy to navigate, and still full of information. The site is organized by geographic region, which makes the examples more relevant.

Land Cover Change in the Midwest
http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/4153/deltawest/ - This is an excellent web site that shows the various changes in land cover type in the Midwest states from 1980-2000. A couple of statistics to note: Wisconsin had the greatest percent increase in urban area - 33.32% or 226,000 Acres (although Michigan had the most total change - 409,000 acres) and also a 20.79% increase in forest land or 2.9 million acres. Summaries are based on USDA Forest Service FIA data. Note that the urban area may be substantially under-reported since the Natural Resources Inventory data reported an increase in urban area of 395,000 acres from 1987-1997. But at least the data on the web site is internally consistent so it accurately shows the relationships among the states.

Tools for Watershed Protection
Founded in 1992, the Center for Watershed Protection (www.cwp.org/) is a non-profit organization that provides local governments, activists, and watershed organizations around the country with the technical tools for protecting some of our most precious natural resources: our streams, lakes, rivers, and the watersheds that feed them. The Center also maintains the Stormwater Research Center (www.stormwatercenter.net), which includes specific information on stormwater management tools and strategies.

U.S. EPA Urban Non-Point Source Pollution Page
www.epa.gov/owow/nps/urban.html

Trees for Stormwater Management
The Massachusetts Urban and Community Forestry Web Site (www.state.ma.us/dem/programs/forestry/urban/urbanFAGs.htm#stormwater) includes links to additional information on the role of trees and forests in community stormwater management.

Municipal Forest Management
Check out this web site. In particular click on "Municipal Forest Mgt." and "NCUCF Project" buttons at the top. http://www.umass.edu/urbantree/forest.shtml

Adding Green to the Top of the City
Green roofs are one potential option for adding green impervious surfaces back into dense urbanized landscape where there are often few other options left. Check out: www.greenroofs.com
www.communityresources.org/greenroof.html

Rain Gardens
For more information on what "rain gardens" are and how they can help manage and filter stormwater naturally, see:
http://www.dof.state.va.us/rfb/riparian/rain_gardens.htm http://www.mninter.net/~stack/rain/ http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/raingarden/gardens.pdf

Municipal Forest Management
Low impact development designs, as promoted by the Low Impact Development Center (www.lowimpactdevelopment.org) in Maryland, include trees, "rain gardens," and even green roofs for assisting in stormwater management. These low impact designs can greatly reduce pollutant loads as well as stormwater infrastructure costs for development. The use of trees for stormwater management is a great benefit for both urban areas as well as more suburban/rural residential communities where impacts from subdivisions are occurring.

Extension Disaster Network
EDEN http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/eden/default.aspx is a network of disaster related Extension resources. Trees are currently not a featured component on the site.

U.S. Cities on-line
Using maps, charts, reports, and relevant links, Ersys covers over 2600 US cities with detailed information on demographics, environmental factors, economic indicators, housing stats, media (newspaper, television, and radio), schools, transportation, local contacts, and much more!
http://www.ersys.com/index.htm

Tree Talk
Learn more about OASISnyc.net through a radio interview on WFUV radio in New York City. If you're interested, you can still hear it by visiting http://www.wfuv.org, clicking the "WFUV Archives" link on the left side of the page, then using the pull-down list to highlight "Cityscape Public Affairs". Click GO, then click on the "May 17, 2003" link in the list that appears.

USDA Plant Hardiness Map
The new March 2003 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is available on line.
http://www.ahs.org/pdfs/USDA_Map_3.03.pdf (Map loads slowly)
http://www.ahs.org/publications/usda_hardiness_zone_map.htm (Info about the map)

Wood Chip Innovation
www.MyFreeChips.com is a brand new website that is an easy to use locator of people who want wood chips, firewood, tree removal, tree pruning, and general tree care.

Inventory Program on-line
The Community and Urban Forest Inventory and Management program (CUFIM) is one more step in answer to the call for improved management and sustainability of California's urban forests. This report presents an Excel-based computer program that can be used to setup and maintain a tree inventory and database, and to evaluate the urban forest in quantitative terms including volume and value. It is the hope of the authors that this effort will help urban communities take the next step toward sustainability of the urban forest resource. Visit their website at www.ufei.org for more details.

Green Building
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution.

City Park Management Practices
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has released a report on the nation's park systems, "The Excellent City Park System: What Makes It Great, and How to Get There." The report focuses on park funding and acreage in 55 cities and includes the measures of park excellence, called "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Park Systems." For more information, visit http://www.lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=611

Forest History Online
The Forest History Society has a searchable image database online at: http://www.lib.duke.edu/forest/photos.html The site includes a fair number of photographs from the Forest Service collection. The site has about 10% of the collection but an endowment is in place to provide continued funding for the project. You can search by photographer or USFS negative number as well as by subject.

Parking Lot Design
This site contains design specs for Parking Lot shading and Storm water retention design. http://www.cityofsacramento.org/planning/longrange/shading_guide.pdf

Tree Risk Management
"Urban Tree Risk Management: A Community Guide to Program Design and Implementation" is now on-line! http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/uf/utrmm/. This fully-illustrated, easy to read, training manual is designed to improve public safety and protect tree health by assisting communities to design, adopt, and implement tree risk management programs and training field staff to detect, assess, and correct hazardous defects in urban trees. Coordinating author, Jill Pokorny of the USDA Forest Service, assembled a team of national experts in urban forestry, plant pathology, and forest health to write this manual. Well-known consulting arborists and municipal foresters provided extensive review to ensure that the information applies to communities of varying sizes and budgets throughout the northeastern United States.

Job Opportunities  [back to top]

Visit the TreeLink jobs page at www.treelink.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=3 for a variety of employment opportunities.

Calendar of Events   [back to top]

Visit the current Calendar of Events at www.treelink.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=4 on TreeLink.