Date: Thursday, May 16th, 2024
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm (noon)
Location: Lombard Village Hall: Community Room – 255 E Wilson Ave, Lombard, IL 60148
Speakers, Topic, & Description: Planning for Community Trees: Chicago’s Urban Forest Management Plan
While many municipal arborists and urban foresters fundamentally know what needs to be done in their community, forestry is not practiced in a vacuum. Tree management plans, urban forest plans, and similar strategies are not only a great tool to help prioritize and budget for key forestry activities, they’re also important communication tools to build support and justify crucial investment in your operations. Using Chicago’s 2023 Urban Forest Management Plan as an example, we’ll discuss best practices in the development of community tree management plans and strategies, the process to develop such a plan, and how Chicago’s plan has been used to advance the City’s forestry program.
Joseph McCarthy, is Senior Forester, City of Chicago Dept. of Forestry. Since 1990, Joseph has worked to foster cooperation with other city departments ensuring that all reasonable options are explored to preserve and protect city trees in capital improvement projects. Joseph is very engaged in the CRTI and has been a tremendous asset in understanding challenges at the larger community scale that include resident communication, interdepartmental challenges, climate adaptation, and volunteer engagement, among others. Joseph led the development of the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan and is responsible for advancing the City’s forestry priorities outlined in the plan.
Pete Sorensen is a project manager with Davey Resource Group, Inc. Pete manages tree inventories, authors tree management plans, conducts tree risk assessments, and supports tree preservation projects across Illinois and Wisconsin. Pete was heavily involved in Chicago’s Urban Forest Management Plan and has helped numerous communities in Wisconsin and Illinois complete planning efforts.
Lee Mueller, is a market manager with Davey Resource Group, Inc. Lee has supported the development and implementation of multiple strategic forestry planning processes across the midwest. He’s previously spoken to various audiences about the importance of strategic planning in municipal forestry operations, development of good objectives and goals in planning efforts, and how to leverage planning processes to advance operational goals.
Please fill out the form below to register to attend.
