www.urban-forestry.com 29
The City of Tacoma, Washington is exploring exten-
sive steep slope tree management techniques on many of our
open space properties throughout the City. We are just finalizing
the report for the recent assessment and classification through
the
Forest Landscape Assessment Tool (FLAT) of our 496-acres
(201 ha) of open space property that the City of Tacoma owns
and is responsible for. This rapid ecological inventory and
assessment tool provides essential information to help forest
managers to be able to appropriately allocate resources. Out of
long enough for the hardwood trees to become established
and grow. The project exceeded all expectation and an added
bonus was the claim of sustainability by using native species
and re-purposed leaf compost. More information on the project
can be seen
here.
—Gene Hyde, City Forester, Chattanooga, Tennessee
The Chattanooga slope in mid-project. Photo by Gene Hyde
A portion of the completed Chattanooga slope project. Photo by
Gene Hyde
those acres assessed, approximately 50% of the land area is
on slopes greater than 40%, which requires specialized man-
agement strategies.
One of the defining characteristics of the Puget Sound region is
the dynamic coastline, which includes over 1400 miles (2253
km) of beaches built out of sands and gravels from nearby bluffs.
These actively eroding bluffs are an essential part of our coastal
ecosystem. They provide a significant amount of coastal forest,
Tacoma's Schuster Slope as seen across the Foss Waterway in Commencement Bay. Photo Courtesy City of Tacoma
