UFMP Process
The road leading up to the Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP) started in Fall 2020 with an urban tree canopy assessment. Upon completion of this study, which looked at tree canopy cover across the entire area of Knoxville (city and county), Trees Knoxville decided to pursue a master plan for the urban forest, to best utilize this new information and create a strategic plan for the entire community related to trees. The overall timeline for this project, along with the members of the project Steering Committee and Advisory group is found below.
Team Members
Steering Committee
Upon launching this project, Trees Knoxville formed a Steering Committee made up of member of the community, city and county, to help direct this work over the next twelve months. Kasey Krouse, Urban Forester, City of Knoxville Dale Madden, Trees Knoxville (Chair) & Earthadelic Landscape & Construction Tom Welborn, Trees Knoxville (Past Chair) Debbie Sharp, Office of Neighborhoods - City of Knoxville Chad Weth, Public Service Department - City of Knoxville Jessie Hillman, Knoxville Knox County Planning Tommy Smith, 1st District City Councilman - City of Knoxville Bob Graves, East Tennessee American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Kayla Stewart, City of Knoxville Tree Board Elaine Reed, Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) Khann Chov, Keep Knoxville Beautiful (KKB) Karin Beuerlein, Trees Knoxville Jessica Rodocker, Knox Area Association of Realtors (KAAR) Bethany Morris, Landscape Architect Facility Services, University of Tennessee |
Our consultant for this project is Urban Canopy Works, based out of the Northern Kentucky / Cincinnati metro area.
Consultant Team:
Rachel Comte, Principal/Project Lead Mindy Mohrman Cassandra Homan Gloria Desanker, Map Nerds |
UFMP Advisory Group
A group of representatives from non profits, city/county staff, utilities, development, architects/engineers, education, a representative from each neighborhood, and more were invited to the UFMP Advisory Group. This group was formed to provide in-depth knowledge and insight into Knoxville's urban forest. To join the group, members were required to commit to attending three workshops. These workshops are designed as a forum to collectively explore current conditions in Knoxville, and start to identify challenges and solutions to the most pressing issues. They provide one of the opportunities for the community at-large to self-evaluate the sustainability of Knoxville’s urban forest. Additional opportunities will be set up for the public to provide input and get involved as well.
A group of representatives from non profits, city/county staff, utilities, development, architects/engineers, education, a representative from each neighborhood, and more were invited to the UFMP Advisory Group. This group was formed to provide in-depth knowledge and insight into Knoxville's urban forest. To join the group, members were required to commit to attending three workshops. These workshops are designed as a forum to collectively explore current conditions in Knoxville, and start to identify challenges and solutions to the most pressing issues. They provide one of the opportunities for the community at-large to self-evaluate the sustainability of Knoxville’s urban forest. Additional opportunities will be set up for the public to provide input and get involved as well.
Garfield Adams, Knoxville County Schools (Operations)
Sam Adams, University of Tennessee (Arborist) Andrea Bailey, Aslan Foundation Cheryl Ball, City of Knoxville (Mayor's Office) Vicki Baumgartner, Dogwood Arts Ben Bentley, Knoxville Community Dev. Corp (housing authority) Karin Beuerlein, Trees Knoxville Katherine Bike, Knoxville County Schools (Board) Rick Blackburn, Blackburn Development Group Brian Blackmon, City of Knoxville (Office of Sustainability) Angel Bowman, Neighborhood Rep - Lonsdale Neighborhood Assoc. Kali Burke, University of Tennessee (Student Rep) Ashley Burnette, Home Builders Association of Greater Knoxville Jayne Burritt, Knoxville Public Building Authority Rachel Butzler, City of Knoxville (Public Service) John Cadotte, Neighborhood Rep - Scottish Pike Neighborhood Khann Chov, Keep Knoxville Beautiful JoAnn Coakley, Knoxville Garden Club Gordon Coker, Neighborhood Rep - Fourth and Gill Neighborhood Martin Cordell, Neighborhood Rep - Old North Knoxville Jason Cottrell, University of Tennessee (Facility Services) Carl Courter, University of Tennessee (Student Rep) Greg Easterly, Neighborhood