Tools

 

Urban Forest Management

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/commfor/index.html
Cornell University Urban Horticulture Institute provides a clearinghouse for information to help communities manage their urban trees

http://scenariojournal.com/article/beyond-planting/
Beyond Planting: An Urban Forestry Primer

http://naturewithin.info/Policy/ClarkSstnabltyModel.pdf
The authors present a model for the development of sustainable urban forests.

http://www.naturewithin.info/policy.html
Human Dimensions of Urban Forestry and Urban Greening

http://ufei.calpoly.edu
The Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute (UFEI) addresses the increasing need for improved management of the urban forests in California.

http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/community-trees-program
Help with managing community trees

http://www.sf-planning.org/ftp/files/plans-and-programs/planning-for-the-city/urban-forest-plan/Urban_Forest_Plan_Final-051414.pdf
Forterra Green City toolkit

http://www2.apwa.net/documents/About/CoopAgreements/UrbanForestry/UrbanForestry-4.pdf
Urban forest management plan best practices for public works managers

http://www.arborday.org/programs/ucf/english.cfm
Guide to sustainable urban forestry 

http://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/resources/library/
Library of urban forestry resources 

http://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/resources/collections/urban-forestry-manual
U.S. Forest Service urban forestry manual

http://urbanforestrysouth.org/resources/presentations
Urban forestry presentations covering many topics

http://www.urban-forestry.comWeeklong intensive training program covering leadership and management tools of program administration, coalition building, strategic thinking, program planning, and public relations.

https://urbanforestplan.org/
American Planning Association literature review contains book, article, and government document citations related to the relationship between planning and urban forestry, arranged by topic.

https://www.planning.org/research/forestry/
Planning for urban and community forestry

http://sti.clemson.edu/research/growth-management-selfcentermainmenu-147/830-urban-and-community-forestry
Guide to urban forest planning, especially in relation to community general plan process.

http://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/forest/community/pdf_files/community_forestry_management_plan_guidelines.pdf
Minimum guidelines needed to create a Community Forestry Management Plan as required under the New Jersey Shade Tree and Community Forestry Assistance Act.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/urban/inforesources/mgmtplanguide/mgmtplanguide.shtml
Urban and community forestry guidebook and sample plan

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/UrbanForests/
A technical guide to developing urban forestry strategic plans and urban forest management plans

Evaluating the Benefits of Trees

itreetools.org
i-Tree is a state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service that provides urban forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools. The i-Tree Tools help communities of all sizes to strengthen their urban forest management and advocacy efforts by quantifying the structure of community trees and the environmental services that trees provide. The i-Tree Landscape module is a Web-based application. i-Tree Landscape is preloaded with land cover data and U.S. Census demographics.

http://depts.washington.edu/hhwb/
Urban Forestry/Urban Greening Research

https://www.arborday.org/calculator/
Tree Benefit Calculator

http://actrees.org/files/Research/benefits_of_trees.pdf
Benefits of Trees and Urban Forests: A Research List

http://www.caufc.org/Resources%20Links
Tree Resources from California Urban Forests Council

http://www.epa.gov/water-research/national-stormwater-calculator
National stormwater calculator

http://greenvalues.cnt.org/national/calculator.php
Manage, compare costs for green infrastructure programs

http://www.cnt.org/sites/default/files/publications/CNT_Value-of-Green-Infrastructure.pdf
Value of green infrastructure

http://unh.edu/unhsc/forgingthelink
Linking the economic benefits of low impact development and community decisions

http://actrees.org/news/trees-in-the-news/research/
Recent tree research

http://actrees.org/news/trees-in-the-news/research/
Portal to U.S. Forest Service urban forestry research

http://giftoolkit.org
Green infrastructure and forestry toolkit with links to management software, carbon credits, and iTree tools

https://www.caufc.org/Resources%20Links
Issue papers addressing the value of trees and urban canopy

Urban Forest Assessment

https://www.opentreemap.org
Community-supported tree mapping and inventory system

