Urban Forest Priority

The identification of urban and rural priority areas is a requirement of all statewide assessments of forest resources, as specified in the S&PF Redesign guidance developed by the USDA Forest Service: State forest resource assessments will identify, describe, and spatially define forest landscape areas where forestry program outreach and activity will be emphasized and coordinated. Establishment of these priority areas is intended to (1) enable the efficient, strategic, and focused use of limited program resources; (2) address current state and national resource management priorities; and (3) produce the most benefit in terms of critical forest resource values and public benefits. This component of a states assessment should be geospatially based. Mapped priority areas provide a method for focusing on areas where federal investment can most effectively stimulate or leverage desired action and engage multiple partners. Mapping must enable the discovery of multistate areas in which collaboration can lead to stronger outcomes. Accomplishments using federal funds may be evaluated against priority areas to determine the effectiveness of S&PF program implementation.