the northeast center for urban & community forestry · the northeast center for urban &...

M o n t h l y u p d a t e f r o m U r b a n F o r e s t r ypublished by USDA Forest Service Cooperative Forestry • Washington D.C.

This Month’sFeature:

The NortheastCenter forUrban &CommunityForestryThe USDA Forest Service NortheastCenter for Urban & CommunityForestry (U&CF) at Amherst, Massachusetts one of three U&CF‘Centers of Excellence’ servingthe Northeastern Area. The NortheastCenter for U&CF at Amherst representsa cooperative partnership betweenthe Forest Service NortheasternArea's State and Private Forestry, the University of Massachusetts’Department of Natural ResourcesConservation, the six New England states and New York. Thetwo other regional U&CF Centers ofExcellence are located at the St.Paul Field Office and at KeystoneCollege, LaPlume, Pennsylvania.The three Centers serve as technol-ogy transfer hubs for theNortheastern Area.An eleven-member Advisory Boardprovides input into the strategicdirection and mission of theNortheast Center for U&CF. TheAdvisory Board is comprised of repre-sentatives of the State Foresters inNew England and New York, as well asa representatives of the utility industry,commercial tree care, and communitybased programming. Additionally, arepresentative of the University ofMassachusetts and the Durham FieldOffice serve on the Advisory Board.The Northeast Center for U&CF wasestablished in 1996, as a grant pro-gram to the University of

Dear Readers:I want to take this opportunity topersonally thank each of you foryour feedback on February’s pre-miere issue of the TechnologyTransfer Highlights. We receivedmany encouraging commentsfrom colleagues and partnersaround the country. A specialthanks to the NationalTechnology Transfer Team forhaving the vision to create thisdocument, the commitment toimplement it, and the considera-tion to share it with a broad audi-ence. With your continued feed-back and assistance, we plan toprovide many high quality futureissues. Below are just a fewcomments we received fromreaders.

Sincerely Yours,

Larry PayneDirectorCooperative Forestry

"You are brilliant!"Gina Childs, Group LeaderInformation Managementand Analysis

"Thank-you very much for theTech Transfer. Its compilationand format are very impres-sive". "I would like to be ableto take articles from it to cir-culate to the MunicipalArborists here in the UK".Ian McDermott

"This is a good publication"Ann Loose, DirectorConservation Education

March 2001

Massachusetts, and was named a ForestService unit in 1999. David Bloniarzserves as the Project Director of theNortheast Center for U&CF, and hasworked at the Center since its establish-ment.

Our MissionThe Northeast Center for U&CF respondsto urban and community forestry informa-tion needs, facilitates and supports newand existing research, and coordinatesthe exchange of information amongstates, that contributes to healthy sustain-able communities. The principal focus ofthe Northeast Center is Urban ForestManagement, including the transfer oftechnology related to the development ofmore effective municipal tree care sys-tems.

Our GoalsThe Northeast Center for U&CF aims toprovide effective technology transferdelivery through a variety of methods.The Goals of the Center include:• Assisting state Urban & Community Forestry Programs by focusing on common information needs, services, and research.• Providing a point of access for research, information, and technology relating to urban and rural communities.

Hazardous Tree Workshops IncludeDemonstrations of State-of-the-Art

Technology

For more information about UrbanForestry Technology Transfer, contact:Gracie JoyCooperative ForestryUrban and Community ForestryProgram201 14th Street, SWWashington, DC 20024Phone: 202-205-7829Fax: 202-205-1271Email: gjoy@fs.fed.us

to be a practical and concise guide to managing disastrous tree damage in urban and community forests.

• Produced an 18-minute video, andaccompanying CD-ROM,entitled "From Sketch to Street: Design for the UrbanForest," which provides anoverview of the use of treesas a component of the urbanenvironment.

• Developed "Training ResourceModules for Management of theAsian Longhorned Beetle" whichprovides an introduction to thebeetle, its life cycle, physical char-acteristics and eradication protocols.

• Developed Street and Park TreeInventory Templates for collecting,archiving and analyzing data on thelocation, type, condition and manage-ment needs of public street and parktrees.

• Developed a Street Tree InventoryTemplate for Palm Pilot® hand heldPersonnel Digital Assistants (PDA)which can be linked to computerizedspreadsheet or database software pro-grams.

• Conducted Hazardous Tree Assessment Workshops for state natural resourcepersonnel, municipal foresters, and state transportation agency staff.

•Provided technical assistance tostates and communities implementingStreet and Park Tree

• Inventories, including training cur-riculum development and instruction,and field testing of state-of-the-artdata collection technologies.

• Fostering community participation and volunteerism in the stewardship of healthy sustainable communities.

• Working with other technology transfer centers, including the Midwest Center for Urban and Community Forstry and Keystone College’s Mid-Atlantic Center for U&CF.

• Supporting partnerships among Federal, State and local officials, green industry and utility professionals and volunteer groups.

What We’re Up To

The Center is involved in a wide range oftechnology transfer initiatives and pro-jects throughout the area we serve.We’re working to make a difference in theNortheast’s urban and communityforests.

A few of our recent initiatives

• Developed and distributed a model"Storm Damage Assessment Protocol forthe Northeast." This model establishesmechanism for the timely and accurateestimates storm damage costes to trees growing in urbanareas.

• Developed and distributed a "TreeEmergency Manual for Public Officials"and an accompanying "ResourceCompendium." The manula is designed

About the Center’s StaffDavid Bloniarz, Ph.D. is an urbanforester with an extensive backgroundin urban forest management and land-scape design. David holds a MastersDegree in Landscape Architecture anda Doctorate in Urban Forestry from theUniversity of Massachusetts/Amherst.

For More InformationVisit the Center’s Web Site athttp://www.umass.edu/urbantree

Streetscape design workshop partici-pants plan for street tree survival

“From Sketch to Street,Design for the UrbanForest” video.