FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The National Urban & Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) Hosts Public Forum on A Comprehensive Look at Tropical Forestry Seeks Input from Every U.S. State to Secretary of Agriculture RIO GRANDE, P.R., July 15, 2008 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The National Urban & Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) hosted a groundbreaking public forum in Puerto Rico on June 18, 2008 at the Gran Melia Hotel. "We gathered more than 40 experts and citizens from Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other tropical islands to share ideas, best practices and research to help us advise the Secretary of Agriculture on urgent issues facing tropical urban forests," said Joe Wilson, NUCFAC Council Chair. "Despite the efforts of more than 20 state, federal, and private agencies, unwanted alien pests are entering Hawaii at an alarming rate - about 2 million times more rapid than the natural rate. In 1993, the federal Office of Technology Assessment declared Hawaii's alien pest species problem the worst in the nation," said to Teresa Trueman-Madriaga, Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Program Coordinator. Protecting the Value of Tropical Urban Forests With fifty-three percent of the U.S. population living in coastal areas, this land mass represents 17% of the total U.S. land mass and is vital to our country economically and for environmental sustainability. "Our climate and lush green infrastructure requires the type of collective research and best management practices that comes from this type of collaborative exchange to insure we preserve our tropical urban forests," said Magaly Figueroa, U.S. Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry. This collaborative public forum set the stage for a cross-section of leaders to share issues impacting coastal areas, island ecosystems, effective public policy reform, and potentially increased funding ideas that address the complex issues impacting tropical forestry. The Forum featured seven roundtable discussions on topics specifically impacting tropical forestry: 1. Invasive Species - Prevention & Control 2. Coastal Readiness & Shoreline Protection 3. Climate Change & Ecosystem Impacts 4. Ecco Tourism & Tropical Forests 5. Nurseries Standards & Production 6. Cultural practice, Assessment of Tropical Urban & Community Forestry Program 7. Accessing Research and Technology Transfer This is a call to action and public input will continue to be recorded until September 1, 2008 as part of NUCFAC's 2008 recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture. About NUCFAC NUCFAC was created by Congress through the 1990 Farm Bill as an advisory council to the Secretary of Agriculture. The enabling legislation requires NUCFAC to develop a national urban and community forestry action plan, make recommendations regarding a challenge cost share program, produce annual reports, and make recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture regarding urban and community forestry. For more information on the public forum or how to give input, visit the NUCFAC website at http://www.treelink.org/nucfac or contact: Joe Wilson, NUCFAC Chair E-Mail: joewilson@greeningmilwaukee.org. All trademarks acknowledged. Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story. NEWS SOURCE: National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) # # # //RELEASE END// MEDIA ONLY CONTACT(S): [ contact info not for publication online or in print ] Charlotte King of Snowden & King Marketing Communications for NUCFAC +1-770-506-0065 charlottewriter @ earthlink.net ......... Plain Text Copy, and Story Permalink: http://www.Send2Press.com/mediadrome/2008-07-0715-004.txt Release PDF: http://www.Send2Press.com/mediadrome/news_2008-07-0715-004.pdf Get our full-text news via RSS: http://www.Send2Press.com/RSS2/rss.xml ......... Text provided by news source (and/or the source's authorized agency), who is solely responsible for accuracy and legality of content transmitted. ......... This news story from Send2Press Newswire may be redistributed and re-posted in part or in whole by members of the media. Copr. (c) Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope(R). For news aggregation sites, blogs, and bureaus, you must retain Send2Press as the original wire service source. You may capture and self-host images linked to in above release, but do NOT stream from our server. ......... The original version of this release was issued on behalf of the above organization (the "news source"), by Send2Press(R) Newswire, a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com. ......... July 2008 Press Release / S-3S HI PR DC / IND: ENVIRO ECO FOREST / AGENCY / REF: Washington D.C. Newswire(TM) /