Presented by Frank Rodgers, Cacapon Institute, at EPAN GIS Users Group Meeting in August 2013.

1. Cacapon Institute
PO Box 68
High View, WV 26808
www.cacaponinstitute.org
Frank Rodgers
Executive Director
ISA Certified Arborist
frodgers@cacaponinstitute.org
304-258-7657 / 304-240-2721(c)
Urban Forestry in the Eastern
Panhandle
WVAGSP
August 13, 2013

2. Since 1985 Cacapon Institute has been protecting rivers and watersheds. We started
with a focus on the Cacapon River and have, over time, expanded our focus
downstream to the Potomac and Chesapeake Watersheds.
We operate a vigorous website with watershed education tools and a broad range of
information.

3. Today our education programs reach hundreds of schools and tens of thousands of
students across the Bay watershed. We are involved in hands-on project across the
Potomac Highlands including the Shenandoah Valley, Western MD, and the eight
counties of the greater Eastern Panhandle.

4. Hands on projects include rain gardens, green roofs, and tree plantings to mitigate
stormwater runoff pollution.

5. Cacapon Institute is active with hands-on tree plantings and is a member of the
Chesapeake Bay Program Forestry Work Group and is the coordinating organization of
the Potomac Watershed Partnership.

6. Why “urban forestry”?

7. USDA Forest Service Northern
Research Station
“Envision a region where trees and
natural resources support a high
quality of life; wildlife, fish, and plant
communities thrive; clean water
abounds; and people work together
to sustain and restore the health of
forests.”
Origins of urban forestry: 1980 U.S. census showed
population is now urban. So; USDA Forest Service had
to ask itself ‘do we serve the trees or the people?’
Urban forestry let the answer be both! These maps
show urban areas and projected expansion – much
threatens woodlands & forests. In addition Forest
Service needed to find a way to serve the people in the
urban centers. “Trees” are the answer.

8. WV “urban” areas per 2000 U.S.
Census.
500 people per square mile
(or incorporated area with same)
What is “urban” – U.S. Census: any census block with
500 or more people per square mile, or the whole of any
incorporated area that includes a census block with 500
or more people per square mile. We are NOT limited to
traditional big “urban centers”. Here are WV’s “urban”
areas as defined by the 2000 U.S. Census.

9. Martinsburg is at the heart of the “Hagerstown Urban
Area” with the fastest rate of urban growth in the Mid-
Atlantic. All data from the US Census Bureau.

10. “urban trees”
= stormwater management function
= lower air temperatures
= increased property values
= improved wildlife habitat
= aesthetic for improved quality of life.
We will discuss stormwater & “air” more. Benefit to property value, wildlife, and aesthetic are
intrinsic and well accepted; however, data does exist (e.g. People in hospital rooms with a
sylvan view heal faster; people will drive farther to, and shop longer at, tree lined business
districts).

11. Dr. Susan Day, VA Tech.
A health shade tree will capture ¾ of
the first inch of rainfall. This greatly
reduces stormwater runoff pollution.

12. Dr. Susan Day, VA Tech.
This is true even with impervious
surfaces below the tree. Rain is
trapped in the leaf canopy, runs down
the branches and trunk into the tree
well.

13. Accotink – Storm Simulations
Mid In-Leaf Season
-20000
0
20000
40000
60000
Hour
m3/hr
Trees
No Trees
Difference
2 year storm
Notice greatest benefit is in an
“average storm” event. Trees offer the
greatest benefit when we most often
need it, a common rain shower.

14. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Hour
VOCEmission(kg)
OVOCs
Monoterpenes
Isoprene
Isoprene:
•a mechanism that trees
use to overcome
overheating of leaves
•a way to fight against
free radicals, especially
ozone.
Dr. David Nowak
USDA Forest Service, NRS
Trees produce Isoprene.
The hotter the hour the
more they produce ( X axis
is military 24 hour time).
Humans benefit from
urban trees fighting ozone.

15. Isoprene are the building blocks of monoterpenes
that, in turn, produce essential oils – the smells of
pine and sap.
Isoprenes are one of the reasons trees produce a
healthy environment.
Isoprenes give off a blue color and are why the
Blue Ridge is blue.

