Title: Federal Urban Forestry Performance Standards In Massachusetts (U.S.A.) Communities

Summary: In 2006, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) implemented a set of performance measures to evaluate urban forestry management efforts in communities. While these performance measures serve to evaluate management practices, it is uncertain how they relate to the condition of a community’s urban forest. Inventories from Massachusetts communities meeting the USFS performance measures were evaluated for net gain/loss in street trees in 2007. In addition, cost-benefit analyses of management efforts were run in communities with tree inventories. Net changes in urban tree populations were mixed among the communities surveyed. However, the benefits associated with management efforts outweighed the costs in 8 of the 9 communities analyzed.

Mollie Freilicher, M.S. (Expected 05/2009), Natural Resources Conservation, Amherst, MA, United States

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