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/urban/inforesources/inventory/Tree%20Inventory%20Software%20List%20-%20%20January%202014.pdf
This list, compiled by the U.S. Forest Service, contains lists of commercial software and public domain programs available.

http://www.davey.com/natural-resource-consulting/urban-forestry-consulting/urban-forestry-management-software/
Inventory and management software

http://www.umass.edu/urbantree/mgtplanguide.pdf
The template contained in this document can be used by small communities to develop an inventory.

http://ufplanning.urbanforestrysouth.org
Community outreach tools

http://nac.unl.edu/simulation/index.htm
Visual simulation for tree planting scenarios

http://forterra.org/?s=citizen+volunteer+tree+monitors
Forterra guide for citizen volunteer tree monitors and surveyors

http://www.agenda360.org/uploadedFiles/Agenda360/Getinvolved/2010RegionalIndicators.pdf
Regional indicators with respect to sustainability

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/uesd/uep/TreesInOurCity/
From the U.S. Forest Service, customizable PowerPoint presentations for 19 different climate zones

http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/urban-forest/
Urban Forest Project protocols for urban tree planting and urban forest management. The protocols provide guidance to quantify and verify GHG reductions from tree planting, maintenance, and/or improved management activities implemented to permanently increase carbon storage through trees.

Environmental Assessment

http://www.climateactioncampaign.org/climate-action-plans.html
Provide assistances to communities for developing climate action plans.

http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Web Soil Survey provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey.

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map

http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones
Sunset’s climate zones

https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/NE/NE314DP.pdf
National Resource Conservation Service Brush Management Design Procedures

http://www.fire.ca.gov/resource_mgt/resource_mgt_EPRP
CAL FIRE Environmental Protection and Regulations

http://caminobernardohoa.com/files/brushpdf.pdf
City of San Diego Brush Management Guide
**Check online for guidelines specific to your region.

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/main.shtml
National invasive species information center
**Check online for species specific to your area.

<h2>Community Assessment</h2>

Survey writing skills information  
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/how-to-write-survey/
http://www.accesscable.net/~infopoll/tips.htm
https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/writing-survey-questions/
http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/good-survey-questions/
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survwrit.php
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=68

 

Tree Care Policies, Ordinances, and Standards

http://tcia.org/business/ansi-a300-standards
ANSI A300 standards and corresponding best management practices are the generally accepted industry standards for tree care practices. They are voluntary industry consensus standards developed by Tree Care Industry Association and written by a committee called the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) A300, whose mission is to develop consensus performance standards based on current research and sound practice for writing specifications to manage trees, shrubs, and other woody plants.

The standards are divided into parts, based on tree care practices.
Part 1 – Pruning
Part 2 – Soil Management
Part 3 – Supplemental Support Systems
Part 4 – Lightning Protection Systems
Part 5 – Management
Part 6 – Planting and Transplanting
Part 7 – Integrated Vegetation Management
Part 8 – Root Management Standard
Part 9 – Tree Risk Assessment

http://www.isa-arbor.com/education/resources/educ_TreeOrdinanceGuidelines.pdf Guidelines for Developing and Evaluating Tree Ordinances

http://forterra.org
Tools for protecting land and financing conservation

http://www.bmpdatabase.org
International Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Database project

http://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/resources/library/ttresources/tree-ordinance-resource-list/at_download/file
Guide to writing tree ordinances

http://phytosphere.com/treeord/index.htm
Guidelines for developing and evaluating tree ordinances

http://www2.apwa.net/documents/About/CoopAgreements/UrbanForestry/UrbanForestry-3.pdf
Urban forest ordinances, regulations, and public policy best practices for public works managers

http://www.reconnectingamerica.org/assets/Uploads/HUD-Capacity-Building-Implementation-Team-Compilation-of-Issue-Briefs-2013.pdf
Building sustainable communities guide

http://extension.psu.edu/publications/uh182/view
Guide for tree commissions and advisory councils

Selecting Trees  

https://selectree.calpoly.edu
A tree selection guide

http://www.caufc.org/documents/NurserySpecs.pdf
Guidelines for selecting quality nursery stock

Urban Forest Management Plan Toolkit