The Houston Area Urban Forests project is a collaboration between national efforts and partners in the Houston area to define a regional approach to evaluating, managing, and restoring our urban forests and tree canopy. The focus of the project will be identifying shared values and priorities, resource needs, and long term methods for coordination among the various entities how manage or support urban forestry in the core of the Houston metropolitan area.
The Houston Area Urban Forests project focuses on the core urban areas of Harris, Montgomery, and Fort Bend counties. The urban centers of this area, including Houston, Sugar Land, and The Woodlands, are among the most rapidly growing in the nation. Consideration of urban forests and tree canopy, and the services they provide, is especially important in this time of burgeoning development.
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The project will reflect and support the ongoing efforts of many partners in the Houston area, including the City of Houston, the Texas Forest Service, other local counties and cities, nonprofits such as Trees for Houston, and private foundations and groups. The Houston-Galveston Area Council is facilitating this project, conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Inc. and American Forests.
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The project uses a mix of data analysis, coordinated mapping, and local knowledge to generate information to support local decisions about forest restoration and protection. Local partners will guide establishment of long term and short term project priorities, and a prioritized project list. Project staff and partners will identify funding sources and evaluate relative costs and benefits for potential projects. The end result will be a regional planning document, associated data analyses, and a short list of priority projects. The ultimate focus will be project proposals to grant sources, including those available under the RESTORE Act.
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