Protecting and Developing the Urban Tree Canopy: A 135-City Survey

Trees make important contributions to society and are an integral part of urban infrastructure, as critical to the health and livability of communities as roads, sewers, and buildings. Mayors recognize the invaluable role of urban forests in the protection of public health and reduction of harmful greenhouse gases. We surveyed our members to establish a baseline of information on their current community tree efforts; with this report, we are pleased to share that baseline of information with all mayors and all others dedicated to protecting and expanding the critical national resource our urban forests represent.

"In cities across America, efforts to preserve and enlarge the tree canopy in support of both sustainability and beautification goals have grown in importance over the past several years. The U.S. Conference of Mayors Community Trees Task Force was created in 2006 in response to mayors’ increasing awareness of the value of urban forests and their increasing interest in ways that communities can be improved through expansion of community tree programs. The Task Force requested that Conference staff undertake a survey of current efforts in cities to expand and protect the urban tree canopy; The Home Depot Foundation provided funding for the effort. The goal was to produce a baseline of information – essentially, a report on the state of community trees in America – that could be shared by all mayors and other stakeholders concerned with the management and care of an increasingly important urban forest." [from Executive Summary]

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