DEPARTMENT: Development Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Roderick Sanchez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Interlocal Agreement with the Texas A&M Forest Service to conduct an Urban Forest Inventory and Analysis
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes an Interlocal Agreement with the Texas A&M Forest Service and payment of $150,000.00 from the FY 2017 Tree Canopy and Mitigation Fund Adopted Budget to initiate an Urban Forest Inventory and Analysis study.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, promoted by the Department of Agriculture, is a comprehensive, field based tree and forest inventory that is the nation's census for trees. Since 1930, FIA has collected, analyzed, and reported information on the status, health, and trends of America's forests. Nationally, several cities are participating in this program including Austin, Houston, Baltimore, Chicago, San Diego, and others.
Locally, the Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) has been successfully involved in this cooperative program with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for decades. In Texas, TFS collects field measurements while the USFS compiles and helps with analysis. TFS foresters who perform field work for Urban FIA are trained and certified by the USFS and quality control and assurance standards are in place to ensure data quality.
Previous analysis of San Antonio's tree canopy conducted in 2002, 2003, and 2008 utilized technology that only provided aerial imagery. One of the distinct differences in Urban FIA is the methodology used by the TFS. Urban FIA is field work intensive where actual sampling and measurement of trees occurs; thereby, providing a comprehensive, strategic-level, continuous inventory system of the urban forest. This analysis and field work will produce detailed information on the tree canopy to include the variety of actual tree species, tree size and distribution, crown condition, tree damage, ownership, carbon storage, potential ri...
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