16. Urban Forestry in WV

17. “The Chesapeake Bay watershed has lost forestland
at a rate of 100 acres per day since the mid-1980s.”
State of the Chesapeake Forests
The Conservation Fund, 2006
Power corridor at Rt. 127
and the Cacapon River.
2011
2007

18. Chesapeake Bay watershed statistics:
>750,000 acres lost since 1982, primarily to sprawling
development.
36% vulnerable to development.
60% fragmented by housing
subdivisions, farms, and other human uses.
40% occurs within the wildland-urban interface.
Increasing “parcelization”
~70% of all family forest owners holding less than 10
acres.
The USDA Forest Service’s PPI is a score based on an estimate
of the potential to increase tree canopy (i.e., plant trees) and the
trees will serve the most people.
National Agriculture Inventory Data landcover was used to
determine where tree canopy existed and the amount of open
green space (i.e., not building or impervious). A low canopy in
relation to open green space scores highest; i.e., there is a
shortage of trees but available space to plant.
U.S. Census population growth data was used to identify the low-
canopy/open green space in proximity to growing population.
Note how WV panhandles stands out.

19. The USDA Forest Service’s PPI index matches the later U.S.
Census findings that Hagerstown Urban Area has a 74% rate of
growth.

20. In addition to the PPI, there are other GIS tools that can be applied looking at
landcover data derived from NAIP.
Map of Potomac River watershed (blue) with WV counties (dark boundary). USFS
NRS data showing percent tree canopy for “places.”
Notice WV’s Eastern Panhandle is the line between forest/west and suburban
sprawl to the east.

21. Focus on Tree Canopy?

22. J
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http://www.uvm.edu/~joneildu/GM/JeffersonCounty/LandCover/gmviewer.html
Tree canopy
(TC) is the
layer of leaves,
branches, and
stems of trees
that cover the
ground when
viewed from
above.
Newer high resolution landcover assessments are now possible. Generally; the
higher the resolution of the data the more tree canopy is “discovered.” NAIP 30
meter resolution misses between 5 and 20 percent of the canopy compared to 1
meter resolution.
The USDA Forest Service has a protocol to use the new 1 meter NAIP to assess
“urban tree canopy” - individual trees and small patches likely to be found in a
built environment. Jefferson County was the first in WV to obtain such a study from
the University of Vermont.

23. Inventory of Existing and
Potential Urban Tree Canopy
Buildings
Infrastructure
Jefferson’s study incorporated LiDAR to improve accuracy. NAIP
color infrared alone can not identify trees. Some plants have a
similar CI return (e.g., shrubs). Incorporating LiDAR to discount all
the “tree” CI return below a given height, six or eight feet, improves
the canopy accuracy from 75% using just NAIP to 98% accurate for
identifying trees in the landscape.

24. Urban Tree Canopy
UTC is the layer of
leaves,
branches,
and stems
of trees
covering the ground.
With UTC we can segregate parcels and weigh them individually:
TA Lowery Elementary with fair tree canopy.

25. New Washington H.S. - no tree canopy.

26. If a UTC assessment is not available like above, it is possible to
draw the landcover to determine percentages of landcover type.

27. The tree canopy, open green space, transportation areas, and
buildings for parcels of land can be quantified with the urban tree
canopy assessment.
Cacapon Institute has completed a GIS landcover survey of all the
public school in Regional Service Areas Eight (Berkeley, Grant,
Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan, and Pendleton).

28. American Forests recommends at least 40% tree canopy even in
urban settings but the makeup of the landscape and local
conditions make each site unique.

29. Urban Tree Canopy Goal Setting
1. Measure current UTC
Measure existing UTC. Identify the types of forest in the
community, including public (street trees, riparian corridors,
parks, etc.) and private (residential, commercial, industrial
areas, etc.)
2. Estimate potential UTC
GIS analyses to identify potential for growth then identify
priority locations to support identified community priorities
(e.g., reduced stormwater runoff, improved air quality,
tourism).
3. Adopt a UTC Goal
High resolution UTC (Urban Tree Canopy) assessments are the
foundation for goal setting and planning.
Communities with a UTC goal & plan can seek federal and state
support for implementing tree planting programs.

30. J
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Jefferson County is WV’s first to have a plan and the eleventh
county in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to complete a county-
wide plan & goal.

31. J
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Jefferson County Facts & Goal
•Jefferson County Total Land Area = 133,661 acres
•Total Tree Canopy Area = 50,603 acres or 38%
•59% of the total land area of Jefferson County is
available for additional Tree Canopy.
•3% of the total land area of Jefferson County is
unsuitable for tree planting.
•Increase Tree Canopy to 40% by 2030. An additional
2,861 acres will be required to be planted in trees.
From Jefferson’s goal. Consider this; if 10,000 properties gave up
mowing on just ¼ acres of land the county would “grow” 2,500
acres of forest.

