City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/143980
was great that she bothered to read the document (it's over 43 pages long), got the message from the document about why trees are important, and then used the Plan as her argument for not removing trees. What are some misconceptions MAs from other parts of the world might have about urban forestry in your area? (right) A large black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is removed on a Renton street. How do you acquire your trees? TF: While we don't grow our own nursery trees, we have it in our Plan to incorporate City nurseries into TF: Probably the greatest misconception of those coming from the eastern half of the country is around how fast our trees grow in the Pacific Northwest. I visit trees I planted fifteen years ago in Wisconsin and they are half the size of the ones I planted five years ago in Renton. The other misconception is that it is always sunny in the greater Seattle area (joking). What are your best street tree performers? TF: We have chosen species and cultivars based on site characteristics and modified sites to accommodate the largest-maturing tree possible. So, for trees in sidewalk cut-outs (mostly in our downtown), I have used 'Apollo' sugar maple (Acer saccharum), 'Summer Sprite' littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata), 'Leprechaun' green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and 'Vanessa' parrotia (Parrotia persica). In areas with space for larger trees, we have successfully used ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), Garry oak (Quercus garryana), and larger-maturing sugar maple cultivars, among others. Are you meeting certain diversity goals you set for yourself? TF: Yes, I am a very diverse person. If you meant about trees, then the short answer is sort of. Renton has a large population of maple species. Over the past ten years, we have reduced the reliance on maple species in favor of other types. When we use a maple, it is usually a species or cultivar we haven't used. With an existing 28% canopy cover, we have the opportunity to use other species than maple to achieve the goal of 40% canopy cover. With 3,000 vacant planting sites available for street trees, the opportunity to diversify holds great potential. The interdepartmental Urban and Community Forestry Development Plan team members take an early information gathering tour. What are some technologies you are employing? TF: Our tree inventory is GIS based. We use GIS to locate parcels and property lines when determining if a tree is within the right-of-way or on private property. We have used i-Tree to a limited extent but have plans to make better use of this tool with the introduction of new tree inventory and management software that links directly to i-Tree. That software will automate our tree database, allow us to update the database daily, and provide information we can use to justify budget requests. 14 Norway maple root systems adjacent to sidewalks and curbs are inspected to determine if tree removal is necessary in the replacement of heaved sidewalks. City Trees