Southern Urban and Interface Forests - What's New

In this issue of our quarterly bulletin, titled Leaves of Change, you will learn about a collaborative project that is creating a scientific framework for the ecological assessment and sustainable management of the Tampa Bay watershed’s trees and forested ecosystems along the urban-wildland continuum. You will also learn about the Centers’ recent training and outreach activities, recommended resources, and upcoming events related to urban and interface forestry.

In this webinar session, Karen Firehock with the Green Infrastructure Center will: (1) describe the reasons, processes, and approaches for identifying and evaluating a community’s natural resource assets and how to conserve them; (2)demonstrate why a green infrastructure planning approach is a useful way to conserve critical natural assets while channeling growth and development to more appropriate areas; (3) describe the role played by local governments and county foresters in natural resource assessment and stewardship; and (4) suggest how to apply natural resource asset maps within a locality's existing land planning tools and regulations to conserve key forest resources in developing landscapes.

A USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station (NRS) report released in September 2010, Sustaining America’s Urban Trees and Forests, can help those who manage and care about urban trees and forests to increase public awareness of their importance, their many benefits, and the various factors that challenge the management of these critical resources.

Both electronic and printed copies of Sustaining America’s Urban Trees and Forests can be ordered at www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/35572 .