Conduct a tree inventory or canopy study for public and private trees.
Best Practice of this action
Rating Guideline
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Conduct a tree inventory or canopy study on public properties that is less than 10 years old. |
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Conduct a tree inventory that incorporates private property to better understand trees in the whole community; conduct a community-wide tree canopy study; conduct public property tree inventories every 5 years. |
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Implement 1- or 2-Star level and: have a qualified professional conduct a tree risk assessment to better prepare for storm and insect/disease damage; analyze a tree canopy study to assess equitable access to green space; evaluate and report on the financial and social benefits of public/private trees. Report Resiliency Hubs and Cooling Centers under BPA 29.1 and heat vulnerability assessments under BPA 29.6. |
Resources
- The i-Tree Tools are a state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service that helps communities of all sizes strengthen their urban forest management and advocacy efforts by quantifying the urban forest and the environmental, economic and quality of life services that it provides. I-Tree calculates tree canopy coverage percentages for most Minnesota cities, as does this map of city tree canopy coverage from 2013.
- Tree inventories and canopy studies can be conducted by:
- City staff and volunteers
- AmeriCorps programs such as Community Forestry Corps and GreenCorps
- Certified arborists and tree care consultants
- Nonprofits such as Tree Trust,
- Also, reach out to your county and Soil & Water Conservation District for assistance and possible funding support.
- See BPA 16.6 for volunteer and staff training/certifications.
- Hear from the Cities of Shorewood and Royalton on How did your city complete a tree inventory? (LMC, 2020)
- The International Society for Arboriculture has developed a series of Best Management Practices - Tree Risk Assessment to properly evaluate risks and recommend measures that achieve an acceptable level of risk (ISA, 2017). ISA also provides a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification program.
- The Vegetation Risk Management Plan (USDA, 2012) is developed as a tool to help increase public safety after a storm event, maintain optimum urban tree canopy, promote tree health, provide for effective emergency and arboricultural management, and decrease emergency management costs.
Order Number
7