Land Conservation Fact Sheet: Urban Watershed Reforestation
Why Reforest Your Watershed?
Numerous studies have documented that urban forests provide many economic and
environmental benefits for the urban ecosystem. Some of these include: energy conservation,
increased property values, rainfall interception, stormwater treatment and retention, air quality
improvement, stream shading, and aesthetics (American Forests, 2002). According to USDA
Forest Service, trees and vegetation reduce stormwater discharge by up to 40%, reduce home
heating and cooling costs by up to 30%, increase the value of property by up to 20% and reduce
particulate airborne pollution by up to 80% (Liptzin and Neville, 1998).
For these reasons, increasing forest cover in a watershed can help to restore stream quality, and
is particularly important in urban watersheds where there may be few green areas remaining.
Reforestation is also one of the most inexpensive and simple forms of watershed restoration.
Implementation
The goal of an Urban Watershed Reforestation program is to increase healthy forest cover in the
watershed through reforestation for the purpose of watershed restoration. Watershed
reforestation projects typically occur on municipal lands and may include parks, riparian areas,
right-of-ways, medians, vacant land, schools, neighborhood common land, floodplains, parking lot
islands, backyards, stormwater management easements, and areas of disturbance such as
eroding streambanks or forest edges. These programs often rely on partnerships with local
watershed organizations or agencies or community volunteers for labor, while the municipality
provides equipment and expertise, including planting and maintenance guidelines as well as
information about selection of native plant species.
The steps to implementing an Urban Watershed Reforestation program are:
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Step 1: Identify partner watershed organization or agency
Step 2: Identify sites for reforestation
Step 3: Prioritize sites for reforestation
Step 4: Create a forest management plan
Step 5: Implement the reforestation projects
Step 1 is to identify a partner organization or agency that will implement the reforestation
projects. A good candidate for this is a local watershed organization or municipal agency, or
volunteers can be solicited through an outreach campaign
Step 2 is to identify sites for reforestation. Preliminary identification of sites can be done using
aerial photos or GIS, and a field survey of these sites can be used to gather information to
prioritize the sites and to determine site conditions for planting.
Step 3 is to prioritize the reforestation sites identified in Step 2. Sites should be prioritized based
on several factors listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Ranking Sites for Urban Watershed Reforestation
Ranking Factor
Details
Size of site
Sites should be prioritized by area, larger sites have greater priority
Environmental benefit
Sites which are contiguous to other forested parcels, contain streams, wetlands,
rare, threatened, or endangered (RTE) species, or critical habitats, or are in need
of restoration should be prioritized
Access
Sites with good access for planting equipment should be prioritized
Land ownership
Municipally owned sites or sites with willing landowners should be prioritized
Public interest
Sites where community has vested interest should be prioritized
Economic benefit
This optional ranking factor may be calculated using CITYgreen software
(American Forests, 2002). Sites with highest environmental benefit should be
prioritized
Cost
Sites that require soil amendments may be more costly to reforest, cost may be
related to site area
Subwatershed
One subwatershed should be reforested at a time, target headwaters first
Step 4 is to establish a forest management plan for the watershed that identifies specific goals for
creating and maintaining urban forests. A goal should be set for the number of acres per year
that will be reforested. The forest management plan should provide criteria and a schedule for
planting and maintenance, a list of native species, guidelines for tree selection, and provisions for
monitoring tree health, safety hazards and tree/utility conflicts.
Step 5 is to implement the reforestation projects. In order to implement these projects, equipment
and materials must be secured. Next, the sites must be prepared for planting. This may include
locating and marking underground utilities, clearing vines, overgrowth and trash, and amending
the soil if necessary Finally, the tree planting can begin (see Resources for tree planting guides).
Costs
For each of the steps for an Urban Watershed Reforestation program, the cost can be estimated
using Table 2. Many of these costs may be offset by recruiting volunteers or soliciting donations
of equipment and trees, or by taking advantage of urban forestry funding opportunities.
