Prioritizing Trees

We lost this ancient tree (over 250 years old!) in Loring Park earlier this year…. I happened to be volunteering that fateful morning when an immense limb separated from the trunk like a creaking glacier. Of course we all know that some tree loss is unavoidable due to disease or old age, even with needed investment in sufficient watering and proper pruning. But it still breaks our hearts to lose magnificent trees like these . . .

Other tree loss is avoidable when park, city or county infrastructure projects eliminate trees. MPRB Forestry is charged with maintaining our tree canopy in almost 6,000 acres of parkland as well as our city boulevards. One of my greatest passions as park commissioner is to focus not just on planting new trees but also taking much better care of our existing aging urban canopy.

As part of the Hennepin Avenue redesign, forestry recently did an assessment of the avenue’s trees including species, size, health and monetary value. The report details 191 trees, the majority categorized as “healthy” and exhibiting “vigorous growth,” and representing a total estimated monetary value of $350,000. The Hennepin Avenue redesign team is still determining exactly which trees will be removed from this list, but it will be a large number. Generally in these projects tree loss is evaluated and addressed closer to implementation, not at the design outset. With the rate at which cities need to upgrade infrastructure (streets, pipes, etc), we need to address tree impact much earlier in the planning process.

Traditionally the amount of time between park master planning and implementation is lengthy, often 15 to 20 years. As tree health can fluctuate over the years and other factors affect the canopy, detail on tree impact is often not assessed until the project actually starts. I am going to try and change this.

So for example, as we anticipate the release of the Cedar-Isles recommended master plan, we had an opportunity upfront to prioritize trees in the planning process. In dialog with MPRB staff, I requested a broader understanding of the project as it relates specifically to tree impact. Staff was overwhelmingly positive in response and are optimistic they can include a general tree diagram (both loss and augmentation) within the forthcoming Cedar-Isles master plan. I am grateful for their flexibility in this late request and their strong leadership…. reiterating for park and other public entities how to recognize the impact to trees earlier in any project planning.