Abstract

Sievert, R.C., Jr. 1982. Urban forestry: business for arborists. Arbor Age 2(2): 16-17, 27.

Several years ago the Urban Forestry Assistance section of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act made federal funds available to state forestry agencies on a 50-50 matching basis. As much as $3.5 million was distributed by the Forest Service. Some states undertook a secondary matching process whereby municipalities received a portion ofthe funds by matching a grant from the state. Because the appropriations were restricted to technical assistance, actual tree work such as planting and maintenance could not be done. Instead, temporary consultants were hired to provide the municipality with the necessary advice for directing a tree program. Unfortunately, these temporary services often lasted only as long as the consultant could be retained. In the beginning, some arborists expressed a fear that a tax-supported urban forestry assistance program would be detrimental to the private enterprise system upon which they depend. To date, exactly the opposite is true. The pennies invested from the average commercial arborist have produced thousands of dollars of work.