PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #82: Urban Ecology.
Presiding: M. Cadenasso
Thursday, August 8. 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Grand Ballroom East, Radisson.

Impacts of adjacent homeowners on urban natural areas.

Thompson-Deahl, Claudia^*,1,2,3, Munroe, Kevin¹, ¹ Reston Association, Reston, VA² Virginia Native Plant Society, Manassas, VA³ Council of Governments-Community Forestry Network, Washington, DC

ABSTRACT- There are many stresses on urban natural areas which were originally set aside as wooded buffers between developed parcels. Some of these include: 1. Garden escapes planted to "beautify the woods" with non-native species creating a problem with invasive exotics 2. The perception that only formal landscaping requires maintenance and therefore the woods are frequently the dumping grounds for all yard debris and contractor disposal of an overabundance of organic material which smothers the forest floor 3. The perception that the forest needs to be "cleaned up"-for a more manicured appearance rather than the more naturalistic approach. Examples include requests to have all down wood removed, greenbrier removed and all snags cut down, and smaller trees removed for a open view through the forest As our natural areas staff has realized after years of maintaining the community owned open spaces that managing the residents that live adjacent to the natural areas is just as important as managing the natural areas itself. The buffers are located in Reston, VA and owned by the Reston Association, one of the largest homeowner associations in the country. There about 800 acres of natural areas within this community of 65,000 people. Reston is one of only 3 communities certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat Community. The annual budget for the maintenance of the environmental resources is about $500,000.

KEY WORDS: urban, invasives, snags, management