Rep - Norwood Community Assoc. Carol Evans, Legacy Parks Joyce Feld, Scenic Knoxville Jennifer First, University of Tennessee (College of Social Work) Bob Graves, Carex Design Group / East TN ASLA Duane Grieve, East TN Community Design Center Avery Hawkins, University of Tennessee (Student Rep) Tim Hester, City of Knoxville (Parks and Recreation) Tim Hill, Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission Jessie Hillman, Knoxville -Knox County Planning Melissa Hinten, University of Tennessee (Sustainability) Philip Hipps, Neighborhood Rep - Norwood Homeowners Assoc. Breyauna Hollaway, Neighborhood Rep - Mechanicsville Community Association Jim Holleman, Avison Young Monty Howard, Neighborhood Rep - Historic Gibbs Drive Michele Hummel, Downtown Knoxville Alliance Dylan Jackson, City of Knoxville (Civil Engineering) Sharon Jean-Philippe, University of Tennessee (Urban Forestry) Josh Johnson, Knoxville Utilities Board Kelsey Jones, City of Knoxville (Tree Board) Rebekah Jane Justice, City of Knoxville (Mayor’s Office) Matthew Kellogg, Appalachian Mountain Bike Club Barbara Kelly, Knox/Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC) Allison Kelly, Trees Knoxville George Kemp, Citizens Cemetery Lindsey Kimble, Bike Walk Knoxville Kasey Krouse, City of Knoxville (Forestry) |
Charles Kwit, University of Tennessee (Forestry, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)
Emily Laird, University of Tennessee (Student Rep) Jon Livengood, City of Knoxville (Engineering & Transportation) Joseph Mack, Knox County Parks and Recreation Dale Madden, Trees Knoxville (Chair) Cross McCallie, Tate & McCallie Realtors, Inc. Gerry Moll, Native Plant Rescue Squad Bethany Morris, University of Tennessee (Landscape Architect- Facility Services) Ben Nanny, Ijams Nature Center Jason Periard, Knox County Schools (Operations- Security) Andy Pulte, University of Tennessee (Gardens) Elaine Reed, Knoxville Utilities Board Jim Richards, Knoxville Botanic Garden Mark Riehl, City of Knoxville (Plans Review & Inspections) Liz Riester, TN Riverline Charlotte Rodina, Beardsley Farm Jessica Rodocker, Knox Area Association of Realtors / Trees Knoxville Lee Rumble, Knox County Extension/ TN Landscape Association Hancen Sale, Knox Area Association of Realtors Jason Scott, CAC Americorps Wade Seifert, University of Tennessee (Health and Wellness) Debbie Sharp, City of Knoxville (Office of Neighborhoods) Randy Short, Tennessee Valley Authority Doug Shover, Knox County Schools (Operations - Facilities) Kinsey Simmerman, Knox County Health Department Charles Sims, University of Tennessee (Baker Center) Tommy Smith, City of Knoxville (City Council) Wes Soward, Urban Wilderness Coordinator Nick St. Sauveur, Cortese Tree Specialist Dan Steinhoff, City of Knoxville (Tree Board) Kayla Stuart, City of Knoxville (Tree Board) Tiffany Sutton, Aslan Foundation Rylan Thompson, Knox County Master Gardeners Jerry Thorton, Sierra Club Harvey Broom Group James Tomerlin, Neighborhood Rep - Cumberland Estates Neighborhood Chris Towe, Knox County Schools (Operations - Maintenance) Paige Travis, City of Knoxville (Communications) David Vandergriff, GriffArbor Consulting Diane Warwick, Tennessee Division of Forestry Brent Waugh, Neighborhood Rep - Historic Fourth and Gill Tom Welborn, Trees Knoxville (Past Chair) Chris Welsh, TN Ornithological Society - Knoxville Chapter Chad Weth, City of Knoxville (Public Service) Curtis Williams, City of Knoxville (Engineering) Belinda Woodiel-Brill, Knoxville Area Transit |
First Advisory Group Workshop. A group of 75 members of the UFMP Advisory Group (see member list above) met on Thursday, February 23rd, for the first of three workshops. A copy of the presentation, a summary of input received, as well as a recording of all the raw notes collected can be found at the links below.
Second Advisory Group Workshop. A group of 65 members of the UFMP Advisory Group (see member list above) met on Thursday, March 23rd, for the second of three workshops. A copy of the presentation, a summary of input received, as well as a recording of all the raw notes collected can be found at the links below.
- AGW2 Presentation
- AGW2 Meeting Summary (also available: raw comments)
- Help with Promotions!
Third Advisory Group Workshop. A group of 70+ members of the UFMP Advisory Group met for the final workshop on Thursday, April 20th. A copy of the presentation can be found in the link below. A summary of input received, as well as a recording of all the raw notes collected is coming soon.