Alaska Community Forestry Program

Helps communities build effective, self-sustaining forestry and tree care programs with strong local support.

Community forests across the country are in serious decline due to invasive species, storms, extreme weather, wild?res, reduced budgets, and development pressures. Many towns have lost as much as 40 percent of their tree canopy. The loss of this green infrastructure greatly hampers a community’s ability to meet environmental requirements, including EPA air and water quality standards.

The Alaska Division of Forestry, with financial assistance from the USDA Forest Service, helps establish and sustain local community forestry programs throughout Alaska. The state fosters partnerships between government agencies, businesses, and volunteers and leverages the support needed to improve community forests and meet local needs.

Two staff members provide technical assistance, presentations, and publications on many topics.

• Urban tree and forest inventories and management plans;
• Selecting species appropriate for the site;
• Planting, pruning, and caring for trees and shrubs;
• Site design, planting specifications and details;
• Tree problem diagnosis;
• Local ordinances and other means of preserving and maintaining community trees and forests;
• Retaining and protecting trees during construction;
• Environmental, economic, and social benefits provided by healthy trees and forests;
• Organizing volunteers to plant and care for trees.

Community Forestry fact sheet (PDF)

For more information, contact:

Alaska Division of Forestry Community Forestry Program 550 W. Seventh Avenue, Suite 1450 Anchorage, AK 99501-3566 Fax: (907) 269-8931

Patricia Joyner, Program Coordinator
Phone: (907) 269-8465
Email

Stephen Nickel, Community Assistance Forester
Phone: (907) 269-8466
Email

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