| dc.description.abstract | Greenspaces throughout the world provide society with a better place to live and a
plethora of benefits to sustain communities that people live within. Military installations function
like a community that supports the mission, goals and objectives of both the military and the
interests of the United States as a whole. Understanding how green spaces and urban forest
support installations is thus important. Developing a baseline understanding of urban tree and
greenspace management on properties owned and operated by the United States Department of
Defense is critical to support the mission of the military and the people who live, work, and visit
these places. The data gathered from the mailed survey utilized in this study shows generally
how military base’s urban forestry programs are organized and how funding is allocated to carry
out natural resource management across a broad range of environmental conditions. This study
details findings from 35 responding installations out of 155 uniquely identified medium and
large sized installations that described their current programs to the best of their ability. Some
highlights from the data gathered are a general lack of understanding and/or education on the
benefits of a well-managed urban forest. Budget allocation is also a concern, where military
installations allocate a mean 0.10% of their total budget to tree activities compared to 0.50% at
the municipal level. Additionally, installations that were found to have effective programs were
proud to showcase the positive results of their efforts. This included areas of pride such as arbor
day celebrations and maintenance of historic trees. | en_US |
