TREE Fund

Tree Research & Education Endowment Fund

2013 Grant Research Archive John Z. Duling Grant 

Assessment of Municipal Urban and Community Programs in the United States and Evaluation of Associated Community Capacity

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2013 | Dr. Richard Hauer, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

This project will assess municipal urban forest programs for the capacity to manage urban forest populations. It has been 20 years since the last assessment of municipal urban forestry programs in the United States. This will also allow us to identify the trends and changes that have occurred since 1993. (1) We will develop baseline knowledge of municipal urban forestry program capacity. Defining capacity is important for describing the ability to plant and maintain trees and approaches used to access and remove trees that pose high risk for societal injury and damage. (2) The project will identify approaches that lead to urban & community forest capacity building. This part will identify attributes of municipal programs that lead to enhanced urban forestry outcomes. (3) Project results will be used to support Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of the urban forest. LCA is an important and new way to measure what is needed to grow the urban forest from the nursery to the end point at tree removal. Collected data will also support creating an i-Tree urban forest management module. The data would be used to drive a simulation process using real data that describes municipal urban forestry operations.

Study Results
This project completed all project goals and objectives. A main 71-page technical report summarizes findings from over 660 communities in the United States: http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/Pages/Forestry—MTCUS.aspx. Additional publications and presentations from this work are also available on that website.

In addition, we have further collaborated with colleagues from Sweden to build upon this work and compare municipal forestry in these two counties. The TREE Fund supported project was instrumental to leverage other research funds from the Wisconsin Arborist Association, Davey Resource Group, and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. We thank the TREE Fund for supporting this project which kick-started something that rebuilt a 20-year gap in our municipal forestry knowledge.

Year: 2013

Funding Duration: 1-3 years

Grant Program: John Z. Duling

Grant Title: Assessment of Municipal Urban and Community Programs in the United States and Evaluation of Associated Community Capacity

Researcher: Dr. Richard Hauer

Key words:

Peer Reviewed Publications from Grant:

  • Peterson, W. and R. Hauer, and W. Peterson. Getting work done in the Urban Forest: Community Staffs, Volunteers, and Contractors. Arborist News. 25(6): 34 – 38.
  • Hauer R. and W. Peterson. 2016 Municipal Forestry Budgets and Employee Compensation. Arborist News. 25(5): 58 – 61.
  • Koeser, A. K., R. J. Hauer, J.W. Miesbauer, and W. Peterson. 2016. Municipal Tree Risk Assessment in the United States: Findings from a Comprehensive Survey of Urban Forest Management. Arboricultural Journal. 38(4): http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03071375.2016.1221178
  • Johnson, G., R. Hauer, W. Peterson, D. Karcher, and J. Gulick. 2016. Financing the Urban Forest: Volunteers as a Source of Revenue and Program Support. Arborist News. 25(4):20 – 25.
  • Ries, Paul, Hauer, Rich and Peterson, Ward. 2016. Systematic Management of the Urban Forest. Arborist News 25(3):46 – 49.
  • Koeser, A. K., R. J. Hauer, A. Hillman, and  W. Peterson. 2016. Risk and Storm Management Operations in the United States –  How Does Your City Compare?. Arborist News. 25(2):20 – 23
  • Hauer, R.J. and Peterson, W. 2016. Building and Growing Professionals for Trees: Arboricultural Standards and Credentials. Arborist News 25(1):42 – 46
  • Hauer R. J. and Peterson W. D. 2016. Municipal Tree Care and Management in the United States: A 2014 Urban & Community Forestry Census of Tree Activities. Special Publication 16-1, College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. 71 pp.
  • Hauer R. J. Vogt, and B.C. Fischer. 2015. Growing Arboriculture and Urban Forestry: One Student at a Time. Arborist News 24(5): 68 – 71.

Short Discussion Articles/Conference Proceedings

  • Hauer, R.J. and Peterson, W. D. 2017. Tree Inventory Systems and Use in the United States. Urban Tree Growth and Longevity Working Group Newsletter – January 2017:1–8.
  • Hauer, R. and W. Peterson. 2016. Scoring the Urban Forest: An Urban Forestry Sustainability Index. Conference Proceedings of the International Society of Arboriculture 92nd Annual Conference & Trade Show. Fort Worth, TX. August 13 – 15, 2016

Professional Presentations

  • Hauer, R. 2016. Budgeting for the Biomass: Urban Tree Mortality and The Bottom Line ‘Urban Forestry Today’ Noonhour Webcast Series. Webinar. December 8, 2016
  • Hauer, R. 2016. Money Does Grow on Muni-Trees. Minnesota Society of Arboriculture Fall Conference. Oral Presentation. Saint Paul, MN. October 6, 2016
  • Hauer, R. and W. Peterson. 2016. Municipal Tree Care and Management in the United States: A 2014 Urban and Community Forestry Census of Tree Activities. Alliance for Community Trees Webinar. September 29th, 2016
  • Hauer, R. and W. Peterson. 2016. Scoring the Urban Forest. International Society of Arboriculture 92nd Annual Conference & Trade Show. Oral Presentation. Fort Worth, TX. August 13 – 17, 2016
  • Hauer, R. 2016. Public Sector Workforce and Wage Results from a Study of Municipal Tree Care and Management in the United States. Tree Care and Urban Forestry Jobs in the “Urban Green Infrastructure” Workforce: A NatureWORKS Webinar. July 26, 2016
  • Hauer, R. and W. Peterson. 2016. Municipal Forestry Baseline, Trends and Where Do We Go From Here? 55th Minnesota Shade Tree Short Course. Oral Presentation. Arden Hills, MN. March 15 – 16, 2016
  • Hauer R.J. 2016. Implications of Tree Diversity in the United States: A 2014 Urban & Community Forestry Census of the United States. Second International Conference on Urban Tree Diversity. Oral Presentation. Melbourne, Australia. February 22 – 23, 2016
  • Hauer, R. and W. Peterson. 2016. Maintaining the Urban Forest & the 2015 Update on Municipal Tree Management. Wisconsin Arborist Association Annual Conference. Oral Presentation. Green Bay, WI. February 14 – 16, 2016
  • Peterson W, and R. Hauer. 2015. Baseline and Trends in Municipal Forestry Management: Results from a 2014 Census. Society of Municipal Arborists. Oral Presentation. Denver, CO, FL. November 16 – 17, 2015
  • Hauer, R.J. 2015. Community Forestry What’s the baseline? Journey thru the 5th National Survey of baseline trends in Municipal Tree Management. Oklahoma Urban & Community Forestry Council Annual Conference. Oral Presentation. Stillwater, OK. October 28, 2015
  • Hauer, R. and W. Peterson. 2015. Municipal Forestry, Tree Activities, and Management in the United States: A 2014 Urban & Community Forestry Census of the United States. International Society of Arboriculture 91st Annual Conference & Trade Show. Oral Presentation. Orlando, FL. August 8 – 12, 2015

Awards, Honors, and Commendations

  • 2016 Legacy Project of the Year Award, Municipal Tree Care & Management, Society of Municipal Foresters

For more information on this project, contact the researcher via TREE Fund at treefund@treefund.org.