120 Berland et al.: Assessment of Tree City Participation Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2016. 42(2): 120–130 National Assessment of Tree City USA Participation According to Geography and Socioeconomic Characteristics Adam Berland, Dustin L. Herrmann, and Matthew E. Hopton Abstract. Tree City USA is a national program that recognizes municipal commitment to community forestry. In return for meet- ing program requirements, Tree City USA participants expect social, economic, and/or environmental benefits. Understanding the geographic distribution and socioeconomic characteristics of Tree City USA communities at the national scale can offer insights into the motivations or barriers to program participation, and provide context for community forestry research at finer scales. In this study, researchers assessed patterns in Tree City USA participation for all U.S. communities with more than 2,500 people accord- ing to geography, community population size, and socioeconomic characteristics, such as income, education, and race. Nationally, 23.5% of communities studied were Tree City USA participants, and this accounted for 53.9% of the total population in these com- munities. Tree City USA participation rates varied substantially by U.S. region, but in each region participation rates were higher in larger communities, and long-term participants tended to be larger communities than more recent enrollees. In logistic regression mod- els, owner occupancy rates were significant negative predictors of Tree City USA participation, education and percent white popula- tion were positive predictors in many U.S. regions, and inconsistent patterns were observed for income and population age. The find- ings indicate that communities with smaller populations, lower education levels, and higher minority populations are underserved regionally by Tree City USA, and future efforts should identify and overcome barriers to participation in these types of communities. Key Words. Arbor Day Foundation; Community Forestry; Community Size; Geographic Region; Green Infrastructure; Municipal Management; Tree City USA. Urban trees provide a wide array of environmen- tal, social, and economic benefits (Dwyer et al. 1992; McPherson et al. 1997; Donovan and Butry 2010), such as improved stormwater manage- ment, reduced urban heat island effects, and increased property values. Most residents agree that urban trees are important and the benefits of trees outweigh the annoyances trees cause (Lohr et al. 2004; Schroeder et al. 2006). It is common for municipalities to plant and maintain trees on public land to take advantage of the ben- efits trees provide and to meet citizen demand for treed urban landscapes. However, commu- nity forestry programs vary widely in terms of institutional structure, tree care practices, and funding (Kuhns et al. 2005; Ries et al. 2007; Ste- venson et al. 2008), which makes it difficult to gauge a municipality’s dedication to community ©2016 International Society of Arboriculture forestry. The Tree City USA (TCUSA) program addresses this difficulty by recognizing commu- nities that demonstrate a commitment to tree planting and care (Rosenow and Yager 2007). In the United States, TCUSA is the primary national program certifying the proactive man- agement of community forests. TCUSA was cre- ated in 1976 and is administered by the Arbor Day Foundation in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters (Arbor Day Foundation 2014). Partici- pation in the TCUSA program is voluntary, and contingent on communities meeting the follow- ing community forestry standards: 1) establishing a tree board or department with legal respon- sibility for tree care on municipal property; 2) enacting an ordinance to guide tree care; 3) com- mitting to a community forestry program with
March 2016
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