Forestry
Protecting Arkansas’s forests, and those who enjoy them, from wildland fire and natural hazards while promoting rural and urban forest health, stewardship, development, and conservation for all generations of Arkansans
Storm Preparedness
Does your community have an urban forestry plan in place for the aftermath of a storm?
When natural disasters occur, communities need to have a plan and a quick-reference guide for responding to urban tree damage. The Urban & Community Forest Storm Mitigation Workbook and Plan Template provide guidelines for creating such a resource before an emergency takes place. *The following resources are in the process of being updated. Please feel free to use them as-is, or check back by June 2020 for updated versions.*
How can these resources be of help? Has your community considered the following questions:
Which officials will you call for unique storm events (i.e. ice, wildfire, droughts, flooding, etc.)? Who will you call when trees are damaged? Who are your local foresters? Do you have a local mitigation team in place? Do you have local volunteers to help? Who are the certified arborists near you? Questions like these and many more are compiled for you in this template, prompting you to seek out contact information and prepare ahead of a natural disaster event.
The completion of this planning guide is also beneficial as a preparedness exercise. Gaps in information become apparent as individuals work through the template guidelines and can then be addressed during a calm, organized planning session. The Forestry Division highly recommends that communities take the time to complete this planning process before storm and/or emergency events happen so that information, references, and resources listed are quickly accessible when seconds count.
