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 Puget Sound, help purify the air we breathe, cool our neighborhoods—and
so much more.
AS THE PUGET SOUND
REGION’S cities and towns
experience increasing growth,
identifying opportunities to
invest in high-impact tree
planting and preservation
based on local priorities is a
fundamental step to ensuring
people will continue to
receive the myriad benefits
trees provide.
Urban tree canopy
assessments are foundational
to understand the amount
and distribution of tree
canopy cover in a community
to set goals and targets
to strategically increase
canopy cover and prioritize
protection of existing tree
canopy. However, our cities
often lack the resources
to support urban tree
canopy assessments as
well as efforts to expand,
manage and protect urban
tree canopy based on the
priorities of their individual
communities.
With these challenges in mind,
a coalition was formed with the
following goals:
1. Create a regional highresolution urban tree canopy
assessment based on best
available science to prioritize
urban tree canopy projects
that achieve the highest
return on investment.
2. Pilot urban forest carbon
credit projects to tap new
sources of funding.
Funding from the USDA Forest
Service Urban and Community
Forestry Program, administered
through the State of Washington
Department of Natural Resources
supported collaboration across The
Nature Conservancy, Davey Tree
Expert Company, American Forests,
and City Forest Credits in developing
a suite of resources to deliver on
these goals.
The outcome is the Urban Tree
Canopy Model. The model provides
Central Puget Sound municipalities,
organizations and tree advocates
with the data and tools to prioritize
tree planting and preservation that
supports multiple benefits: reduced
stormwater pollution, improved air
quality, captured carbon, expanded
habitat, health and well-being, and
social equity. Carbon financing
resources supplement the model as
a new form of funding to support
implementation.
Now, practitioners in the region and
beyond can access these resources
and engage with the partners
behind the effort. The Urban Tree
Canopy Assessment Toolkit provides
guidance and resources to get
started.