SC Forestry Commission Urban & Community Forestry Program Happenings
by Frances Waite, U&CF Coordinator
In November, the SC Forestry Commission’s Urban and Community Forestry Program invited communities to complete a community forestry self-assessment to qualify for a grant program to create urban forest management (UFM) plans. The SC Forestry Commission is in the process of working with 17 communities that submitted community forestry self-assessments to the Urban and Community Forestry grant program.
The goal of the grant is to help communities create UFM plans. An urban forest management plan is an important part of building capacity for each community’s Urban and Community Forestry program. A UFM plan is defined by the community’s area of interest and is a long-term strategic document that can address issues such as: plans for tree inventories, maintenance and tree care schedules, risk assessment activities, allocation of personnel, budgeting, and short/long term goals.
These plans are intended to provide a framework for ensuring that a community’s forest is appropriately cared for according to community goals and is a guide for city staff, landowners, utility companies, developers, and residents follow when making decisions about trees.
Plans can detail the benefits of trees and forests in urban areas, current state of the urban forest, who is responsible for management, and goals of the community for the urban forest. If your community would like assistance in creating a UFM plan, please look at our website for resources. https://www.scfc.gov/management/urban-forestry/.
Also, the US Forest Service Urban Forestry South has an urban forest management tool at https://urbanforestrysouth.org/products/management-plan-tool.
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