The Role of Local Government in the Care of Urban Forested Natural Areas

Urban natural areas are crucial for enhancing city livability and environmental health but are often overlooked, underfunded, and missing formal protection, which leads to loss of ecological benefits, missed opportunities for community engagement and nature access, and overall loss of natural areas.

Governance structures for urban forested natural areas vary widely between cities, with different combinations of governments and various jurisdictions owning and managing forests. The following report examines how local governments across the U.S. have structured natural areas management and what implications that structure has on funding and protecting these forests. This will provide insight when local governments are considering how to structure their own forest governance and shed light on the current state of local governance.

The basis for this report was a survey distributed to the 19 cities in the Forests in Cities network in 2024 along with several interviews with members of the Forests in Cities Network. The survey had 22 responses from 18 cities and asked questions about local government structure and what respondents would like to change about the current structure in their cities.

In a nutshell, this resource offers:

• Strategies for more effective local government pertaining to urban forested natural areas. 
• Case studies that demonstrate different local government structures.
• Recommendations for local government advocacy.

How to use this resource:

• As inspiration for updating local governance of forested natural areas.
• As a list of steps for cities to advocate for better management.

Author: Sam W. Lawson

Date published: May 20, 2025

Point of contact: Sam Lawson sam.lawson@naturalareasnyc.org

Citation: Lawson, Sam W. 2025. The Role of  Local Government in the Care of Urban Forested Natural Areas. Natural Areas Conservancy, NY

Resource is available online here.