Note from the Chairs – Spring 2022

Click Here to Register for SUFC’s Policy Update & Networking Event

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Earth Day & Arbor Day Highlights

It’s been an exciting few weeks for SUFC members hosting celebrations and events around Earth Day on April 22 and the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day on April 29. While SUFC is devoted to trees daily, it is inspiring to see so many others celebrating our favorite leafy friends. Here are some of the highlights:

  • The Arbor Day Foundation, which also celebrated its 50th anniversary, kicked off the week by planting one tree for every social media post (up to 75,000 trees) with the hashtag #ArborDay. ADF partner Kimberly-Clark matched their efforts, planting up to 150,000 trees together. President and CEO Dan Lambe also published a book “Now is the Time for Trees” which aims to be an inspiration to every individual who wants to make a difference in the world by planting trees.
  • The Morton Arboretum held its annual Arbor Day Plant Sale, one of the largest seasonal plant sales in the Chicago region on April 28.
  • The Urban Wood Network urged support for the urban wood movement by turning urban wood waste into a beautiful piece of furniture that can be used for generations to come. Contact the #UrbanWoodNetwork to commission a piece!
  • Earlier in the month, over a dozen urban forestry projects earned more than $1 million after selling their bundled credits through City Forest Credits.

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Policy Update

Landscape Scale Restoration Now Has a Rural Requirement
Did you know that the 2018 Farm Bill stipulated a new “rural” requirement for Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR)? As a result, and per a subsequent rulemaking made by the Forest Service, LSR work could only be conducted in communities made up of fewer than 50,000 people, in turn eliminating opportunities for state forestry agencies to leverage their Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF) program work in areas with populations greater than 50,000. The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) has shared a white paper on this requirement. 

CISP Circulates Sign-On Letter to Capitol Hill
The Center for Invasive Species Prevention is circulating a sign-on letter opportunity on APHIS appropriations before it is distributed to Capitol Hill. 

U&CF Resource Document
The SUFC Policy Working Group has created a resource document, Federal Programs that Support Urban and Community Forests, a quick reference for the main federal programs that support urban and community forestry efforts across the country. It includes updated statistics on program impact (where available) and the most relevant appropriations numbers. Groups are encouraged to leverage this resource for their own advocacy, education, and outreach activities. To keep track of what SUFC is monitoring on Capitol Hill and the White House, please review the SUFC legislative tracking document.

Request for Information: Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool Beta Version
On February 23, 2022, the Council on Environmental Quality published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register to solicit feedback on the beta version of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. As explained in the RFI, Federal agencies will use the tool in implementing the Justice40 Initiative goal of directing 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities in climate, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, clean water infrastructure, and the remediation of legacy pollution. The function of the tool is to employ indicators for the purpose of identifying communities that exhibit conditions of underinvestment in energy, transit, housing and water infrastructure, disproportionate pollution burden, and job training and employment. For more information about the RFI or the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, please see here.

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Recap: SUFC’s 17th Annual Meeting

On March 2, 2022, SUFC hosted our 2022 Annual Meeting via Zoom. The meeting was attended by over 60 participants and featured four “2022 Networking Initiative Collaborator” presentations, a “Capitol Hill/Legislative Update” with Rebecca Higgins, Senior Policy Advisor to Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), and a “Virtual Reception” with USDA Forest Service leaders. For those who either could not attend the meeting or who are seeking to access resources shared that day, the meeting attendee roster can be found here, the Annual Meeting agenda can be found here, and the 2022 Networking Initiative Collaborator presentations can be found on SUFC’s YouTube channel.

Thank you to those who attended the Annual Meeting and helped contribute their voice and perspective to issues surrounding urban forestry and tree equity. The conversations we had with attendees, and that attendees had with each other, were both insightful, powerful, and at times, humbling. However, it is these types of conversations that helps SUFC to refocus our efforts and ensure our work is guided by relevant and inclusive data, narratives, and points of view. Our success as a coalition is dependent upon difficult conversations led by members of our community about the inequities present in Urban & Community Forestry initiatives. The Annual Meeting highlighted the importance of working together to find a more thoughtful path forward in our work for the next year while also reminding us that we have a long way to go. We thank all who challenged us to think more broadly so that all voices will have seats at the table in the years to come.

Pictured: U.S. Forest Service Leadership – USDA Forest Service Associate Deputy Chief, John Crockett, Assistant Director, Cooperative Forestry, Beattra Wilson, and Program Managers, Quintaniay Holifield and Nausheen Iqbal during the “Virtual Reception” portion of the 2022 SUFC Annual Meeting.

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Twitter Spotlight

Are you following @WeAreSUFC on Twitter? We are now boasting over 900 followers who are sharing and connecting with SUFC on all things tree-related. Our social media platform aims to promote environmental justice and #TreeEquity by highlighting news, studies, and initiatives that focus on disparate access to the benefits of forests and ways in which everyone can bring green space to all citizens. Some of our new followings that are leading these important conversations include: @WomensForestCng, @laisnotadesert, @ChicagoRTI, @WDCGardener, @NorthEastTrees, @StephenSchatz, @TheForestFndn, and more!