Form Approved-OMB No. 0505-0020 Expires 3/31/97

Urban Forest Health Needs Assessment Survey

Name:____________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ ..............__________________________________________________________ Job Title: __________________________________________________________ Phone: ...__________________________________________________________ Fax:........__________________________________________________________ Mail:.......__________________________________________________________

1. What is your assessment of the general health and condition of the urban forests in your state or city?

Excellent Good Fair Poor 1% 22% 27% 16% Declining Improving Variable, by location No Answer 12% 2% 16% 4%

2. Do you need assistance in the survey, detection or evaluation of urban forest health problems or pests within your state or city? If so, please explain. Financial assistance for conducting pest surveys. Assistance in educating town and city officials in recognizing the value of improving urban forest health. Field training of staff at the state and community level in survey techniques and key pest identification. Training of community leaders in program development, implementation and evaluation. Training in the use of GPS/GIS to survey/evaluate pests.

3. Preserving the health of urban forests should be an integral component of Urban and Community Forestry program development. Check the appropriate response.

Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly disagree 82% 16.5% 1% 0% 0.5%

4. Is preserving the health of urban forests currently an integral component of the Urban and Community Forestry programs in your city or state?

Yes No Varies, by location Don't know No answer 46% 33% 13% 5% 3%

5. Who are your key partners in developing and distributing urban forest health information?

Table 7. Key Partners in the Development and Distribution of Urban Forest Health Information Key Partners % of Total State Department of Natural Resources 55% USDA Cooperative Extension Service 49% State University Staff and Programs 19% Community Groups 19% USDA Forest Service 17% State and Regional Tree Advisory Councils 14% International Society of Arboriculture 14% State Department of Agriculture 14% Private Arborists and Consultants 8% Other Professional Organizations 7% Media 6% Local Tree Boards 2% Natural Resources Conservation Service 2% Nurseries 2% State Department of Transportation 2% State Legislators and Politicians 2% City Planners 2% Utility Companies 2% Public Schools and Libraries 2% Industry Leaders 1%

6. I interact with the following Urban Forestry clients often (O), sometimes (S), rarely (R) or never (N). Please place a letter designator before each client category.

Percent of Total Clients Often Sometimes Rarely Never No Answer ___ Homeowners 72 20 6 1 1 ___ City foresters 46 36 10 5 3 ___ Parks personnel 36 39 18 5 2 ___ City planners 19 28 29 22 2 ___ Utilities 26 30 32 10 2 ___ Landscape architects 18 35 35 10 2 ___ Developers 10 29 34 25 2 ___ Builders/contractors 10 31 32 25 2 ___ Volunteers 34 38 16 10 2 ___ Emergency mgt. contacts 4 17 31 42 6 ___ Other clients 26 9 2 2 61

7. The following long term tree care/maintenance subjects are critical elements to preserving the health of our urban forests. Check the appropriate response.

Tree Health Monitoring 64% strongly agree 32% agree 3% no opinion 1% disagree 0% strongly disagree Disease Management and Control/Plant Health Care 52% strongly agree 43% agree 3% no opinion 2% disagree 0% strongly disagree Insect Management and Control/Plant Health Care 47% strongly agree 50% agree 1% no opinion 2% disagree 0% strongly disagree Hazard Tree Evaluation and Management 65% strongly agree 30% agree 2.5% no opinion 2% disagree 0.5% strongly disagree Proper Tree Pruning Techniques 76% strongly agree 22.5% agree 1% no opinion 0.5% disagree 0% strongly disagree Fertilization and Watering Needs 43% strongly agree 46% agree 4.5% no opinion 6% disagree 0.5% strongly disagree Minimizing Construction Damage 75% strongly agree 22.5% agree 2% no opinion 0.5% disagree 0% strongly disagree Site/Species Selection 81.5% strongly agree 16% agree 2% no opinion 0.5% disagree 0% strongly disagree Natural Disaster Planning and Mitigation 21% strongly agree 44% agree 24% no opinion 9% disagree 2% strongly disagree Other Long Term Tree Care/Maintenance Subjects, please specify. Proper training, awareness, information, etc. (1 response) Identification and collaboration with local groups concerned with Community Forestry issues (1 response) Funding: without it, you cannot address any of the above listed subjects (2 responses)

8a. Please indicate if it would be useful to you to receive printed information and/or training in the following long term tree care/maintenance subjects areas. Check the appropriate response.

Tree Health Monitoring 73% printed information 32% training 15% no information needed Disease Management and Control/Plant Health Care 70% printed information 33% training 16% no information needed Insect Management and Control/Plant Health Care 73% printed information 28% training 18% no information needed Hazard Tree Evaluation/Management 60% printed information 37% training 21% no information needed Proper Tree Pruning Techniques 60% printed information 19% training 31% no information needed Proper Fertilization and Watering Techniques 68% printed information 17% training 25% no information needed Minimizing Construction Injury 72% printed information 27% training 19% no information needed Proper Site/Species Selection 58% printed information 23% training 23% no information needed Natural Disaster Planning and Mitigation 57% printed information 30% training 24% no information needed

8b. If you indicated in question 8a that you would like to receive printed information and/or training within a particular subject area, please list specific topics. See Table 5.

9. The following educational outreach methods are effective information transfer tools. Check the appropriate response.

“How To” Informational Brochures (multiple pages, illustrated) 56% strongly agree 37% agree 5% no opinion 2% disagree 0% strongly disagree “Fact Sheets (1-2 pages, illustrated) 60% strongly agree 35% agree 3% no opinion 2% disagree 0% strongly disagree Pest Alerts 47% strongly agree 42% agree 10% no opinion 1% disagree 0% strongly disagree Press Releases 26% strongly agree 43% agree 20% no opinion 10% disagree 1% strongly disagree Posters 16% strongly agree 41% agree 23% no opinion 10% disagree 2% strongly disagree Popular Magazine Articles 25% strongly agree 55% agree 17% no opinion 3% disagree 0.5% strongly disagree Slide Sets 25% strongly agree 52% agree 15% no opinion 7% disagree 1% strongly disagree Reference Handbooks 39% strongly agree 49% agree 7% no opinion 4.5% disagree 0.5% strongly disagree Videos 38% strongly agree 44% agree 13% no opinion 4% disagree 1% strongly disagree Interactive Videos 23% strongly agree 32% agree 38% no opinion 5% disagree 2% strongly disagree Internet (computer on-line networks) 24% strongly agree 32% agree 36% no opinion 4% disagree 4% strongly disagree Workshops 62% strongly agree 30% agree 6% no opinion 2% disagree 0% strongly disagree State Conferences 35% strongly agree 50% agree 12% no opinion 2% disagree 1% strongly disagree Regional Conferences 34% strongly agree 46% agree 14% no opinion 5% disagree 1% strongly disagree Other methods, please specify.

Radio and TV 13% Field demonstrations 1% Public presentations 1% Newsletters 1% Grants 1% Distance learning 1%

10. For informational pieces, it is often most effective to produce two versions, one tailored for homeowners and another more technically oriented for professionals. Check the appropriate response.

57% strongly agree 29% agree 4% no opinion 7% disagree 3% strongly disagree

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