USA; 12/25/08

Protecting and Developing the Urban Tree Canopy: A 135-City Survey ..."In cities across America, efforts to preserve and enlarge the tree canopy in support of both sustainability and beautification goals have grown in importance over the past several years. The U.S. Conference of Mayors Community Trees Task Force was created in 2006 in response to mayors’ increasing awareness of the value of urban forests and their increasing interest in ways that communities can be improved through expansion of community tree programs. The Task Force requested that Conference staff undertake a survey of current efforts in cities to expand and protect the urban tree canopy; The Home Depot Foundation provided funding for the effort. The goal was to produce a baseline of information – essentially, a report on the state of community trees in America – that could be shared by all mayors and other stakeholders concerned with the management and care of an increasingly important urban forest." [from Executive Summary]