32. B
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Cacapon Institute has completed a UTC assessment of Berkeley
County conducted by the University of Vermont and funded by the
USDA Forest Service and supported by WV Division of Forestry.

33. B
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Berkeley will determine a canopy goal that will be incorporated into
their master strategic plan.

34. B
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New to the Berkeley study, UVM used NASA Landsat data,
organized by census block groups, to compare surface
temperature to the percent of tree canopy.

35. M
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Even before the UTC landcover
assessment Cacapon Institute was
mapping tree canopy and landcover.
Cacapon Institute “dropped” 8,000
random points across Berkeley
County to create a statistical
assessment of landcover.
Eight areas of interest were identified,
the County as a whole, Martinsburg,
four urban areas and two sub-
watersheds of the Opequon Creek
that are predominantly urban
landcover.
This image of Martinsburg shows that,
while the survey was random and no
specific landcover data can be
determined, a dense enough random
sample will suggest a visual of the
landcover.

36. UTC Sampling:
Urban Areas
46%
33%
38%44%
Cacapon Institute looked at Martinsburg
and the U.S. Census 2000 “urban areas.”

37. M
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With the new UTC assessment we have
more than a statistical assessment. We
can see just where there is canopy, open
space, and impervious surfaces.
The City of Martinsburg, working with
Cacapon Institute and the WV Division of
Forestry, is developing a UTC plan & goal.

38. M
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Cacapon Institute has completed an i-Tree
Streets Inventory for the City of
Martinsburg.
i-Tree is the US Forest Service’s premier
street tree inventory program.

39. M
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www.itreetools.org
i-Tree Streets is freeware. The user selects
a random set of street segments as
directed.

40. M
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Cacapon Institute’s survey started with the
WVU road layer to sample from.

41. M
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From the broad road layer we selected only
streets with the “M” for municipal and only
street segments longer than 50 feet. This
dropped most alleys and highways leaving
us the primary city streets.

42. M
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i-Tree Streets instructions have specific
suggestions for how many segments to
sample depending on the city’s size. They
recommended 6% for a town of
Martinsburg’s size.
Working with the City, Cacapon Institute
settled on a 10% sample. Six miles of city
maintained roads and streets were
surveyed.

43. M
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A note on the WVU and TIGER road
shapefiles.
Segments can overlap. Notice the street
names in the table. A single road segment
can have multiple, overlapping layers within
a road shapefile.

44. M
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Segments can overlap.
Notice the first block to the north of the right
angle that is Queen & King streets.

45. M
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B
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Overlapping segments must be reduced down to a single segment before
the random sampling will work.
If the redundant segment stays in the pool of the sample the total miles of
streets will be incorrect.

46. M
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The i-Tree Street survey was an on-the-ground assessment. After
defining the random sample a physical survey is completed.
GIS and selecting the segments is the “hard part.” Most of the work in an
i-Tree street survey can be done without special arborist knowledge.
Cacapon Institute or WV Division of Forestry can provide assistance.

47. M
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Field Sheet.
Basic tree information is needed within broad ranges; e.g., is the tree <3,
3-6, 6-12, or >12 inches in diameter.
The user can adopt i-Tree to inventory more items by only size, health,
and species are required for i-Tree to calculate many benefits of trees.

48. M
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Once the physical survey is complete, the data properly formatted, and
entered as instructed, the i-Tree program generates a report. Many of
the trees’ benefits will be reported on in a quantitative way. These are
just a few of the indicators.
See the whole report by clicking on the Forestry Tab at
www.cacaponinstitute.org and following links to reports.

49. M
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Building from the on-the-ground work of i-Tree it is possible to use the high
resolution landcover data to “revisit” the site from a birds eye view.

50. M
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The information provided by landcover assessments
and on-the-ground surveys provides tools for
describing and conveying real-world conditions.
Cacapon Institute, working with WV Division of
Forestry and Martinsburg Department of Public Works,
identified a street in need of trees.

51. M
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We presented our i-Tree Streets survey to ECOLab, a locally based
multi-national firm, during their annual grant-giving campaign and
convinced them to fund a tree planting on Ledge Drive.
See how there are no trees on the southeastern end of the drive.

52. M
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With help from volunteers, 15 trees were planted.

53. Cacapon Institute
PO Box 68
High View, WV 26808
www.cacaponinstitute.org
Frank Rodgers
Executive Director
ISA Certified Arborist
frodgers@cacaponinstitute.org
304-258-7657 / 304-240-2721(c)