Building a Sustainable Community Forest Information System (CFIS)

G. R. Barker 1, K. Barker 2 and R. Cauthen 3

Athens-Clarke County Community Tree Council (1)
Natural Resources Technologies, Tallassee, AL (2)
Athens-Clarke County Landscape Division (3)

“I applaud your dedication, energy, and vision, but I am afraid none it will change the way things are done around here.” This comment (not unfamiliar to those who do volunteer work) is in fact too often the case. A newly formed Athens-Clarke County Community Tree Council (CTC) has set out to show exception to this broad generality by building a sustainable Community Forest Information System (CFIS) responsive to local Government and citizens of the community. They plan to do this by (1) organizing for success, (2) establishing a baseline of information, and (3) setting in place a partner consortium with parallel concerns and having operational responsibilities within the community. Utilizing the US Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forest Grant Assistance Program (U&CF) as administered by the Georgia Forestry Commission, a four-year, four-phased approach has been taken to develop the CFIS as follows: (1) Utilizing satellite imagery, current and archived aerial photography, a Community Forest Cover and Change Analysis (CFCCA) program was completed defining and mapping the forest areas in terms of, distribution, composition, and condition, with a profile on how these variables have changed over a 20-year period. (2) A Mapping and Information Management Program (MIMP) successfully defined and attached attributes to the baseline of information generated from the CFCCA. A broad spectrum of partners (potential users and technicians) was selected to help define the range of attributes needed and develop the software to integrate and manage them. (3) A Community Forest Information System (CFIS) resulted from the integration of the CFCCA and MIMP and provided a single interactive information system. (4) To insure sustainability, a Program Coordinator position was established. This position has responsibility for the updating and maintenance of the CFIS, providing the community with timely and continuing information regarding their trees and forest resources.

Keywords: Community, Forest, Information

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