Wood products research and development at the
USDA Forest Service is most concentrated at the ven-
erable Forest Products Laboratory, based in Madison,
Wisconsin. Urban wood use and market develop-
ment is a unique area of study done in collaboration
with city, state, and private partners in metropol-
itan areas across the United States. Urban trees are
not removed for their wood value, but rather due
to storm damage, safety, insects and disease, or
other reasons. Yet, how the tree is removed impacts
future options and potential value of the wood.
What the last decade has taught us is that it's helpful
to think much more broadly than wood alone, and
that social, ecological, and economic opportuni-
ties can be intertwined. Efforts underway at local to
national scales have much to learn from one another,
and national networks—such as the USDA Forest
Service-supported Urban Wood Network (UWN)—
can help to connect and accelerate our learning.
Right now, the more urban wood we can collectively
transform into useful material, the more we create
options and economic opportunity for the entire
sector. Arborists and urban foresters—both public
and private—each have a role to play in making this
happen. Below, we share some perspectives from
various thought and practice leaders in the urban wood
space, and we welcome your feedback and ideas.
Urban Wood Network
Local urban wood programs have great potential—not
only to reduce the amount of woody material going
to waste, but also to generate income for municipali-
ties through time and cost savings in material disposal,
and through the conversion of material to value-added
products. These programs have great potential to stim-
ulate local economies with jobs, goods, and services,
and to educate residents on the environmental ben-
efits of urban wood utilization, such as community
sustainability, carbon sequestration, emissions reduc-
tion, and sustainable urban forest management.
Local urban wood programs are complex, and working
collaboratively to establish and maintain these efforts
is essential. The process of utilizing urban forest
resources is often described as an "urban wood chain,"
with the links in the chain defined as those who own
and manage urban trees, those who process urban
wood into products, those who specify or otherwise
dictate its use as end products, and the consumers
themselves. The idea of a linear chain is an oversim-
plification of an industry that is driven by diverse
wood supplies, supported by state and federal agency
programming, and benefits from support services indus-
tries. The UWN brings all the stakeholders together to
inform, collaborate, and connect to build community
and business and consumer confidence in urban wood.
Collectively, we have an opportunity to realize a cir-
cular economy that contributes to global sustainability.
UWN is a national platform for those who work in and
with the urban wood industry so that individual efforts
are leveraged for the greatest impact. UWN is a repos-
itory of information for those who use urban wood
and provides industry-specific training, outreach mate-
rials, branding, and digital engagement of consumers.
From the USDA Forest Service and Partners
Urban Wood
Roundtable
By Morgan Grove, Joe Lehnen, Marisa Repka, Jeff Carroll, Kari Divine, Scott Paul,
Katie Fernholz, Steve Freeman, Cherie Fisher, Sarah Hines, and Phil Rodbell
14 CityTREES
