Urban Forestry Management Program

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BACKGROUND

The City of Tarpon Springs has been awarded a grant from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and Florida Forest Service, to create, monitor, and fully implement a Tarpon Springs Urban Forestry Program.

An Urban Forestry Program is an action plan that provides the City detailed information, recommendations and resources needed to effectively and proactively manage public trees.

City of Tarpon Springs Municipal Arborist, Shannon Brewer, will oversee the successful completion and implementation of the program!


SCOPE OF WORK

The Tarpon Springs Urban Forestry Program will be created within three years with each year having a specific scope of work.

  • YEAR 1: Hazardous and Street Tree Inventory - The inventory will document and collect data on trees on public lands for the purpose of city tree asset management.
    • Phase I complete - Read the final report located in the documents tab of this page.
    • Phase II expected to begin Summer 2024
  • YEAR 2: Creation of an Urban Forestry Master Plan - The plan will contain a description of the community, a vision for the urban forest, a strategic plan, an implementation and a monitoring plan, and a prioritization criteria work plan for 5, 10, and 20 year cycles.
  • YEAR 3: Replanting the Urban Forest - This phase will consist of planting street trees in areas with little to no canopy coverage to provide future shade, wildlife, and returning a sense of community back to neighborhoods.

BOC APPROVES LIMB UP FOR SAFETY PROJECT

The City of Tarpon Springs recognizes the need to maintain tree canopy while providing valuable safety resources to its citizens. Many neighborhoods have tree limbs growing into the roadway so low that emergency response vehicles cannot pass safely. Limb Up for Safety Project goal is to raise the tree canopy to 16 feet above the road and 10 feet above the sidewalk. This project will allow for dedicated efforts to improve safety concerns and accessibility during time of natural disasters.

The focus area of this project is Union Academy and Census Tract 274.04 areas (See map below or attached in documents). These areas have important physical and cultural tree canopies. Due to the rising cost of tree care, many of these historic trees are being removed instead of pruned. The project's tree inventory component will help identify those trees for further preservation. The data collected will be added to the existing street tree inventory.



250 TREES PLANTED!

During the annual Touch A Truck event, the Tarpon Springs Urban Forestry Program gave away 250 trees, Trees Are Good coloring books, Project Learning Tree backyard safari family activities, and tons of tree care information. This year's species were black mulberry, dahoon holly, seagrape and dwarf cavendish banana. Once the trees are planted we would love to watch them grow with you. Email your pictures to sbrewer@ctsfl.us




STATE OF FLORIDA CANOPY ASSESSMENT RESULTS

Florida Forest Service conducted a statewide urban tree canopy analysis for every incorporated community in the state! This assessment is freely available to anyone and can be found at Florida Forest Service (pg-cloud.com). From this link, just select a community to view the canopy analysis, divided into Census Block Groups. From there, there’s a myriad of tools. With this analysis, a written report was created that shows the results of this analysis to help make the information easier to understand. Read the report located in the Documents section.

Key Findings:

  • Urban tree canopy covered 1,540,257 acres representing an average coverage of 36%.
  • Over the entire assessment period, a roughly equal number of municipalities experienced canopy gains as those that experienced losses. 243 communities had net positive canopy changes, compared to 245 communities with net negative changes.
  • Severe storms, particularly Hurricane Michael, which made landfall in the West Panhandle in 2018, were significant contributors to canopy loss.
  • Florida's existing canopy provides over $456 million annually in avoided infrastructure costs and ecosystem benefits.

Interactive app to see more details: https://www.pg-cloud.com/FloridaCanopy/


PHASE I FINAL REPORT

This report entails the first biophysical analysis and ecological assessment of the City of Tarpon Springs' urban forest.

Key Findings:

  • 4,575 street trees are located in rights-of-way within the Community Redevelopment Area, Greektown HIstoric, and Local Historic areas.
  • 80% of the trees in the project area are native to Florida
  • Total ground cover composition for City of Tarpon Springs is 35.55% Tree Canopy, 31.43% Impervious (roads, buildings, sidewalks, and pools), 26.36% Grass / Herbaceous, 4.19% Water (bayou, lake, gulf), 2.47% Bare Ground
  • The Benefit Carbon Removed Annually (Estimate): 4.51 kilotons of carbon sequestered annually in trees, valued at $558,186; Carbon stored in trees 73.03 kilotons valued at $9,473,848.
  • Estimated cost to replace the urban forest within the project area $2.66 million

TO LEARN MORE READ THE REPORT LOCATED IN THE DOCUMENTS SECTION!


