Community Forestry Management in Alaska

Municipality of Anchorage

The Municipality of Anchorage has completed the following projects since 2008. Each was funded by a grant to the Alaska Community Forestry Program from the USDA Forest Service. The municipality also hired the state's first municipal forester, Scott Stringer, in 2008. Scott implements the following plans and manages the city's public trees and forests. Anchorage has been a Tree City USA since 2007.

Anchorage Street Tree Inventory covers public trees along streets, in municipal parks, and around public facilities. It includes the species, size, condition, maintenance needs, and appraised value of each tree. All data is entered into the municipal Geographic Information System (GIS) and can be used by all city departments for planning purposes. The inventory was begun in 2009 and continues. The Municipality of Anchorage has completed the following projects since 2008. Each was funded by a grant to the Alaska Community Forestry Program from the USDA Forest Service. The municipality also hired the state's first municipal forester, Scott Stringer, in 2008. Scott implements the following plans and manages the city's public trees and forests. Anchorage has been a Tree City USA since 2007.

Urban Forestry Management Plan resulted from an evaluation of the inventory data and Anchorage's municipal forestry program. It provides goals and recommendations to expand and to improve the health and safety of the urban forest though strategic, cost effective practices.

Anchorage Forestland Assessment included mapping the tree canopy over the entire municipality (1,955 square miles), quantifying the environmental services forests provide, and identifying threats to the health and sustainability of the forest. A public survey provided information about how a variety of individuals and organizations view and value forested lands and suggestions for how to conserve and manage Anchorage's forest resources. The management plan provides recommendations for preserving the condition and health of valuable forestlands and the vital benefits that they provide to both humans and wildlife.

Fairbanks North Star Borough

The borough has an Urban Forestry Plan and a mission, to provide a hazard free, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing urban forest system in and around Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks. The borough completed an inventory of trees in 47 parks in 2005 and has developed a management plan.

John Haas
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Department of Parks & Recreation
P.O. Box 71267
Fairbanks, AK 99707
(907) 459–1198
jhaas@co.Fairbanks.ak.us

City of Wasilla

Urban Forest Inventory – The City completed a tree inventory covering public trees along streets, in municipal parks, and around public facilities. It includes the species, size, condition, maintenance needs, and appraised value of each tree. All data is entered into the city's Geographic Information System (GIS) and can be used by departments for planning purposes. The inventory, funded by the Community Forestry Program, was begun in 2010 and continues.

Urban Forestry Management Plan - Information gathered from the inventory, combined with a review of current management practices, produced a plan that will guide the expansion of the city's urban forestry program and will help the city manage the tree population through strategic, cost effective practices.

City of Homer 2010

Urban Forest Inventory and Training - The City completed an inventory of public trees along streets, in municipal parks, and around public facilities. The program also trained City of Homer staff in use of tree inventory software and evaluating trees and site conditions. The inventory, funded by the Community Forestry Program, includes the species, size, condition, maintenance needs, and appraised value of each tree and was completed in two and a half days. The inventory is available to all city departments through the Geographic Information System (GIS) and can be used by departments for planning purposes.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough 2009/2010

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Urban Forest Inventory - The Borough completed an inventory of the public trees along streets, in municipal parks, and around public facilities. Completed in 2010 with funding from the Community Forestry Program, the inventory includes the species, size, condition, maintenance needs, and appraised value of each tree. Inventory data is available to all departments through the borough's Geographic Information System (GIS) and can be used for planning purposes.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Urban Forestry Management Plan - Information gathered from the inventory, combined with a review of current management practices, produced a plan that will guide the expansion of the borough's urban forestry program and will help manage the tree population in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Alaska Community Forestry Organizations


Anchorage TREErific is a community group with a mission: Enriching our community through the planting, caring, and promotion of trees. TREErific volunteers meet for educational presentations, field trips, and to plan and sponsor tree planting or maintenance projects. For information or to be added to the e-mail list for notice of events, visit TREErific's website or contact treerificAnchorage@yahoo.com.


Fairbanks Arbor Day Committee


Arbor Day Committee members plant trees in Veteran’s Memorial Park, one of many Arbor Day plantings in Fairbanks.

Arbor Day Committee volunteers have organized tree-planting events in the Fairbanks area each year for over 25 years. In 2005, the committee was honored at the National Arbor Day Foundation's annual awards ceremony as a "program that best represents the spirit of the tree planters' holiday."

Fairbanks Arbor Day Committee
c/o Jim Smith
(907)-687-0321
email:James Smith


The Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership


Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership is a volunteer nonprofit group that promotes the selection, planting, and care of trees within Juneau. The group is composed of community members ranging from master gardeners and foresters to landscape architects and members at large. Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership organizes Arbor Day activities and other tree plantings, works with local schools and youth groups, and provides tree and forestry related information.


For more information, see the following publications:

Sitka Tree and Landscape Committee


Sitkans celebrate after planting trees and shrubs near the O'Connell Bridge to the airport in 2006.

In 2008, Sitka volunteers planted trees at the new Kimsham Recreation Complex, built over a former landfill. A Community Forestry Program grant funded the planting.

The seven-member committee, begun in 2001, has helped the City of Sitka complete a tree inventory and landscape plan. The group organizes projects to plant and care for trees. It has sponsored a landscape beautification contest and partnered with the local utility to produce a brochure on planting the right tree in the right place and mailed it to all customers.


Accomplishment Report (PDF) Chairman Joe D'Arienzo: delsenzo@hotmail.com
(907) 747-7448

Other Communities


For information on how you can become involved in tree planting or other community forestry activities in your community, please contact the Alaska Community Forestry Program.