Dr. Jackie Cole watched half her city’s trees—some 100 years old—die as Galveston became a “city of dead trees” after a drought weakened 40,000 of them, and a hurricane flooded them afterward with saltwater. Dr. Cole’s leadership in helping remove the dead trees and plant new ones gave her insight into the value that government agencies assign to city [...]
By Erica Timm Less than a month ago, on Wednesday, April 13, 2011, Portland City Council unanimously adopted the Citywide Tree Policy Review and Regulatory Improvement Project (Tree Project). As Mayor Sam Adams proclaimed, “The Tree Project has been a journey. Thanks to our community’s tenacity, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s leadership and critical assistance [...]
Tags: policy
From Portland’s Bureau of Planning & Sustainability On Wednesday, April 13, Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve amendments to the December 2010 draft of the Citywide Tree Policy and Regulatory Improvement Project. The amendments were made in response to input from individuals and community organizations. The Council referred to the comprehensive overhaul of the city’s tree [...]
Tags: policy, Portland, street trees
Jill Jonnes’ insightful article “What Is a Tree Worth?” in the Winter 2011 Wilson Quarterly offers a comprehensive history of urban trees in the U.S., from Thomas Jefferson’s appreciation of trees in 1793 to Nebraska’s declaring the first official Arbor Day in 1874 and Theodore Roosevelt’s comment in 1905: “A people without children would face a [...]
