Davey Tree : Urban Forestry Services : Project Profiles : City of Tampa, Florida: Municipal Resource Cost-Benefit Analysis and i-Tree Training


City of Tampa, Florida: Municipal Resource Cost-Benefit Analysis and i-Tree Training

In April 2007, Davey Resource Group completed a tree inventory for the City of Tampa of 3,007 street trees and stumps located in a focus area known as East Tampa. The project collected data on approximately 25% of the citywide street tree population. The goal of the inventory was to provide accurate tree data to allow City personnel to manage the existing tree stock in a more efficient manner. The inventory included locating and mapping all trees using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and pen-based computers.

A Municipal Resource Cost-Benefit Analysis report, based on the findings of the inventory, was written by a Davey Resource Group senior urban forester, providing a comprehensive analysis of the current state of East Tampa’s street tree population. A key purpose of this document is to answer the essential question of whether the benefits of Tampa’s street tree population justify the costs associated with maintaining it. Economic evaluations of tree performance were based on the City’s annual budget and expenditure data for the street tree program.

The tree data were delivered in ArcView™ shapefile format along with a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet containing the entire tree database. A workbook detailing all tree maintenance requirements and locations was provided to the client for field operations. In addition to the tree inventory and Municipal Resource Cost-Benefit Analysis report, Davey also prepared a large map of the inventory study area.

A Davey Resource Group senior urban forester taught an intensive half-day i-Tree training course to the City of Tampa Parks Department staff. The purpose of the training was to teach basic data collection using i-Tree’s STRATUM data collection interface on handheld computers and i-Tree software. This will allow City staff to continue the inventory process and provide data to assist the City in maximizing the benefits of their street tree resource.