Understanding Public Opinion and Support for the Maintenance and Protection of Trees in Knox County, Tennessee: A Mail Survey of Area Homeowners

The primary purpose of this research was to determine public knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and support for the maintenance and protection of trees in Knox County.

It was the goal of this study to provide decision makers a better understanding of the social factors that may influence public support for modifying tree protection and management policy. The results show that Knox County homeowners’ knowledge about and experience with tree care enable an openness to outreach on these policy issues, but that the complex relationships of these indices with attitudes and willingness to support environmental protection proposals are also valid for understanding why residents may oppose an option. Gender, age, and prior involvement with pro-environmental organizations and activities showed the strongest correlation with support for more governmental intervention in the protection, planting, and management of trees. Income only made a difference if associated with gender; statistically, women score higher on the attitude scale than men at higher income levels, while there is no significant difference between men and women at lower income levels. Finally, there was no difference between city vs. non-city dwellers either in attitudes about trees nor levels of support for legislation to protect the local urban tree canopy.

In areas undergoing rapid population growth such as Knox County, the protection of the urban tree canopy for social and environmental benefits necessitates tradeoffs. Implementing a management strategy is further complicated when views in a community vary about the appropriate level of legislation for meeting environmental standards as opposed to social and economic expectations. Ultimately, however, citizens and decision makers alike in a democratic society must decide what social, economic, and environmental amenities are the most important when crafting a policy to protect and maintain the urban tree canopy in Knox County.

[from report conclusions]

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