With 69 million acres of urban forests across the country, what better way of “caring for the land and serving people” than for the Forest Service to embrace an Urban and Community Forestry program that provides a comprehensive and targeted approach to urban forest health management? This survey provides valuable needs assessment information that can be used to develop programs that are specifically tailored to meet the identified needs of urban forestry professionals and their constituents in the Northeast, Midwest, and District of Columbia. The programs would respond to the need to improve the health of urban forests, address key urban tree health issues, implement critical urban tree health management practices and strategies, and deliver educational outreach programs using preferred technology transfer methods.

The following recommendations would enhance the implementation of a comprehensive and targeted approach to urban forest health management and should be considered for adoption into the Northeastern Area’s Urban Forestry Five-Year Plan, the National Urban and Community Forestry Plan, and the National Urban and Community Forestry Program Standards.

Develop comprehensive Urban and Community Forestry Programs that address issues critical to preserving the health and sustainability of urban trees and forests in the Northeast, Midwest, and District of Columbia, and implement long-term plant health care practices and strategies: Encourage States to include an urban forest health management component in their Five-Year Urban and Community Forestry Strategic Plans. Encourage States to implement program priorities outlined in the National Urban and Community Forestry Program Standards when making decisions to allocate Federally and State funded tree planting grants: All tree planting projects must include a 3-year maintenance plan (plans require the approval of the State Forester or a designee) that documents how the trees will be planted and maintained. Projects involving tree protection and maintenance must meet American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. (State standards may be substituted with USDA Forest Service concurrence.) Trees planted must, as a minimum, meet the American Standards for Nursery Stock. (State standards may be substituted with USDA Forest Service concurrence.) Develop and implement educational outreach programs in urban forest health management tailored to identified training and printed information needs (Tables 3, 4, and 5), and preferred educational outreach methods (Table 6).

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