Steps to improve urban forestry in Wilmington
Wilmington’s Urban Forest Management Plan will outline steps to create a sustainable urban forest, and will address administrative, policy, educational and management objectives. The plan will propose a clear set of prioritized actions for the citizens, decision makers, and City employees, with short-term and long-term goals. The plan will propose a timetable for implementation and, where possible, will provide estimated costs. Eventually, it is intended to become a part of Wilmington’s Comprehensive Plan.
A fundamental element of the plan development process has been analyzing current management of urban forestry in Wilmington. Important challenges have been identified that must be addressed in order for the plan to be successful.
Revising tree ordinance
Wilmington’s current tree ordinance (City of Wilmington Code, Chapter 46) was enacted in the early 1990s. It defines the authority of the municipality to protect the urban forest through forestry programs; a permitting process for planting, removal and pruning of all street trees; enforcement of safe vegetation on private property and City responsibility for preserving park trees.
A proposed new ordinance is intended to govern urban forest management and protection, create a new Urban Forest Administrator position, and establish a Tree Commission to advise urban forest management policy and settle enforcement disputes. Specifically, it will define:
- Realistic expectations for protection of this important public asset.
- Provisions for establishment of planning and management standards.
- Accessibility and proactive communication of information to property owners.
- Coordination between departments vested with protection authority.
- A regular review mechanism built into legislation (i.e. inventory update and analysis to correspond with the dynamic character of a living resource).
Recognizing green infrastructure values
In order for Wilmington to recognize trees as real assets within the city’s evaluation, the government must be able to generate financial account reporting of both green and grey infrastructure. The research summarized in this report and the Trees for Wilmington coalition will assist in quantifying the benefits as well as the maintenance costs for a sustainable urban forest.
Increasing per capita investment
Wilmington meets the $2.00 per capita expenditure requirement set by the National Arbor Day Foundation for Tree City USA recognition – but only barely. With our urban forest in decline, this investment is not even maintaining the current canopy, let alone enlarging it.
Wilmington’s funding for urban forestry is substantially less than other city infrastructure programs. For instance, spending on water and sewer infrastructure in 2007 comprised 25% of total budgeted operations expenditures – 400 times greater than spending on urban forestry activities. Tree planting and care accounted for only 0.1% of the city budget. An improved and sustainable urban forest in Wilmington will require an increase in investment.
Ensuring return on investment
Wilmington’s public trees provide $2.58 in benefits for every $1.00 invested – a return of more than 2½ times. And unlike the majority of city infrastructure, benefits provided by the urban forest actually increase in value when properly managed. However, the converse is also true. Deferred maintenance and inadequate management of street and park trees can actually cost the city and residents more than was invested. Proper management is the key to reaping the benefits of our urban forest.
Diversifying funding sources
Trees for Wilmington is also advocating for increasing the diversity of funding resources for our urban forest. This will help expand the public dollars available for capital improvement and maintenance, periodic tree inventory updates, and disaster management funds. DCH will continue to work directly with legislators to leverage Community Transportation Funds, as well as to encourage enforcement of Wilmington’s tree ordinance.
Expanding employee expertise
The City of Wilmington has no employees with forestry degrees or arboricultural certification. A survey of comparably sized communities indicates that 70% of cities with a population greater than 20,000 have at least one employee with a forestry degree (Treiman and Gartner, 2005), although these persons may not be assigned to work full-time on tree-related activities.
Sharing maintenance responsibility
The street trees of Wilmington exist in a special category. Although the City has jurisdiction to regulate them, individual homeowners are fully responsible for their care. Some residents don't want street trees because of the costs and potential liabilities. Vacant properties cause other concerns, because there is no one living in the house to take responsibility if a tree becomes a hazard. Consequently, the neighborhoods with the greatest need for green space often have the least resources for trees.
The Delaware Center for Horticulture works to coordinate funding from a variety of sources to help residents with tree planting, care and preservation. DCH also provides tree education, recruits neighborhood Tree Stewards, leads volunteer tree maintenance crews, and advocates for urban trees to all levels of government. An effective urban forestry program must involve city residents, organizational partners, the business community, and local government in the shared responsibility for tree care.
Tracking progress
The urban forest assessment and goal setting process helped TFW identify information needed for a complete understanding of the urban forest in the future. Essential to achieving an ambitious canopy goal will be maintaining an up-to-date database that tracks tree plantings and management. Accurate data about Wilmington’s trees will greatly facilitate follow-up analyses.
For those living in the City of Wilmington: DCH has designated priority tree planting areas in the City incorporating input from the Trees for Wilmington coalition. These maps are based on data from the tree inventory, number of people per tree (population density), and median income, organized by Census Block Group (2000) and City Council District.
Click below to view maps that show priority planting areas by Council District
TheDCH in Wilmington: