Professional identity of urban foresters in the United States

Though the urban forest resource has been the subject of numerous studies quantifying ecosystem benefits and assessing tree canopy cover, little is known about the managers of this resource – the urban foresters. Literature from more well-established professions shows they routinely reflect on their own profession to identify opportunities and areas for improvement. A few examples of topics addressed by these reflections are recruitment of youth into the profession, monitoring of workforce conditions and employment trends, as well as comprehensive self-reflection. To address this gap in the urban forestry profession, we studied municipal employees whose primary responsibilities directly involve planning, managing, and implementing urban trees and greenspaces. The purpose was to determine who is managing urban forests, and if the professional identity of urban foresters could be outlined. Survey topics included usage of professional support mechanisms such as certifications, conferences, and memberships. Less than half of respondents were arborists or urban foresters. Over half (55 %) of respondents were from locations that were being managed by non-tree professionals such as public administrators, civil engineers, landscape architects, and urban planners. This group had low rates of participation in tree-centric education, certifications, conferences, or memberships, suggesting that urban forest expertise may not be their priority. A regression analysis showed a distinction in the usage of professional support mechanisms between urban foresters and all other professionals, including arborists. We identified the support mechanisms urban foresters use to define their professionalism in lieu of a certification tailored to them. Recommendations include creating mechanisms for non-tree professionals to develop tree-centric skills and knowledge, and creating a certification for urban foresters.