Feedback on Urban Forestry Policies
The City of Tacoma is developing its Urban Forestry program and they mean business.
EverGreen Tacoma is Tacoma’s new Urban Forestry Program. What is Urban Forestry, you ask? Urban forestry is the care and management of urban forests, which includes trees in planting strips, neighborhood parks, and open spaces.
Urban forestry is guided by the purpose of improving the urban environment. We advocate the role of trees and shrubs as a critical part of the urban infrastructure.
It’s shaping up to be a good looking program. Right now they are working on changes to the municipal code and would like some feedback.
Visit the website to download the proposed changes and have your say.
Filed under: General, urban-forestry
5 comments
T Thorax O'Tool March 4, 2009
I know they’re big and live a looooooong time, but we really need to be planting a lot more of the world’s third (and the Norther Hemisphere’s second) tallest tree species, our own native Doug Fir.
Imagine our grandkids playing on the streets under the watchful protection of the giants f the forest. 150’+ trees all over town. Puts a smile on my face.
D dolly varden March 4, 2009
Right on, T’OT. And we need to get the English ivy and other aggressive invasive plants out of our forested ravines to protect the firs, hemlocks, maples, and cedars that are getting smothered and slowly killed by suffocating vines.
A amy March 4, 2009
I wish the Mason Loop had been planted exclusively in Doug Fir….
D Douglas Tooley March 4, 2009
Urban forestry programs can be biased towards the pallette of street trees, generally smaller trees.
Finding spots for big trees is important too, where appropriate – above species, plus Spruce, Cottonwood, Ash, and, yes, even, Alder.
We should also not forget the Puget Sound Prairie habitat – personally I wonder if we couldn’t recreate a bit of that on our planting strips, with perhaps even a Garry Oak or two snuck in somewhere.
T Thorax O'Tool March 4, 2009
Sneaking in a few Oaks sounds nice to me.
But it seems the consensus is this:
Native trees.