Table 2. Cost Information for Watershed Reforestation Programs
Element
Costs
Staff salaries
$84,070/yr (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002)
Program Coordinator
Forester
$43,640/yr (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002)
$39,410/yr (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002)
GIS Technician
$39,580/yr (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002)
Outreach Coordinator
Mapping
$2000 (ESRI)
ArcView software
$795 (American Forests)
CITYgreen software
$50 to $500 per photo (GIs data depot)
Aerial photos
$500 to $1000 per photo (GIs data depot)
varies
Table 2. Cost Information for Watershed Reforestation Programs
Element
Costs
Satellite imagery
GIS data
Field supplies
$100 (Ben Meadows Co.)
36 “ Soil probe
$20 (Ben Meadows Co.)
Tree ID book
varies
Lab analysis of soil sample
Planting equipment
Coordinate with public works
Transportation
$2/ea, $1400/acre (EQR, 1993)
Trees
$9.50/ea, $6650/acre (EQR, 1993)
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Seedling
Whip
Container grown
1” caliper
2” caliper
$12 to $23/ea, $4200 to $8050/acre (EQR, 1993)
$35 to $80/ea, $7000 to $16,000/acre (EQR, 1993)
$100 to $120/ea, $10,000 to $12,000/acre (EQR, 1993)
Shovels
$25/ea (Ben Meadows Co.)
Wheelbarrows
$100/ea (Ben Meadows Co.)
Gardening gloves
$2.50/ea (Ben Meadows Co.)
Tree anchoring system
$9/tree (Ben Meadows Co.)
Pruning shears and saw
$80 (Ben Meadows Co.)
Tree protectors
$2/tree (Ben Meadows Co.)
Compost/mulch
Contact local yard waste collection program
Regulatory Considerations
There are no regulations that require a community to have an urban forestry program, however
reforesting your watershed may help to meet requirements of some of the six minimum measures
for the Phase II Stormwater rule, specifically Public Involvement and Participation and PostConstruction Stormwater Management in New Development and Redevelopment.
Sources of Financing
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USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program
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USDA Forestry Incentives Program
USDA Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program
USDA Resource Conservation and Development Program
USDA Small Watersheds Program
USDA Watershed Planning and Survey
EPA 319 Funding for Nonpoint Source Demonstration Projects
American Forests Global ReLeaf
Case Studies
Revitalizing Baltimore
Revitalizing Baltimore is a national model community forestry project that is funded by the USDA
Forest Service and managed by the Parks & People Foundation. This project is a partnership
among several organizations that are working together to improve the quality of life in culturally
diverse urban neighborhoods by restoring natural resources in the Baltimore region. Revitalizing
Baltimore is a good example of a watershed reforestation program because two of its goals are to
apply ecosystem management principles by organizing community forestry on a watershed basis,
and to bring the regional watershed and neighborhood scales together through community
stewardship actions to improve natural resources, including the urban forest.
Resources and References
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Environmental Quality Resources (EQR). 1993. Cost Estimation Worksheet for
Ecological Restoration. Environmental Quality Resources, Silver Spring, MD.
Liptzin, D., and R. Neville. 1998. Urban and Community Forestry Achievements in 1998.
USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area. www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/misc.htm
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG). 1991. Forest Conservation
Manual. MWCOG, Washington, D.C.
Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC). 1999. A Citizens Guide to Tree Planting
Projects in Northern Virginia. NVRC, Annandale, VA www.novaregion.org
Ben Meadows Company: www.benmeadows.com
ESRI: www.esri.com
GIS Data Depot: www.gisdatadepot.com
USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program:
www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/ucf_general.htm
American Forests: www.americanforests.org
Treelink: www.treelink.org
Tree People: www.treepeople.org/ProgramsUrban
USDA Forest Service publications: www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/fth_pub.htm
EPA Urban Forestry fact sheet: www.epa.gov/npdes/menuofbmps/invol_4.htm