Davey Tree : Davey Resource Group : Urban Forestry Services


City of Alachua, Florida: Tree Inventory, Management Plan, and Arboricultural Training

In May 2005, Davey Resource Group was contracted to conduct a comprehensive inventory of Alachua’s 2,795 street and public space trees and stumps. The goal was to provide complete tree data to allow City personnel and/or private tree service companies 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. An extensive tree management plan, based on the findings of the inventory, was then written by a Davey Resource Group senior urban forester. The management plan provides a comprehensive five-year schedule of maintenance activities designed to mitigate potential high risk trees and details a five-year complete tree care budget.

Per the client’s request, the tree data were delivered in ArcView™ shapefile format along with an Excel™ spreadsheet of the entire tree database. A workbook detailing all required tree maintenance requirements and locations was also provided to the client for ease of use in field operations.

Prior to the inventory, trees were planted by the City along an existing park corridor using Urban and Community Forestry Grant funds received through the Florida Division of Forestry. These trees were inventoried at the City’s request to satisfy certain stipulations of the grant program. A detailed map of the existing site was then created and provided to the client using Autodesk™ Map 2005 software.

The final deliverable was an intensive two-day Arboricultural Training course taught by a Davey Resource Group senior urban forester. The purpose of the training was to teach basic aspects of tree care to all City personnel who must work with trees on a regular basis. Topics covered during the training session included pruning, planting, removals, installations, post-installation care, and safety.