Learn More: Urban Forestry

Learn More: Urban Forestry

Resources for Planning our Tree Canopy and Learning How Trees Work for Us

Urban Tree Canopy Goals. Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Urban tree canopy (UTC) is the layer of leaves, branches, and stems of trees that cover the ground when viewed from above. Thirty-six communities in Maryland have committed to participation in the UTC Goal effort to date, including Greenbelt and Hyattsville. Technical assistance partners include MD DNR, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the US Forest Service, and the University of Vermont Spatial Analysis Lab. The Chesapeake Bay Trust's Community Greening grant supports communities that have committed to UTC goals and urban tree planting. Description of Maryland's Urban Tree Canopy Project and application.

Maryland Forest Resource Strategy, 2010-2015. Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

"Forests are the most protective land use for water quality, so the conversion of forests to other

land uses is one of the most significant threats to Maryland’s water quality. Riparian areas and other hydrologically active areas like seeps, springs, and toe slopes are especially important locations to have forests present on the landscape."

A report outlining goals, including prevention of the loss of forest land, reduction of the trend toward forest fragmentation, expansion of tree planting on public and private land, promotion of species and landscape diversity, development of approaches to improve the health and survival of urban forests, the protection of Maryland streamsides with riparian forest buffers, and the development of tools to help communities connect open spaces to build a functioning green infrastructure. Suggests providing incentives for small acreage owners to convert lawn to natural areas, the use of forests to help meet TMDL requirements, and providing assistance to towns to enhance and restore open space and expand urban tree canopy.

Planning the Urban Forest. American Planning Association

A best practices manual. Adopting a Green Infrastructure Approach to plan making. Implementing Best Management Practices that promote Green Infrastructure.

Alliance for Community Trees

Membership organization in College Park. “Our independent, community-based members are planting, preserving, and maintaining the tree canopies of all major metro markets and many towns in between.”

Trees for Biodiversity

Which trees are best able to support Lepidoptera species? From Douglas W. Tallamy's Bringing Nature Home.

Goals for Community Forest Programs

Tree ordinance guidelines from the International Society of Arboriculture.

"You might consider a policy which calls for planting native trees in public places." "In areas with native tree resources, ordinance provisions that address this goal should conserve stands of trees rather than only individual tree specimens. They should prevent depletion of the tree canopy over both short-term and long-term time horizons."