The Forest in the City - urban forestry program - Brief Article

American Forests, Autumn, 1999 by Deborah Gangloff

Since its founding in 1875, AMERICAN FORESTS has demonstrated its concern for urban trees.

I joined AMERICAN FORESTS in 1982, just after it launched a program in urban forestry. One reason for this initiative came from Henry Clepper, a noted forest conservationist who had worked for Gifford Pinchot and was AMERICAN FORESTS' historian. When asked what the future's most important forestry issue would be, Henry replied, "urban forestry."

Henry's premonition was worth regarding; he had authored several books on the history of forest conservation in the U.S. Also, he recognized that while all people love trees, forest conservation needed to make a bigger impact on a population that was increasingly urban and increasingly disconnected from the land.

Henry knew that for forest conservation to ring true, it needed to resonate with people where they live, work, and play. While writing our centennial history, Crusade for Conservation, he recognized AMERICAN FORESTS' long-standing concern for urban forestry and urged us to claim that legacy by taking a position of national leadership.

AMERICAN FORESTS, which celebrates its 125th anniversary in September 2000, hosts its biennial National Urban Forest Conference this August in Seattle. The conference theme, like that of this issue, is unchecked development, its effect on trees, and how they affect it. We believe it's our next great challenge, a belief echoed by AMERICAN FORESTS members interviewed in a recent survey.

The impact of urban trees on the environment is an issue AMERICAN FORESTS has weighed in on since its founding. The magazine's second issue (May 1895) laid out Burnett Landreth's forward-thinking plan for cities, which included passing an ordinance, hiring a city forester, conducting an annual tree census, and registering and caring for all trees. One of the 'sharpest ills' he saw--tree topping--is still a problem more than 100 years later.

The 1910 article "A Forester Whose Field is the City," which outlined the city forester's work in Brooklyn and Queens, ends on a familiar note: "The city forester's task is more than the creation of beauty. But it is through the beauty he achieves that the charm of the forest is made to lay a firmer hold on urban me. His work is, therefore, of far-reaching civic value."

Throughout the 1980s our urban forestry program convened national conferences, published a newsletter, and promoted idea-sharing among professionals and citizen activists. This led to the 1989 Urban Forestry Bill, later part of the 1990 Farm Bill. Our Global ReLeaf campaign began with a focus on urban forests and maximizing carbon offset by shading and cooling buildings by strategically planting trees. The nearly 10 million Global ReLeaf trees planted since 1990 include tens of thousands of large urban trees planted by local nonprofits and governments.

We have learned a great deal about the environmental, social, and economic values of urban forests in the last two decades. The knowledge base has grown so that we can map and measure the dollar value of these benefits. Scientific advances have led to new data on the value of all trees for oxygen production, carbon sequestration, stormwater control, and wildlife habitat, among others. With computer technology we measure these values and compare them to other items on the public policy agenda.

For a prosperous nation with a growing population, development presents a multi-faceted dilemma. We now more fully understand how urban forests play a vital role in making our cities more sustainable and livable. Henry would be proud.