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Increasing Capacity for CollaborationAgenda9:30 a.m. Coffee/tea 10 a.m. How the Urban Forest Can Improve Water Quality—and Help Meet TMDL Regulations
The waters of Tampa Bay are considered by the EPA to be impaired due to overloading of nitrogen. Local stakeholders have developed a plan to ensure that levels of nitrogen meet the goals of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). However, additional nitrogen reductions will be needed, especially related to transport via stormwater. Tree canopy coverage and stormwater volume reduction have not previously been formally considered by the stakeholder group as an opportunity for nitrogen removal. To this point, land use has been the primary consideration, not land cover. As the TMDL process moves forward, TMDL stakeholders may have an interest in adopting, supporting, or funding tree planting and/or management to calculate nitrogen reductions and to earn “credits” of nitrogen removal to Tampa Bay. 10:15 a.m. Is Bigger Better? The results of a 5-year study comparing survival and growth characteristics of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), red maple (Acer rubrum) and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) planted in 1- 3- and 7-gallon container grown stock sizes for wetland mitigation. 10:30 a.m. Lakeland’s Urban Forest Program Over the past several years we have presented to you many of the details of our urban forestry program. The City of Lakeland has been recognized as a “Tree City” by the national Arbor Day Foundation for the last six years. We have a well trained and knowledgeable staff- with two nationally certified arborists that oversee our urban forest operations. The discipline of urban forestry has changed in the last 20 years to include other disciplines like health sciences, ecology, hydrology, atmospheric science, energy conservation and storm water control. Today we would like to talk about the benefits of trees and begin to show how the benefits from trees relate to the City’s strategic operating plan. 10:45 a.m. Biomimicry: a Collaboration of Natural Science and Architecture As we develop more and more land in Florida our watershed areas are areas of interest for their views and seclusion from the current urban centers. As most areas outside of Urban Centers, the quiet destinations eventually turn into urban centers of their own. Our discussion speaks to the integrated development of this water sensitive area through collaboration of natural science and architecture, a method refer to as biomimicry. Our insertions into this environment range from a single family home to a mixed use facility showing a possible range of development. 11 a.m. Exploring the Equity Implications of an Urban Amenity: Street Trees in Tampa, Florida The distribution of environmental hazards has received considerable attention in urban research, yet few studies have examined the socio-spatial inequities associated with the distribution of amenities. We will present our results from Tampa, where we investigate the environmental equity implications of street trees--an important publicly financed amenity that provides direct and indirect benefits to urban residents. We discuss our findings relative to previous literature as well as implications related to local public policy strategies. 11:15 a.m. US Environmental Protection Agency’s Ecosystem Services Research Program – Tampa Bay Project In cooperation with local and regional partners the Ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP) in EPA's Office of Research and Development is studying the ways ecosystem services benefit human health and well-being in the Tampa Bay Estuary Watershed as part of a larger research effort to better understand the value of ecosystem services. 11:30 a.m. Characterizing Urban Plant Communities in Tampa Fl and Adjacent Watersheds A multivariate analysis model is being used to characterize urban plant communities in Tampa and its surrounding sub-basin watersheds. These urban plant communities will be compared to existing plant communities documented in the current literature. This information will help natural resource managers assess current habitat types and their availability, target conservation and restoration efforts, and assist with future planning and development. 11:45 a.m. Community Forest Steward Program There is great interest in urban and community forestry in Florida, with an ever-increasing need for trained volunteers. The Florida Community Forest Steward Program was developed fill that void. In Spring 2009 the Community Forest Steward Program (1st cohort) produced 15 trained volunteer graduates. Evaluations of the program showed that 99% of the participants strongly agreed that the classes met or exceeded their learning expectations and 93% felt that the instructional materials would be immediately useful. Pre and post-testing were used to evaluate immediate gains in knowledge and skills. Pre-tests averaged 48%, while post-tests averaged 81%. An informal telephone survey indicates that all volunteers are providing service to their communities at this time. The program has been initially successful in providing trained volunteer leaders for community forest management. A second program is set for Fall, 2009. 12 noon Lunch – on your own 1 p.m. Hillsborough County Stormwater Environmental Programs Initiatives The Hillsborough County Stormwater Environmental Programs consist of several innovative, award-winning, and long-running programs such as Adopt-A-Pond and Stormwater Ecologist, as well as several new initiatives, including social and scientific data gathering, programs to reduce bacterial contamination from pet waste, and a green streets pilot. This presentation includes an overview of the programs and a discussion of the initiatives with a view to inviting collaboration and partnership. Many of these programs are compatible with urban forestry concerns. 1:15 p.m. Lygodium microphyllum: Working Across Fence Lines to Minimize a Threat Lygodium microphyllum, or Old World climbing fern (OWCF), works its way across all property boundaries and so must all of us who hope to control this invasive plant. This presentation introduces two partnerships that have formed to do just that – the Central Florida Lygodium Strategy and the Green Swamp Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. It shows how the two are working together and how others can participate. It also teaches how to identify and treat OWCF. 1:30 p.m. Assessing Community Leader Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Urban and Urbanizing Forests In Florida an urban forest needs assessment was developed using two nominal groups with urban and suburban residents of Hillsborough County, Florida (Northrop and others 2007). Homeowner association (HOA) leaders were mailed surveys in Hillsborough County (2006) and Broward County, Florida (2008). Broward County results were compared to survey results from Hillsborough County (Escobedo and others 2008) and a national survey of homeowners concerning their attitudes toward urban trees (Lohr and others 2004) to identify variations in perceived benefits and costs. 1:45 p.m. Identification and Mapping of Urban Forest Species with High Spatial/Spectral Resolution Data A total of 13 urban forest species were identified with in situ hyperspectral measurements. A certain number of spectral features including derivative spectra, spectral indices, spectral absorption features and spectral transform variables (canonical variables) were extracted from the in situ hyperspectral data for the species identification. With high spatial resolution IKONOS image data, urban forest species were mapped. In this presentation, the results of identifying and mapping urban tree species will be presented, analyzed and discussed. 2 p.m. Forest Stewardship Planning for Managing and Maintaining the Family Forest Enterprise Florida’s non-industrial private forest (NIPF) lands, especially those managed according to a multiple-use management plan, provide many environmental services to society. The Forest Stewardship Program provides planning and management assistance to non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners. One of the biggest challenges facing landowners in the Tampa Bay Watershed is generating income from their farm or forest property. Landowners need information about and access to profitable local forest product markets and technical information on production and marketing. 2:15 p.m. Restoring the Hydrologic Function of a Forest Slough The Florida Division of Forestry recently completed work on a wetlands restoration project on Otter Slough which drains into Lake Kissimmee. The funding for the project came from a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service WRP grant and with additional cost sharing paid for by South Florida Water Management District. The goal of the project was to restore a more natural sheet flow which retains more water on the slough (allowing more infiltration to groundwater) except when we get sheet flow conditions which will allow for more dispersed drainage during heavy rain incidents. This project was conducted in conjunction with a SFWMD project along their part of the property directly on the lake side. The presentation will cover the reasons/background of the project, show how the project progressed, and the finished project. 2:30– 3 p.m. Wrap up – setting course for upcoming year (Oct 2009 – Sept 2010)
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