Urban Forestry

What is the Urban Forest and Why is it Important?

The urban forest is all of the trees and other plants in and around a city, village or development. It includes tree-lined streets, home landscapes, school yards, parks, riverbanks, cemeteries, vacant lots, utility rights-of-way, adjacent woodlands and anywhere else trees and plants can grow in any community. From Milwaukee to Minong, there are nearly 2 million acres of urban forest in Wisconsin, home to 80% of the state’s population.

Urban forests help sustain Wisconsin communities, providing:

Urban Forestry in Wisconsin
Of the 687 cities, villages and urban towns in Wisconsin, 290 have some urban forestry program. This ranges from those doing a tree planting project to those with fully sustained management programs. Urban forest management is provided by local government staff, private companies, nonprofit organizations and volunteers.

The DNR has provided urban forestry technical, educational, public awareness and financial assistance to Wisconsin communities since 1990. Driven by a strategic plan, the DNR provides technical assistance to over 200 communities annually. It produces a quarterly newsletter, an annual conference, an annual workshop series and an extensive web site. The program involves children in urban forestry through its statewide 5^th grade Arbor Day poster contest, highlighted by its Arbor Day calendar.

A state and federally funded cost-share grant program provides financial assistance to about 60 cities, villages, counties, towns, tribes and nonprofit organizations annually. Since the grant program began in 1993, over 680 grants have been awarded totaling more than $6.8 million. The USDA Forest Service provides Wisconsin with an annual urban forestry grant of about $250,000 which is split between support of DNR activities and pass-through grants to communities.

In addition, the DNR and the Forest Service are piloting methods to assess the urban forest resource, determine its statewide characteristics and develop science-based goals for community forestry programs.

What is the Urban Forestry Council?
The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council is a group of citizens appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources to advise the State Forester and DNR on the best ways to preserve, protect, expand and improve Wisconsin’s urban forest resources. The council also strives to assist all parties involved in urban forestry to coordinate activities. Council members represent the many organizations and interests that affect the urban forest.

What is Tree City USA?
Tree City USA is a national program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation and managed by DNR, that recognizes communities for meeting basic standards of urban forest management. Wisconsin has 143 Tree Cities, ranking it 3^rd in the nation. Since the DNR program began, the number of Tree Cities has tripled.

Tree Cities in Wisconsin

* = First-time TCUSA Bold = Growth Award