Urban Forestry

In 1997 the Southern Center for Urban Forestry Research & Information (UF Center) was formed to direct urban forestry research and provide technology transfer within the Southern region to address pressing issues including changing land use patterns, increased urbanization, loss of forest canopy, and changing demographics.

The focus of the UF Center was to help communities and landowners addresses a broad spectrum of southern urban natural resource issues, from the city center to the National Forests, with a focus on the human dimension. The UF Center was developed as a cooperative effort that integrated Forest Service Research, State and Private Forestry, and National Forest Systems. The UF Center also worked closely with universities, State forestry agencies (Urban & Community Forestry programs), Cooperative Extension Service, non-profit organizations and others.

Interface Forestry

In 1998, Florida wildfires demonstrated the complexities of natural resource management in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Shortly after these fires, the then Chief of the USDA Forest Service conducted a review of the South and identified the wildland-urban interface as one of the main challenges for the Forest Service.

In response, the Southern Research Station and Southern Region of the USDA Forest Service conducted an assessment of the research, technology, and education issues that confront the wildland-urban interface in the South, titled “Human Influences on Forest Ecosystems: The Southern Wildland-Urban Interface Assessment”. This assessment has demonstrated that potential users—from urban planners to natural resource managers—need access to new information, technology, and skills that will help them meet the challenges of working and living in the interface.

The Forest Service, in partnership with the Southern Group of State Foresters and the University of Florida’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation, established the Southern Center for Wildland-Urban Interface Research and Information in Gainesville, FL in January 2002. The creation of this new center was an immediate Forest Service response to critical findings of the Southern Wildland-Urban Interface Assessment and the Southern Forest Resource Assessment.

Integration of the Two Centers

In 2007, the Southern Center for Wildland-Urban Interface Research and Information combined with the Southern Center for Urban Forestry Research and Information in Athens, Georgia, to become the Centers for Urban and Interface Forestry (CUIF). This integration combines expertise in urban forestry and wildland-urban interface (WUI) issues for the southern region and nationwide. CUIF is part of the Southern Research Station research work unit SRS-4952: Integrating Human and Natural Systems in Urban and Urbanizing Environments. The urban forestry technology transfer component is now called Urban Forestry South and the WUI technology transfer component is called InterfaceSouth.

CUIF supports and conducts research, disseminates new and existing information, serves as a clearinghouse of WUI and urban forestry information, builds partnerships and collaborative efforts and approaches, and facilitates and creates links to and between other organizations. CUIF’s two Web sites, Urban Forestry South Expo and InterfaceSouth, are useful tools for providing easily accessible information to partners, natural resource practitioners, and the public.

The Urban Forestry South Expo Web site (www.urbanforestrysouth.org) is a collaborative effort of the USDA FS Southern Region, Urban and Community Forestry Program (U&CF); the Southern Research Station; University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forest and Natural Resources; and the Southern Group of State Foresters. The Web site is maintained by Southern Regional Extension Forestry and has a variety of urban forestry resources, such as a document library, tree ordinances, classroom activities, presentations, and much more. This site is also the repository for the national U&CF technology transfer library.

The InterfaceSouth Web site (www.interfacesouth.org) was developed by and is maintained through a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station and the University of Georgia. This site includes up-to-date WUI information, such as current news, events, publications, training and outreach programs, and decision support systems. It also includes reference information such as a literature database, a photo gallery, and links to informative Web sites. The site also allows you to sign up for the Southern Wildland-Urban Interface Network (SWUINET) listserve, through which you will receive the InterfaceSouth Update, InterfaceSouth Post, and the Leaves of Change bulletin.

Partners

Combining resources and sharing lessons learned is essential to addressing emerging issues in the South. The Centers for Urban and Interface Forestry actively partners with a variety of organizations—including local, state, and federal agencies, universities, and nongovernmental organizations—to ensure that the research they conduct is relevant, and that information reaches communities that can benefit from it.

Key partners of InterfaceSouth include the USDA Forest Service, Region 8 State and Private Forestry and the National Forests of Florida; the University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation; Auburn University’s Center for Forest Sustainability; and the Southern Group of State Forester’s Southern Wildland-Urban Interface Council (SWUIC).

Urban Forestry South works closely with universities, state forestry agencies, state and local U&CF programs, Cooperative Extension Service, and nonprofit organizations. Primary partners for Urban Forestry South include the Society of Municipal Arborists, the International Society of Arboriculture, the National Arbor Day Foundation, and the Southern Group of State Foresters. In addition, they work collaboratively with other U&CF centers in the mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, and the mid-West.