A GREAT DAY FOR TREES

The Tarpon Springs Garden Club and City of Tarpon Springs partnered this year to have a magnolia planted at Dorsett Park in recognition of Florida Arbor Day 2024. The celebration had a proclamation reading, poetry, a brief history of Dorsett Park, and a pine tree sapling giveaway. Thank you to all who made this day special.



CONGRATULATIONS TARPON SPRINGS!

City of Tarpon Springs is a recipient of 2023 Tree City USA Growth Award. The Tree City USA Growth Award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate higher levels of tree care and engagement during the calendar year. The Growth Award recognizes major milestones and annual activities in five categories that combine to build sustainable community forestry programs over the long term. The 2023 Tree Inventory and Urban Forest Analysis project and the work completed as part of the FDACS Managing Community Forest Grant made this award possible.

The award has been added to the existing plaques in the lobby of City Hall. Recognition stickers have been added to the Welcome to Tarpon Springs entry islands.


Tree City USA has reported on Florida's program participation:


THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER!

The Florida Forest Service, A Division of The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

*Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication or audiovisual are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the USDA Forest Service.

*The work upon which this project is based was funded, in whole or in part through a subrecipient grant awarded by the USDA Forest Service through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the USDA Forest Service nor does mention of trade names, commercial productions, services or organization imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.


BACKGROUND

The City of Tarpon Springs has been awarded a grant from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and Florida Forest Service, to create, monitor, and fully implement a Tarpon Springs Urban Forestry Program.

An Urban Forestry Program is an action plan that provides the City detailed information, recommendations and resources needed to effectively and proactively manage public trees.

City of Tarpon Springs Municipal Arborist, Shannon Brewer, will oversee the successful completion and implementation of the program!


SCOPE OF WORK

The Tarpon Springs Urban Forestry Program will be created within three years with each year having a specific scope of work.

  • YEAR 1: Hazardous and Street Tree Inventory - The inventory will document and collect data on trees on public lands for the purpose of city tree asset management.
    • Phase I complete - Read the final report located in the documents tab of this page.
    • Phase II expected to begin Summer 2024
  • YEAR 2: Creation of an Urban Forestry Master Plan - The plan will contain a description of the community, a vision for the urban forest, a strategic plan, an implementation and a monitoring plan, and a prioritization criteria work plan for 5, 10, and 20 year cycles.
  • YEAR 3: Replanting the Urban Forest - This phase will consist of planting street trees in areas with little to no canopy coverage to provide future shade, wildlife, and returning a sense of community back to neighborhoods.

BOC APPROVES LIMB UP FOR SAFETY PROJECT

The City of Tarpon Springs recognizes the need to maintain tree canopy while providing valuable safety resources to its citizens. Many neighborhoods have tree limbs growing into the roadway so low that emergency response vehicles cannot pass safely. Limb Up for Safety Project goal is to raise the tree canopy to 16 feet above the road and 10 feet above the sidewalk. This project will allow for dedicated efforts to improve safety concerns and accessibility during time of natural disasters.

The focus area of this project is Union Academy and Census Tract 274.04 areas (See map below or attached in documents). These areas have important physical and cultural tree canopies. Due to the rising cost of tree care, many of these historic trees are being removed instead of pruned. The project's tree inventory component will help identify those trees for further preservation. The data collected will be added to the existing street tree inventory.



250 TREES PLANTED!

During the annual Touch A Truck event, the Tarpon Springs Urban Forestry Program gave away 250 trees, Trees Are Good coloring books, Project Learning Tree backyard safari family activities, and tons of tree care information. This year's species were black mulberry, dahoon holly, seagrape and dwarf cavendish banana. Once the trees are planted we would love to watch them grow with you. Email your pictures to sbrewer@ctsfl.us




STATE OF FLORIDA CANOPY ASSESSMENT RESULTS

Florida Forest Service conducted a statewide urban tree canopy analysis for every incorporated community in the state! This assessment is freely available to anyone and can be found at Florida Forest Service (pg-cloud.com). From this link, just select a community to view the canopy analysis, divided into Census Block Groups. From there, there’s a myriad of tools. With this analysis, a written report was created that shows the results of this analysis to help make the information easier to understand. Read the report located in the Documents section.

