Coordinators Corner − October 2021

By Ben Thompson, Urban Forestry Program Manager, Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources Did the temperature in Washington state just suddenly drop by 10 or 12 degrees? Summer was so gracefully stretching into late September, and seemingly out of nowhere its puffy jackets and beanies wherever I go. I’ll bet many of you working from …

October is Urban & Community Forestry Month!

By Daria Gosztyla, Urban Forestry Projects & Outreach Specialist, Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee officially proclaimed October as “Urban and Community Forestry Month” in Washington for the ninth consecutive year, encouraging all Washingtonians to reflect on the value of our community trees and appreciate their beauty and benefits. Read the …

Urban Forestry Field Notes

By Jess Lloyd, Urban and Community Forestry Specialist, Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources It’s been over a year since the WA DNR Urban & Community Forestry team has had the opportunity to regularly meet our network of program partners in person. As a new member to the team, and a new resident of Washington, …

New Tools for Urban Trees

By Hannah Kett, Cities Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy and Daria Gosztyla, Urban Forestry Projects & Outreach Specialist at Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources Funding from the USDA Forest Service Urban Forestry Program, administered through the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program, supported The Nature Conservancy, Davey Resource Group, American Forests and City …

Bigleaf maple decline tied to hotter, drier summers in Washington

This article is republished as it was originally posted on September 30, 2021 on the UW News Website here. As its name suggests, the bigleaf maple tree’s massive leaves are perhaps its most distinctive quality. A native to the Pacific Northwest’s wet westside forests, these towering trees can grow leaves up to 1.5 feet across …

2021 Tree City USA applications now being accepted

The 2021 Tree City USA, Tree Campus Higher Education and Tree Line USA applications and re-applications are now being accepted. The Arbor Day Foundation makes the entire application process available on-line. The DNR Urban and Community Forestry Program is responsible for reviewing Tree City USA applications from Washington communities to ensure that submitted information is current …

Washington Community Forestry Council Seeking New Members

The Washington Community Forestry Council (WCFC) is a statewide advisory council comprised of volunteer members representing diverse perspectives on urban forestry in Washington state. Their purpose is to help support the mission of DNR’s Urban & Community Forestry Program* and advise the Commissioner of Public Lands and DNR on statewide issues pertaining to urban and …

City of Walla Walla Completes Tree Inventory as Part of Community Forestry Assistance Grant

The City of Walla Walla recently completed a $20,000 Community Forestry Assistance Grant provided by the WA DNR Urban & Community Forestry Program for the collection of new street tree inventory data and creation of an updated Urban Forest Management Plan. The information collected during the inventory included locations, species, condition, tree height, recommended maintenance …

Find Your Community’s Tree Equity Score

Last month, American Forests, a nonprofit conservation organization, published Tree Equity scores for 150,000 neighborhoods in 486 urbanized areas across the United States, including scores for Washington communities. Find Your Community’s Tree Equity Score on the National Explorer Here Each score, which can be examined by neighborhood or up to the city scale, is based …

Upcoming Webinars will Focus on New Tools Aimed at Growing Tree Canopy

Written by Hannah Kett, Cities Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy Within our cities and towns, the trees that line our streets, fill our parks and shade our streams, provide people and nature with a multitude of benefits – seen and unseen. These trees help clean the water flowing into streams, rivers and the Puget …

Coordinator’s Corner – May

This article is by Ben Thompson, Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager. Written on May 11, 2021. I come to you this month with very good news: THE EVERGREEN COMMUNITIES ACT (ECA) HAS BEEN PASSED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND WAS SIGNED INTO LAW BY GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ON MONDAY, MAY 10, 2021! The bill …