What is the “Toolkit”?

This website provides a “how-to” approach to develop an Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP). The toolkit will lead you through a planning process.

Would you like to help your community protect and expand its tree resources? If so, this tool will guide you and other community members through the process of developing a strategic plan for the management of urban trees and green infrastructure . Each UFMP is unique and varies by many factors, including desired outcomes of the community.

Management decisions of today will influence the amount and types of benefits derived from the urban forest for future generations. If you want to attain a sustainable urban forest with healthy trees that provide a multitude of benefits, use this website.

How do I use the Toolkit?

Rest your cursor over green text to see a definition or information pop up. Or, click on the green text to link to an explanation. For example, click on “green infrastructure ” above to go to a definition in the glossary.

Draw ideas from other examples given throughout the website and from other plans. Refer to

We recommend that you follow through the website and use the downloadable questions (in Microsoft Word or other word processing software) that will lead you through the development of a Work Plan first, then the Urban Forest Management Plan. The questions correlate to each section of the website. For the review process, simply share your files to the appropriate parties for each section. If you are working with a large organization, you may have data-sharing software to utilize for document review.

Download Work Plan Toolkit Questions to create a plan for developing the UFMP project, as it is a lengthy process involving many stakeholders. Download the Urban Forest Management Planning Toolkit Questions that will lead you through the planning process. With the downloadable questions, you can write offline and easily share draft files for review.

Finally, if you plan to work away from a computer, you may wish to download a Toolkit Workbook that includes the website content interwoven with the questions for each section. The disadvantage to using the Workbook alone is that it does not provide interactive capabilities for quickly accessing definitions, resources, task charts, and other information.

What is in an Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP)?

An UFMP is a roadmap that creates a shared vision for the future of a tree canopy. It’s a tailored plan that guides tree care professionals to proactively and effectively manage and provide for maximum, long-term benefits to the community. The plan provides recommendations based on the analysis of detailed inventories and includes additional components or documents, such as budgets, implementation schedules, policy and procedure manuals, standards and specifications, public education and monitoring plans, and existing ordinances. Annual work plans and budgets can then be developed based on the long-term UFMP.

In general, an effective UFMP plan will include:

  • Vision for the urban forest
  • Inventories and assessments of the current status of the urban forest
  • Strategic Plan: goals, objectives, and actions based on the information analyzed and identified needs
  • Implementation Plan with specific dates and assigned responsibilities
  • Monitoring Plan with a system or matrix to check effectiveness and revise the UFMP as needed.
Urban Forest Management Plan Toolkit