Key Findings:

  • Urban tree canopy covered 1,540,257 acres representing an average coverage of 36%.
  • Over the entire assessment period, a roughly equal number of municipalities experienced canopy gains as those that experienced losses. 243 communities had net positive canopy changes, compared to 245 communities with net negative changes.
  • Severe storms, particularly Hurricane Michael, which made landfall in the West Panhandle in 2018, were significant contributors to canopy loss.
  • Florida's existing canopy provides over $456 million annually in avoided infrastructure costs and ecosystem benefits.

Interactive app to see more details: https://www.pg-cloud.com/FloridaCanopy/


PHASE I FINAL REPORT

This report entails the first biophysical analysis and ecological assessment of the City of Tarpon Springs' urban forest.

Key Findings:

  • 4,575 street trees are located in rights-of-way within the Community Redevelopment Area, Greektown HIstoric, and Local Historic areas.
  • 80% of the trees in the project area are native to Florida
  • Total ground cover composition for City of Tarpon Springs is 35.55% Tree Canopy, 31.43% Impervious (roads, buildings, sidewalks, and pools), 26.36% Grass / Herbaceous, 4.19% Water (bayou, lake, gulf), 2.47% Bare Ground
  • The Benefit Carbon Removed Annually (Estimate): 4.51 kilotons of carbon sequestered annually in trees, valued at $558,186; Carbon stored in trees 73.03 kilotons valued at $9,473,848.
  • Estimated cost to replace the urban forest within the project area $2.66 million

TO LEARN MORE READ THE REPORT LOCATED IN THE DOCUMENTS SECTION!


A GREAT DAY FOR TREES

The Tarpon Springs Garden Club and City of Tarpon Springs partnered this year to have a magnolia planted at Dorsett Park in recognition of Florida Arbor Day 2024. The celebration had a proclamation reading, poetry, a brief history of Dorsett Park, and a pine tree sapling giveaway. Thank you to all who made this day special.



CONGRATULATIONS TARPON SPRINGS!

City of Tarpon Springs is a recipient of 2023 Tree City USA Growth Award. The Tree City USA Growth Award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate higher levels of tree care and engagement during the calendar year. The Growth Award recognizes major milestones and annual activities in five categories that combine to build sustainable community forestry programs over the long term. The 2023 Tree Inventory and Urban Forest Analysis project and the work completed as part of the FDACS Managing Community Forest Grant made this award possible.

The award has been added to the existing plaques in the lobby of City Hall. Recognition stickers have been added to the Welcome to Tarpon Springs entry islands.


Tree City USA has reported on Florida's program participation:


THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER!

The Florida Forest Service, A Division of The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

*Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication or audiovisual are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the USDA Forest Service.

*The work upon which this project is based was funded, in whole or in part through a subrecipient grant awarded by the USDA Forest Service through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the USDA Forest Service nor does mention of trade names, commercial productions, services or organization imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.


  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    URBAN FOREST MANAGEMENT SOCIAL SURVEY

    Trees are an important asset to the City of Tarpon Springs and its citizens! Share your thoughts on the future of the City's urban forest! 

    What is an Urban Forest?
    An urban forest is a collection of trees, naturally occurring and planted trees, either publicly or privately owned, within the city. Urban forests affect many aspects of quality of life, public health, and environmental quality.

    What is Urban Tree Canopy?
    Urban tree canopy refers to the layer of tree leaves, branches, and stems that provide tree coverage of the ground when viewed from above.  

    Why is your help important?
    The purpose of completing the survey is to gain input for a deeper understanding of the community’s current knowledge, values, and desired services associated with the urban forest. The intent is for the survey to be designed to be inclusive and help express the values of the community.

    As the City of Tarpon Springs learns more from you, the guidance gained will help with current and future tree plantings, protection, preservation, maintenance, and community outreach programs within the City of Tarpon Springs.

    Take Survey
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Page last updated: 14 Mar 2024, 09:41 AM