Trees: Climate-Smart Infrastructure for Cities and Towns Kara Reeve, National Wildlife Federation

1. Trees: Climate-Smart Infrastructure
for Cities and Towns
Kara E. Reeve
Manager, Climate-Smart
Communities
National Wildlife Federation
November 7, 2013

2. NWF: Inspiring Americans to protect
wildlife for our children’s future

3. Dual Approach for
Responding to Climate Change
• Mitigation
– Addresses causes of global warming
especially through reducing carbon
pollution
• Adaptation
– Addresses impacts of climate change
on people and wildlife
Dual—not dueling—approaches:
Both are essential and complementary

4. Climate-Smart Communities
Program
NWF is helping communities identify and
implement nature-based approaches to
prepare for the impacts of climate change
•
Encouraging use of nature-based approaches in climate action, sustainability,
and land use planning activities;
•
Providing guidance for rebuilding and recovery efforts so that when natural
disasters strike, nature-based approaches, like restoring coastal wetlands, are
prioritized to mitigate future risks; and
•
Helping ensure that long-term disaster risk reduction and hazard mitigation
activities incorporate best-available climate change science and prioritize
nature-based approaches.
www.nwf.org/climate-smart-communities

5. Nature-Based Approaches to
Climate Change Adaptation
South Los Angeles Wetlands Park
Credit: Justin Cram
Green roof, Washington DC
Rain garden, Portland, OR

6. Trees: Climate-Smart
Infrastructure for Cities and Towns
Healthy trees can help
reduce carbon pollution
and help communities be
better prepared for the
impacts of climate change
Bear Cup and Salmon
Credit: Jitze Couperas
•
•
•
•
Credit: M.V. Jantzen
Reduce stormwater runoff and erosion
Provide wildlife habitats
Sequester carbon
Provide shade in hot summer months
•Help reduce energy use and costs
•Help keep aquatic habitats cool

7. Forestry Climate Preparedness & Response
(CPR) tool:
NWF worked with King County, WA, to develop a tool for
landowners to understand the climate change mitigation and
adaptation benefits of healthy trees
•
Funding provided by U.S. Forest Service National
Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost-Share
Grant Program.
•
Quantifies and explains key existing land and forest
characteristics, such as the amount of forest carbon
stored at a particular site, using an embedded
Geographic Information System (GIS) tool
•
Provides customized management recommendations
from a Forest Health Assessment
•
Healthy trees can help reduce carbon pollution and
help communities be better prepared for the impacts
of climate change
http://gismaps.kingcounty.gov/ForestryCPR/default.aspx
Photo: Charlie Archambault

9. General Guidance – Specifics on the Forests’ Role
Each drop down tab gives information on specific challenge brought on by
climate change, then the ways in which forests can help reduce the
impacts of the problem.

10. Geographic Information System Tool

11. Forestry CPR: Lessons Learned
Technical
•
GIS tool took more time and resources than any other aspect of the website, but response has been positive
– more than 200 hours to build the CPR website - learning curve for the GIS team
•
Relied on local data sources that already existed & customized with local information and resources
•
King County convened a technical review board that was composed of forestry experts from local
universities, state and federal agencies, and others, to review the site content
•
Consider designating one person to coordinate the site development, including communicating the needs of
the website to the site developer and the GIS team.
Outreach & Engagement
•
CPR is only valuable if residents are using it, so it’s a good idea to budget and plan for outreach efforts from
the very beginning of project development.
•
Consider including a set of landowner profiles that describe the website recommendations they each
followed to improve their land management practices.
– Profiles would track the success of residents who have used the tool using before and after pictures
–
Would describe the techniques and strategies used
•
Customized guidance based on a landowner’s specific parcel could also enhance the site
–
King County did not include this feature due to data challenges.

12. Since launch the King County
Forestry CPR project website has
been visit by more than 2,000
unique visitors
(not including any visits to the NWF
project website/resources)

13. Growing Greener: Eco-Structure
for Climate Resilience
• Identified gap in
resources about
climate change and
the urban forest
•Created on-line portal
on NWF website with
project overview, links
to CPR, guide, Wildlife
Academy training,
webinars
Credit: Flickr user Yinghai

14. Growing Greener Chapters
Urban Forests & Climate Change
Describes climate change impacts in urban areas profiles nature-based approaches to build
community resilience.
Case Study: Urban and Community Forestry—Climate Preparedness and
Response (CPR):
Climate-Smart Actions to Protect and Enhance the Health of Urban Forests
Recommendations for integrating climate change considerations into the planning for and
management of urban forests.
Threats to Tree Health—Managing For Pests
Information and resources on common invasive species, pests, and diseases that threaten
urban trees across the country.
NWF Programs for Resilient Communities: NWF’s programs and resources that are
designed to build healthy, resilient communities, including NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat ®
program.
Regional & National Resources For Improving Forest Health

