project description
The Challenge:
The 2019 Urban Forestry Management Plan project was developed due to the lack of comprehensive management and threat of invasive and exotic species, such as emerald ash borer, to urban communities. Inventory and detailed canopy cover data did not exist for these communities in Iowa, which made planning for such problems virtually impossible.
The Solution:
Our Environmental team was hired to collect tree inventory data and develop comprehensive management plans for 28 Iowa communities. We completed a comprehensive inventory of publicly owned trees, assessed the urban forest for potential health symptoms, provided a summary of benefits for those trees, and developed an urban forest management plan for each community.
Project Benefits:
Upon completion of this project, improved management will help to conserve and enhance the urban forest, protect and plan for future threats, produce data on the many benefits trees provide to each community, and provide significant cost savings to each community.
