The Green Team has posted comments!

Welcome to the Austin Urban Forest Summit blog. Please feel free to use this as a forum to share comments. The attendee list with emails will soon be posted to the Austin Urban Forest Website.

Here are the Green Teams comments which will also be posted to the website soon on the Documentation page.

The following is a copy of the information listed on Team Green's (Emily
Koone, Scott Harris, Gardtner Sumner, Leah Haynie, Karl Krumm, Beki
Halpin, and Michael Embesi) assignment sheet:



How can we establish value of the urban forest as a component of the
most livable city?



Priority One

Establish valuation based on ecosystems services

- Demonstrate link between urban forest and total ecosystem

- Print ecosystem values on utility bills

- Charge full appraisal value for removed trees

- Conduct appraisals with and without trees (including
breakdown of energy savings)

- Establish a dollar value of entire urban forest

- Support research that quantifies value of urban forest

- Establish the urban forest as "green" infrastructure with
annual CIP budget and valuation

- Urban forest policy to provide clean air as an eco-service



Three Specifics to Address Priority One

- Standardize criteria for establishing tree valuation based
upon ecosystem service value

- Establish/edit city ordinances and procedures to incorporate
criteria

- Create incentives for preservation (i.e. tax breaks,
development bonuses)



Priority Two

Consolidate, coordinate, and standardize city tree policy while making
sure that different types of urban forest have policies tailored to them

- Charge full appraisal value for removed trees

- Urban forest policy to provide clean air as an eco-service



Priority Three

Central clearinghouse (web site?) of tree information

- Livable city's website quantifies and publicizes ecosystem
service (lower utility bills, etc.)

- Publicize research on human benefits (happiness, mental state
of mind, etc.) of trees/healthy ecosystems

- Ask developers what would be incentive to preserve more trees


- Work with tree advocates, chambers of commerce, developers,
and business association to promote the value of urban forest