248 Treiman and Gartner: Public Attitude Survey in Missouri behaviors regarding nature in cities should be a major focus of any communications plan. Many avenues of delivery should be explored, including media kits, general public programs, development of publications, and production of video and/or television segments. A concerted effort should be made to strengthen partnerships with local garden centers and landscape/nursery associations to facilitate the sharing of information. Cost-share dollars from MDC should continue to be made available to communities to fund educational efforts and training that focus on trees. The Hypothetical Tree Fund Residents in communities with a population of 50,000, in the St. Louis and Kansas City suburbs, and the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City show strong support for a tax of $5 or less to support a tree fund. When pursuing passage of such a ballot issue, a promotion plan that carefully consid- ers the amount of the tax, community responsibility for trees, and tree condition should be developed. These factors all play heavily into an individual’s decision to support a fund dedicated to tree care in a community. A plan that addresses the concern of “other community priorities/ needs” cited by many “no” voters would make the ballot issue much more compelling. Survey results show that only 11% thought that people in their community (other than themselves) would be willing to pay more in taxes for better tree care, yet over half of respondents said that they themselves would be willing. Many individuals who would support such an initiative feel as if they are the only one who does. In addition, more attention and analysis needs to be given to the differences between the higher willingness to pay of larger and suburban communities and the lower willingness to pay of smaller communities. Groninger et al. (2002) noted that urban forestry has “traditionally been confined to large cities and their suburbs.” Both educational and programmatic efforts will need to be better focused on smaller communities if both the quality of their urban forest resource and the level of interest of their residents are to be increased. Tree Preservation Ordinance Survey findings show support for passage of tree protection ordinances. Missourians in communities with a population greater than 5,000 showed a marked concern to protect or replace trees during development. As urban sprawl and community growth and expansion continue, the issues of reduced number of trees and the associated impact on property values, stormwater runoff, and reduced aesthetics become important. When pursuing passage of such an ordinance, a plan identifying key messages and a schedule of implementation should be developed. The impact on these three key concepts would be important to publicize when attempting passage of a tree preservation ordinance. ©2005 International Society of Arboriculture The measure would be more likely to pass if the issue of “development costs” could be framed in a convincing manner. This could be done by outlining the benefits of a shaded residence and the positive financial impact that trees have on businesses. Such information may shift some of the “no” voters to a positive position. Tree City USA The Tree City USA program is publicized by The National Arbor Day Foundation as a way to “make a strong contribu- tion to your community’s pride.” Survey results clearly show that the majority of Missourians are unaware whether their community has achieved certification as a Tree City USA. Consequently, it seems that such certification plays a very small role in building community pride. Despite this lack of recognition, Tree City USA certifica- tion is a valuable goal for every community regardless of size. The four standards a community must meet to earn certifica- tion provide structure for a successful and sustainable community forestry program. Those communities that achieve certification should take steps to better inform residents of their achievement. The current recognition tools, which include a Tree City USA flag, highway road signs, decals, hats, and patches, do not seem to be enough to inform residents of the community’s achievement. Further thought needs to be given to developing new tools and to making better use of today’s technology to share information. Missourians value their natural resources, have strong beliefs about what should be done to care for the trees in their communities, and are even willing to approve various ballot measures to address tree-related concerns. They feel that not enough is being done to adequately address managing stormwater runoff and making sure fewer trees are lost during development. Yet many Missourians seem to lack a grasp of what specifically their community has undertaken to address tree related issues and concerns. Community forestry managers should consider develop- ment of a communications plan with a schedule of imple- mentation in order to secure public support for the management of a community’s tree infrastructure. LITERATURE CITED Baker, F. 1993. Monitoring the urban forest —Case studies and evaluations. Environ. Monitor. Assess. 26(2–3):153– 163. Baruch, Y. 1999. Response rate in academic studies— A comparative analysis. Hum. Relat. 52(4):421438. Boyle, K. 2003. Contingent valuation in practice, pp. 111– 169. In Champ, P., K. Boyle, and T. Brown (Eds.). A Primer on Nonmarket Valuation. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordecht, The Netherlands. Connelly, N, T.L. Brown, and D.J. Decker. 2003 Factors affecting response rates to natural resource-focused mail
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