activities across the Midwest and
Northeast U.S. Readers outside this
region are invited to explore the USDA-
USFS collaborative Climate Change
Resource Center, and Canadian readers
can consult Natural Resources Canada
Forest Change Adaptation Tools.
(We plan to explore international
resources for adaptation to climate
change in future issues of City Trees.)
Within the Climate Change Response
Framework, the Urban Forestry focus
addresses urban forest vulnerability
for cities and creates tools to help
local managers adapt to the effects of
climate change. This urban forest-cen-
tered effort is coordinated by Dr. Leslie
Brandt, who serves as climate change
coordinator for the Eastern Region
of the U.S. Forest Service and is a
climate change specialist with NIACS.
Dr. Brandt's primary focus over the past
five years has been developing and
testing a framework for adapting urban
forests to climate change. Her work,
piloted in Chicago, has now expanded to
other urban areas across the Midwest
and Northeast. Among her professional
interests are frameworks for assessing
vulnerability and adaptive capacity.
Here's what urban forest professionals in
the Midwest and Northeast regions of the
U.S. should know about the resources and
tools available at forestadaptation.org:
• The site provides an Adaptation
Workbook that can be printed out or
worked through online. City forestry
programs that have already availed
themselves of the Workbook—and
whose implementation, referred to
as Adaptation Demonstrations, are
on the Workbook website—include
Cambridge, Massachusetts; Columbia,
Missouri; and New York City. >>
The Climate Change Tree Atlas from the USFS is another
resource for city foresters endeavoring to strengthen their
urban forest's resiliency.
The Urban Forestry focus of the Climate Change Response
Framework includes assessment of the adaptive capacity of
various species used as street trees.
14 CityTREES
