ABOUT NUCFAC
The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council
(NUCFAC) advises the Secretary of Agriculture on matters relat-
ing to the protection, planting, and care of trees and forests
in our nation's cities and communities. Since 1994, NUCFAC
annually recommends urban and community forestry projects
for funding to the USDA Forest Service (USFS). Recommended
projects meet objectives outlined in the current National Urban
and Community Forestry (UCF) Ten-Year Action Plan, which is
used to expand awareness of the benefits that urban and com-
munity forests provide to urban areas.
This repor t demonstrates the value of NUCFAC-
recommended grants awarded during the years 2010-
2015.
A final report, summary report, white paper, and
case studies
have been created for detailed information
about this study and the impacts of the grants.
3) The US Forest Service, American Forests, the National
Association of Regional Councils, and numerous cohorts
created
Vibrant Cities Lab to help city managers, policy-
makers, and advocates build thriving urban forest pro-
grams. Here's a terrific
article Ian Leahy of American Forests
wrote about it.
Key passage from the article:
Urban forestry as a discipline has matured to a stage where-
by it is ready to integrate into the decision-making processes
of the disciplines that impact tree canopy the most. Vibrant
Cities Lab is an important online infrastructure to begin
doing that on a national scale. Lance Davisson, chair of the
National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council to
the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, captured this
vision perfectly.
"The Vibrant Cities Lab is a valuable resource for all profession-
als who are charged with planning for and managing the green
infrastructure of our nation's cities and towns," says Davisson.
"The Vibrant Cities Lab brings together a much-needed com-
pendium of information for urban and community forestry, and
provides access to technical tools for long-term sustainable
management of this critical community resource. This is a great
resource for urban and community forest efforts everywhere to
reach new scale and effectiveness."
final
report
j
u
n
e
2017
SREF-UF-004
stakeholders. Projects focused on human
health and wellness benefits of urban
trees and forests, job creation through
green infrastructure, youth leadership
skills, technology to advance tree risk
assessment, urban resilience, trees and
stormwater management, and much more.
The study found that the publicly-funded
grant program supports research that
improves the economic, environmental,
and social challenges faced by those who
live, work, and recreate in urban areas.
Extension personnel can benefit from this
report by accessing new research and as
justification for arboriculture and urban
forestry educational programming.
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