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International Society of Arboriculture
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    Climbers' CornerTree Academy
    MondayTuesdayWednesday

    Managing Our Urban Forest: What do Leaders and Professionals Think and Need?

    Summary

    Why do some cities manage their urban forests while others seem to ignore them? What elements of urban forestry management are most important to cities, and do urban forestry perspectives differ between elected community leaders and natural resource professionals who work for them? These are just a few of the questions being answered by a new research study organized by Oregon State University in cooperation with METRO, the state forestry agencies from Washington and Oregon, and the Intertwine Alliance. These partners have come together to create a regional strategy to advance urban forestry in the Portland-Vancouver Metro area. Now in its second year, this project includes 1) an ecosystem analysis and needs assessment survey, 2) stakeholder workshops and forums, and 3) local projects focused on the health of the urban forest as a whole.  In addition, this strategy will provide a replicable template for other metropolitan areas looking to advance regional urban forestry efforts as part of the national Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests initiative sponsored by the US Forest Service and the Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition. This presentation will focus on the preliminary results of the needs assessment survey which was sent to 350 community leaders and urban forestry professionals in the Portland-Vancouver metro region. Survey results will serve to inform the development of the Regional Urban Forestry Strategy by identifying the barriers and needs to urban forestry management in the region and advancing current and future urban forestry efforts. Because the urban forest knows no political boundaries, this research will encourage collaboration across jurisdictions, helping to increase the livability and environmental sustainability of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area while allowing local jurisdictions to achieve successful urban forestry programs that increase the health of our urban forests while reaping the benefits trees provide.

    Conference Proceedings Documents

    Presenters

    Abbey Driscoll is a current graduate student studying urban forestry at Oregon State University. She hopes to graduate with her Master’s degree in Summer 2014. Her research focuses on better understanding urban forestry management needs at the city and county level. Abbey obtained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from the University of Oregon. She also has professional experience at the state urban forestry level and in environmental remediation.

    Paul D. Ries has over 25 years of urban forestry experience at the local, state, national, international, non-profit, and academic level. He currentlyteaches urban forestry and arboriculture courses at Oregon State University as an Instructor and Extension Specialist in the OSU College of Forestry, and also manages the state Urban and Community Forestry program for the Oregon Department of Forestry. He serves as a lead incident public information officer for wildfires and all risk incidents, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), a non-profit professional society with 20,000 members worldwide. He holds a Masters degree from the Ohio State University, and is an ISA Certified Arborist. 

    Climbers' CornerTree Academy
    MondayTuesdayWednesday

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