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Good news on the tree canopy front. According to the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) Urban Forestry Administration (UFA), the city’s tree canopy—the percentage of the ground that has tree cover overhead—has expanded. Preliminary data from a study of multispectral imagery shows the urban tree canopy grew by 2.1% over the past five years and now covers 37.2% of the city. DC’s goal: 40% coverage by 2035.
The study was funded by the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area, for the UFA and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and is based on reanalyzed 2006 data and new 2011 aerial data. It shows all eight city wards, except Ward 3—which lost 3.7% of its tree canopy—got greener. This news is good because healthy tree canopies reduce stormwater runoff, carbon emissions and energy consumption. Planting more trees, which UFA does from late fall to spring, makes this possible. The study’s summary factsheet is posted on the DDOT website.
Despite the positive message, Casey Trees, the non-profit organization that restores, enhances and protects the nation’s tree canopy, released its 2011 Tree Report Card on Arbor Day, and it states that DC’s tree canopy is 35% overall, unchanged from 2006—thus leading to an overall “Incomplete” report card grade. Otherwise, the Casey Trees report found that tree planting numbers in DC have increased tremendously, exceeding the annual target by more than 50%. In addition, DC’s trees remain very healthy, with more than 82% in “Good” to “Excellent” condition, and the city is taking action to rectify deficiencies in DC’s Urban Forest Preservation Act of 2002.
In related information, DDOT issued a final report last month on the progress made to enhance the urban tree canopy and reduce stormwater runoff in three grant projects—Impervious Surface Reduction, Green Median Renovation, and Tree Canopy Renovation. All are funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
What $4.25 million has allowed UFA to accomplish:
- Plant 2,632 new trees
- Remove 2,209 dead or hazardous trees
- Remove 124,505 square feet of impervious surface
Not bad.
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