Guest Contributor: Rebecca Hargrave, Associate Professor at SUNY Morrisville and Ph.D. candidate, UMass Amherst

Part 3 of a Series Focusing on Urban Forest Management in New York State

In 2021, researchers at UMass Amherst in conjunction with the NYSDEC Urban and Community Forestry Program and the New York State Urban Forestry Council conducted a survey of forest management program practices. The results have been published in the April 2024 issue of Cities and The Environment (CATE) (see Influence of Community Characteristics on Urban Forest Management Programs in New York State). Additional authors of the CATE article include Rick Harper, Ph.D., UMass Amherst, Jamie Mullins, Ph.D., UMass Amherst and Brett Butler, Ph.D., UMass Amherst/USDA Forest Service.

The previous article (Taking Root, https://nysufc.org/results-from-a-formal-survey-of-urban-forest-management-in-new-york-state-part-2-staff-and-contractors/2024/08/05/) presented findings on municipal staffing and contractors.

This post, the third in this series, offers conclusions about tree planting and planting assessment. In the results, the municipalities are categorized by size: Small Community (Pop. < 10,000), Medium Community (Pop. 10,000 to 65,000), and Large Community (Pop. > 65,000), and median household income (MHI): Low MHI (<$48,389), Middle MHI ($48,389 to $81,282), and High MHI (>$81,282).

Current and Future Tree Planting

Tree planting is a quintessential service many municipalities provide as part of their urban forest management program. Seventy-seven percent of communities who manage street trees responded that they planted them in the previous five years. The likelihood of a municipality planting street trees increased with population size and MHI.

Looking ahead, 70% of communities indicated they intend to plant street trees in the future and 16% indicated they might. Another 7% responded that they didn’t know. The likelihood of future street tree planting increased with community population size, with 100% of Large, 88% of Medium, and 71% of Small Communities indicating that they intended to do so. Eighty-seven percent of High MHI Communities intend to plant in the future. Interestingly, only 72% of Middle and Low MHI project future street tree planting. 

Maintenance Staff

Statewide, 84% of communities responded that they employed in-house staff who conduct tree maintenance, including all Large and 95% of Medium Communities. Only 80% of Small Communities featured tree maintenance staff. The MHI of a community had little influence on the presence of maintenance staff. 

Communities were asked whether they plan to hire staff in the future. Three percent responded “Yes” while 19% responded “Maybe” and 14% responded that they did not know. 

Contractors

Eighty-three percent of communities responded that they had employed contractors in the previous five years. The likelihood of using contractors increased as community size increased. Middle MHI Communities were least likely to use contractors (81%).

Level of Tree Planting

Communities were asked to select the answer that best fits the level of tree planting they conduct. The responses:

  • Tree planting happens every few years (38%).
  • Tree planting occurs on an annual basis (34%).
  • Tree planting is annual and is informed by a tree inventory (20%).
  • Tree planting is annual, informed by a tree inventory, and sufficient enough to meet tree canopy targets (8%).

Some trends existed when the data were sorted by population and MHI. As community size increased, the planting frequency and the level of planting increased. As MHI increased, the same general trend was observed with population size. However, Middle MHI Communities had the highest likelihood of “Annual and Informed” and the lowest likelihood of “Meets Canopy Targets.”  Low MHI had the highest likelihood of “Meets Canopy Targets.”

Planting Site Assessments

Planting site assessments are recommended to ensure installation of the “Right Tree in the Right Place.” Three-quarters (76%) of municipalities that plant trees responded that they conduct planting site assessments. The likelihood of conducting an assessment increased with population size. However, Middle MHI Communities were more likely (80%) than Low MHI (75%) and High MHI (71%) to assess sites before planting. 

In summary, most surveyed communities currently plant street trees (77%) and intend to continue planting trees in the future (70%). The frequency and trajectory of those plantings and whether a site evaluation was conducted increased with population size. Surprisingly, middle-income communities were more likely to assess planting sites, while the lowest-income communities were more likely to reach their canopy targets. 

Next Part: Part 4 will discuss findings related to ordinances.