Can you save a tree by logging it? Yes, if you “log” it into the Urban Forest Map (www.urbanforestmap.org), a new online tool developed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in cooperation with Friends of the Urban Forest and the City of San Francisco, to catalog the City’s leafy assets.

“You can add the trees around your home, office, school, or local cafe to the Urban Forest Map, or you can use it to learn more about the trees in your neighborhood,” said Amber Bieg, manager of the project. “It’s like a census for trees.”

Anyone with a web browser, whether on a mobile device, laptop or desktop computer, can add information about specific trees to the Urban Forest Map, such as their location, species, size, and health. That data can then be used by urban foresters and City planners to better manage trees in specific areas, track and combat tree pests and diseases, and plan future tree plantings. Climatologists can use it to understand the effects of urban forests on climates, and students can use it to learn about the role trees play in the urban ecosystem.

“Trees help keep our environment healthy by cleaning the air and reducing storm water runoff,” said Mayor Newsom. “The Urban Forest Map will make it easier for the city to maintain trees by engaging our tech-savvy citizens to enhance the beauty of San Francisco for all who live, work and visit here.”

Because the Urban Forest Map is built with open-source software and leverages the growing power of geographic information systems (commonly known as GIS tools), it will likely have uses beyond those currently envisioned. Technologists can layer the tree data with other kinds of geographic data to illuminate or reveal aspects of an area or region that might otherwise be overlooked.

San Francisco is the first city to use the Urban Forest Map; others are expected to follow. “Million Tree” campaigns are taking-off around the nation, and this tool enables the on-the-ground community information sharing vital to the success of such campaigns.

Earlier this year, Mayor Newsom announced the nation’s first open-source software policy for city government, and in 2009 Newsom issued an Open Data Executive Directive requiring city departments to make all nonconfidential datasets under their authority available on DataSF.org, the city’s one-stop website for government data. The initial phase of DataSF includes more than 150 datasets from a range of city departments, including police, public works, and the Municipal Transportation Agency.

More than 30 software applications have already been created from city data and are featured in the DataSF App Showcase (www.datasf.org/showcase). This includes San Francisco Crimespotting, an interactive crime map; EcoFinder, an iPhone app that helps residents recycle; and Routesy, an app that helps people find their way around the Bay Area’s transit systems.

The open source and open data policy are part of the larger Open Gov Initiative for the City and County of San Francisco to engage constituents, and is focused on open data, open participation and open source.

To underscore the user-friendly nature of the Urban Forest Map, it was introduced to the public in a demonstration by Benton Liang, 11, a fifth-grade student at John Yehall Chin Elementary School, using an Apple iPad.

About the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire)
The men and women of Cal Fire are dedicated to the fire protection and stewardship of over 31 million acres of California’s privately owned wildlands. In addition, the department provides varied emergency services in 36 of the state’s 58 counties via contracts with local governments. Cal Fire foresters can be found in urban areas working to increase the number of trees planted in our cities, or preventing the spread of disease by identifying and removing infected trees.

About Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) FUF is a non profit organization committed to the belief that trees are a critical element of a livable urban environment. Since 1981, FUF has offered financial, technical and practical assistance to individuals and neighborhood groups who want to plant and care for trees.

Mayor Newsom can be reached at 415-554-6141 or [email protected].