Local Government Perceptions of Urban Forestry

The urban forest is a decidedly local issue. The size, impact, and benefits of the urban forest vary depending upon the local ecosystem, planning, and presence of a professional urban forester and staff, community commitment to an urban forest, and political understanding and political will to provide for and support a viable urban forest. Consistent with the vitality of the urban forest is political understanding of the importance of the urban forest, and a knowledge gap often exists between urban foresters and their local government leaders that is often large. For example, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the potential disparity between urban foresters and political leaders views of the urban forest.