Best Practice Action Detail

Golden Valley has an annual budget for tree planting in parks and public spaces ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 in addition to a budget for tree replacement as part of the Pavement Management Program. The City continues to monitor and inspect trees for disease and pests on public land and makes an effort to replace them with native, resilient species. Annually the City plants between 50-75 trees for both parks and as part of the Emerald Ash Borer replacement program. 5-10 trees are planted as part of other construction projects each year as well.

As of 2016, according to EarthDefine Geospatial Data and Services, which uses Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to determine percent tree canopy, Golden Valley has an overall city tree canopy of 40.5%.p

According to a DNR tree inventory conducted in 2010, Golden Valley has about 21.8 trees per acre in areas maintained by the City.

The City has a one to one replacement strategy for trees in public spaces and hosts an annual tree sale for residents. The City's tree standards and development review require no more than 5 percent of any one species of tree be planted in an area.

The city has achieved an overall tree canopy of at least 30% as well as they are continuing to purchase and utilize native trees. Continual effort to plant more trees is being taken.

Hastings plants nearly 30 trees each year as part of Arbor Day activities. Currently utilizing i-tree to conduct tree inventory for trees on City property.

Completed: We are currently at a tree canopy for 75% for residential areas and continuously budget for this.

The City calculated its overall tree canopy using i-Tree. Per this tool, the City's overall tree canopy is 30%.

The City has a minimum annual budget for replacement trees, which pays for approximately 250 1.5” BB (balled and burlapped).

The Parks and Trails chapter of the Comprehensive Plan does not include a tree canopy goal. The City's overall canopy is about 25%. The residential canopy is about 70%.

The City of Royalton Tree Management Plan 2019 text is written and budget information will be used for the 2020 budget year. Emerald Ash Borer has been found in a neighboring county and the Tree Management Plan is used to help the city budget for treatment of infected trees or removal based on recommendations from the MN Department of Agriculture.

The City of St. Anthony has a tree budget and regularly adds or replaces boulevard and park trees. The City has at least 75% tree coverage for residential zoning.

In 2010, the University of Minnesota Spatial Analysis Laboratory performed a land cover classification for the City of Saint Paul defining tree canopy, impervious surface, buildings, water, grass and bare soil.
Highlights
• Tree canopy cover in 2010: 32.5% of the total land area of Saint Paul
• 66.2% of Saint Paul is suitable for tree canopy cover
The Tree Canopy Study revealed that residential, single-family parcels offer the greatest area for increased canopy cover. As a result, The City has worked with partnering agencies and community volunteers when possible to increase planting on private property, especially is areas with the lowest canopy percentage, e.g., Frogtown. Overall, it is projected that Saint Paul will spend over $700,000 on tree planting in 2014 using various funding sources.

In 2015, the city had a tree replacement budget of $1,500 for replacing trees in parks and in the boulevards. In 2016, the budget increases to $3,400.

City Ordinance 291 addresses oak wilt, emerald ash borer, and Dutch elm disease.

In preparation for EAB Bloomington has funding budgeted for the removal and replacement of 8000 public ash trees in parks. The activity started in 2013 and will ramp up over the next 11 years. Other activities funded in this budget include the City’s Arbor Day tree sale where residents are allowed to pre-order bare root trees to be planted in their yard. To increase diversity the species of trees made available are adjusted each year.

In July 2012, Cottage Grove created a Public Landscape Initiative Program to motivate volunteers and employees within the City to contribute to beautification efforts. Projects are focused on active management of the urban forest, reforestation of highly visable community parks, public lands, and transportation corridors as well as provision of tree planting/landscaping , employee team building, and community volunteer opportunities. These tree planting and landscape goals are recorded and budgeted in our CIP through 2018. The city also recorded all of our boulevard trees in the community via GPS to help inventory, identify condition, size, species and other concerns with tree growth projections, disease monitoring, and tree trimming. This allows to provide a detailed management plan that aids in our budget preparation.

In the Forestry annual budget is a line item allocation for replacing boulevard trees. Boulevard trees are also replaced as part of the street reconstruction projects.

Development projects that remove trees must replace 10-50% DBH depending on the context. All trees removed as part of the Emerald Ash Borer Management plan must be replaced and after the EAB project has finished the informal goal is to continue planting 400-600 trees per year.
Duluth just completed a street tree inventory using iTree and has begun analyzing the results to find patterns in tree dispersal and guide planting efforts.

The City of Fergus Falls has a dedicated forestry budget to remove, plant and monitor all city trees and inspect private trees for disease.