15. Climate-Smart actions to protect and enhance the
health of the urban forest:
•
•
•
•
•
Understand which trees and plants in
your region are appropriate for a
changing climate
Develop a climate-smart tree species
planting list
Integrate climate change information into
pest and invasive species management
Transform yards and vacant properties
into wildlife gardens
Understand, analyze, and leverage the
benefits of urban trees

16. Understand which trees and plants in your region
are appropriate for a changing climate
Sample questions to consider:
•
Would the current mix, or the selected tree species, hold up well under the projected
climate impacts for the region, such as drier, hotter, wetter, and/or more extreme
conditions? If they wouldn’t, what changes in practices (eg., increased use of water,
planting larger trees instead of seedlings) would be required in order to establish and
maintain them?
•
Which species have higher drought tolerances, and could be substituted for species that are
not likely to do well with increased drought? Based on site location, which trees and plants
could withstand flooding, and even reduce flow rates/absorb more water? Are there trees
and plants that can handle both drought and flooding well?
Adapted from: Derby Lewis, A., Hall, K.R. and Hellmann, J.J. 2012. Advancing Adaptation in
the City of Chicago: Climate Considerations for Management of Natural Areas
and Green Spaces in the City of Chicago.

17. Develop a climate-smart tree species
planting list
• Engaged the City of Baltimore and
now the Baltimore’s 2013 Disaster
Preparedness and Planning Project
integrates climate information into
urban forestry planning.
• Plan states that high priority should
be placed on native trees with high
adaptive capacity, meaning they are
likely to survive future climatic
conditions.
Climate-Smart Tree Planting List for Lorain, Ohio (Black River
Watershed). Source: National Wildlife Federation.
Species list adapted from Climate Change Tree
Atlas (A Spatial Database of 134 Tree Species
of the Eastern USA)
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/atlas/tree/tree_atlas.
html#

18. Integrate climate change information into
pest and invasive species management
Sample Questions to Consider:
• Which invasive species or pest species require the most
attention under current conditions, and are these likely to
continue to be a problem in the future under continued
climate change?
• Is it likely that warmer temperatures will favor new
invasive species, such as those that currently pose a problem
in more southern regions? Such species could be targets for
early detection and early management to prevent or slow
establishment.
Emerald Ash Borer. Credit: USFS
Adapted from: Derby Lewis, A., Hall, K.R. and Hellmann, J.J.
2012. Advancing Adaptation in The City of Chicago: Climate
Considerations for Management of Natural Areas and Green
Spaces in the City of Chicago.
Southern Pine Beetle. Credit: USFS

19. Transform yards and vacant properties into
wildlife gardens
•
Few people living in these urban and suburban
areas consider their lawns and gardens as wildlife
conservation areas able to sustain our declining
plants and animals – but they can be!
•
Landowners can design a Certified Wildlife Habitat®
in a way that not only provides habitat for wildlife,
but also helps reduce the impacts that climate
change has on people and wildlife.
•
Networks of Certified Wildlife Habitats® can help
restore wildlife in cities and suburbs, sequester
carbon, reduce the urban heat island effect, and
help manage flooding and drought.

20. Understand, analyze, and leverage the
benefits of urban trees
Robust urban tree canopies can reduce carbon pollution, provide habitat and food for
wildlife, improve shade and cooling effects, and manage stormwater flooding.
Examples:
•
The City of Arcata, CA, was the first
municipality in the country to contract for the
sale of forest carbon offsets. The forestry
project will be registered and verified according
to the rigorous Climate Action Reserve
protocols. The revenue from this sale will be
used to decrease logging activities and allow
tree stands to reach an older age.
•
Developed by the USDA Forest Service, iTree is
a series of forestry analysis and benefits
assessment tools that helps users quantify the
ecosystem services and values from trees.
Credit: Flickr user andypiper

21. For more information:
www.nwf.org/climate-smart-communities
Kara E. Reeve
reevek@nwf.org

23. Changes in USDA Hardiness Zones
1990 Map
2006 Map
2006 Map
USDA
Arbor
Day
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 1
0
2006 National Arbor Day Foundation

24. Data Sources for GIS Tool
Forest Characteristics - Carbon Storage & Tree Height
Estimate of the amount of biological carbon stored in trees and understory plants on a site, and an average tree height for
trees on site.
Water Resources
Estimate of the amount the property that is covered by water bodies including wetlands, streams and ponds, as well as a
50-foot buffer area of land around these water resources.
Development Pressure
A measure of how susceptible land may be to conversion from forest to developed real estate.
Wildlife Habitat Network(s)
Identifies the network composed of contiguous vegetated corridors that are intended to link wildlife habitat with critical area
buffers, priority habitats, trails, open space, and other areas to provide for wildlife movement.
Proximity to Protected Areas
Measures the proximity of a parcel is to other protected areas, including public lands (parks, private lands with conservation
easements, other areas where there is protection from permanent conversion by development).