UCFS News
Introducing the New ISA Certified Urban
Forest Professional Credential
By Leslie Berckes, UCFS Executive Director
10 CityTREES
We have exciting news for urban foresters looking
to enhance their credibility, advance their career,
and meet the demand for more urban and com-
munity foresters! The International Society of
Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist Municipal
Specialist® will now be called ISA Certified Urban
Forest Professional. This marks a major development
in our profession as we seek to grow healthy trees
where people live. As a Professional Affiliate of ISA,
UCFS is thrilled to partner with ISA on the rollout.
According to the research paper Borrowed Credentials
and Surrogate Professional Societies: A Critical Analysis
of the Urban Forestry Profession, a true profession
must meet two criteria: 1) it provides an essential
service to society, and 2) it requires a high level of spe-
cialization that sets it apart from other occupations
and disciplines. These two foundations, in combina-
tion, must be guided by a body of knowledge, meaning
that there is a core understanding of what the profes-
sional should know and do. Think doctor, architect,
teacher—each of these professions provides some-
thing that society needs, you need to be trained to do
it, and there is core knowledge that you must have.
So, with this foundational understanding of a profes-
sion, how do you prove that you have the knowledge
needed for the job? This is where credentialing comes
in. Credentialing helps determine which professionals
are qualified, thus providing regulation. It serves as a
tool of ethical accountability by maintaining standards, it
upholds practitioner accountability and connection to the
body of knowledge, and it serves as occupational closure.
At UCFS, we know you are the experts in the field and
you have equal footing with the architects, engineers,
and city planners who help shape our communities.
A body of knowledge and credentialing proves that
each of these professionals meet core requirements
in exactly the same way as your knowledge of the
fundamental science of tree care and how to grow a
community of trees proves your professional chops.
This brings us back to the newly renamed and updated
ISA Certified Urban Forest Professional. For over a
year, UCFS has worked closely with ISA on a job task
analysis where the day-to-day fundamental skills and
knowledge needed to be an urban forester were ana-
lyzed. A job task analysis is the single most important
process performed to ensure the program is effec-
tive, credible, and defensible (Henderson 2019).
Going forward, there will be changes in eligibility for
the program and the required competencies that
are assessed in the examination. See the tables out-
lining the current examination requirements and
what will be tested starting on March 31, 2025.
Additionally, maintenance of the ISA Certified Arborist®
credential will no longer be a requirement for mainte-
nance of the ISA Certified Urban Forest Professional >>