Hutchinson has been a Tree City USA for over 40 years. Hutchinson recently accepted a grant through the DNR to mitigate the affects of the Emerald Ash Borer, thus accelerating the removal of these trees, as well as plans to plant 275 replacements in the next two years. Hutchinson also has an iTree profile to expand on the benefits of our existing urban canopy.

The City of La Crescent received a grant in 2023 from the MnDNR to plant 345 trees over three years. These trees include hackberry, honey locust, ironwood, white oak, swamp white oak, linden, and hybrid elm. Planting diverse trees creates greater resilience to disease and invasive pests like emerald ash borer, so the La Crescent community is at a lesser risk of losing a key tree species all at once. In 2024 the city removed 12 trees that were damaged by storms or died. The city planted 130 trees on Arbor Day in 2024. The grant memo is linked below.

Gold Leaf CA5: Planted 110 trees on Arbor Day - a mix of 8 different varieties of native trees.

The city has a tree replacement budget of $120,000 for replacing trees in parks and in the boulevards. The City Code also addresses oak wilt, emerald ash borer, and Dutch elm disease.

Chapter 34, Article 3.6 goes into great detail about budgeting for and achieving urban tree canopy planting goals.

Through its EAB response plan and partnership with BIA, Prairie Island has a budget for monitoring the health of the canopy and planting trees. There is also a budget for the gravel tree nursery bed to help provide a more diverse and natural tree canopy.

The city does a spring and fall planting every year and looks for spaces in newly developed areas to plant new trees. We also keep record of places that we have had to remove trees so that we make sure to replant in those areas. We received an Emerald Ash Borer grant and are working to reduce the number of Ash trees by replacing them with other varieties throughout the city.

Completed. The City plants approx 150 trees per year, using about 20 species and replaces every removed tree with at least 1 new tree.

Rochester has continually assessed their tree canopy. Currently Rochesters tree canopy is at 27% with a total potential of 47%. The percent of water in the city is currently 2.7% while impervious land accounts for 22%

$60000 annual CIP budget item for boulevard and Park tree planting

According to the City's records and GIS data, there have been 812 trees planted over the last three years to replace the 244 trees that were removed for a ratio of 3.3 trees planted for every tree removed.

The city spends $2 per capita on tree planting and care every year. The majority of that is spent on planting. The city is also working with residents to start a volunteer planting and care program in 2015.

The City has partnered with Lake County Soil and Water to conduct a tree inventory summer 2020. They received a grant for 2 interns for the summer and the City is cost-sharing to complete a tree inventory in City limits.

Replace any trees lost in storms or construction with new trees.

The city has a standing line item in the budget each year for tree planting and maintenance. In 2013, the city planned for and budgeted funds to plant 500 trees.

In 2009, the City of Woodbury received a Community Conservation Assistance Grant through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Metro Greenways Program. The purpose of the grant was to conduct an Urban Tree Canopy assessment, in order to determine the current tree cover across the city. The Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) is the layer of leaves, branches, and stems of trees that cover the ground when viewed from above.

The most important finding of the UTC assessment was the percent tree canopy cover for the City of Woodbury. The city currently has a canopy cover of approximately 22%. The 70% of the city that is developed to its ultimate condition has a canopy of 23%. There is a significant range in the canopy among neighborhoods. Neighborhoods, depending on age and development practices at the time of development, have a canopy cover anywhere between 10% and 50%.

Based on the results of the UTC, the city set goals for increasing UTC, developed an implementation plan for achieving the goals, and has established a monitoring program to track progress. Based on research identifying the benefits of trees in the urban landscape, Woodbury has adopted the goal of increasing the UTC in the city’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan. These benefits include improved water and air quality, reduced heating and cooling costs, and increased property values.

The City of Lake City is dedicated to maintaining and expanding a resilient urban canopy through careful budgeting and targeted tree planting initiatives. As part of our commitment to environmental sustainability, the City allocates significant funds each year for tree planting, maintenance, and the management of our urban forest. This investment supports our goal of increasing tree coverage across the City, enhancing biodiversity, and improving the overall quality of life for residents.

In alignment with our Tree City USA certification, Lake City has set clear, measurable goals for tree planting and canopy restoration. These goals are focused on planting native species, diversifying the tree population, and ensuring that new trees are properly cared for to thrive in the long term. We work closely with the Lake City Forestry Advisory Committee, local environmental groups, and volunteers to achieve these goals and promote the benefits of trees, such as carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, and providing shade to reduce urban heat islands.

By continuing to allocate resources to urban canopy initiatives, the City of Lake City is building a more resilient and sustainable community for future generations.