| We all recognize the
personal pleasure and beauty green spaces and trees provide in
an otherwise metropolitan setting. Community trees are not
decorative. Trees provide a host of financial, health and
environmental benefits. Sarasota
County features a naturescape
defined by more than one hundred tree species, including coastal
mangroves, bald cypress, native and exotic palm trees, pine
groves, oak hammocks, expressive crape myrtles and majestic,
ancient live oaks. The diversity and health of our urban forest
supports a thriving, vibrant habitat, filters our environment
and has contributed in making our county a center for
development.
About
Urban Forestry
In 1987, the
Sarasota Board of County Commissioners formally created
a Forestry Division to conserve, preserve, cultivate and
maintain the innumerable trees and environments that
compose our community forest.
In conjunction with other county service centers
including Parks and Recreation, Sarasota County
Extension and Environmental Services, Forestry is the
steward for trees found in the wild, in parks, on
beaches, in the county rights-of-way, medians and
thoroughfares, along waterways and water features and
bordering our canopy roads.
Among our many achievements and services, Forestry
has developed a Neighborhood Tree Program, our own
county Tree Nursery, a comprehensive Master Tree List
and Risk Abatement Program.
- The Division has reforested the county’s
Interstate 75 corridor and ramps, plus planted more
than 20,000 street trees.
- We fostered the creation of Tree Protection,
Street Tree and Canopy Road Ordinances.
Forestry supports ongoing projects for invasive
species removal and has volunteered emergency services
both within the county and other Florida locations
devastated by tropical storms and hurricanes. In
acknowledgement of our performance and stewardship, the
National Arbor Day Foundation has awarded the county
Tree City USA certification annually since 1991.
The Forestry Division supports the evolution of
Sarasota County as a healthy, progressive community.
Emerging services under this agenda include:
Forestry is forging creative partnerships with
foundations, associations and commercial and academic
institutions. These partnerships will ensure that our
community has access to latest technology and research
and will meet its greatest potential for innovation.
We would like to
acknowledge the generosity of Dr. Edward Gilman,
University of Florida/IFAS and the Florida
chapter of the International Society of
Arboriculture.
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Forestry Links