Tools & Resources

The following list of web links is intended to provide you with useful resources and examples of municipal codes and guidelines from cities and counties in Washington state and around the country.

i-Tree, Urban Forestry Software, U.S. Forest Service

Managing Stormwater for Urban Sustainability Using Trees and Structural Soils

Tool Helps Cities Use Trees for Stormwater Mgmt, Sustainable City Network

Urban Forestry, MRSC Urban Forestry

Neighborhood Trees, USDA Forest Service

Urban Tree Canopy Watershed Management Division, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

Urban Watershed Forestry Manual Part 1, U.S. Forest Service

Urban Watershed Forestry Manual Part 2, U.S. Forest Service

Urban Watershed Forestry Manual Part 3, U.S. Forest Service

Best Management Practices

Washington State Urban and Community Forestry Program, Department of Natural Resources

Best Management Practices for Successful Urban Tree Plantings, Auburn University Dept. of Horticulture
Urban Forestry Best Management Practices for Public Works Managers, Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, American Public Works Administration

The Public Urban Forest: Planning and Managing a City’s Tree Resource, University of Louisville, Center for Environmental Policy and Management

Tree Protection on Construction and Development Sites. A Best Management Practices Guidebook for the Pacific Northwest, Oregon State University Extension

Urban Forestry Best Management Practices, Society of Municipal Arborists

Urban Tree Risk Management, A Community Guide to Program Design and Implementation, U.S. Forest Service

Model City Plans & Policies

The following are selected examples of urban forestry plans from Washington cities.

City of Bainbridge Island - Community Forest Best Management Practices Manual, 2010

Olympia Comprehensive Plan Urban Forestry Chapter

Tacoma Comprehensive Plan Urban Forest Policy Element, 2010

Implementing Comprehensive Urban Forest Management Plans: Lessons from Washington State

City Provisions

Bellevue, WA

• Bellevue Land Use Code Sec. 20.20.900: Tree Retention and Replacement
• Tree Removal

Coeur d'Alene, ID: Recommended Trees for Planting

Lake Forest Park

• Applications and Forms: Links to tree removal permit applications

Medina, WA Municipal Code

Mercer Island Tree Regulation Highlights

Oak Harbor Municipal Code Ch. 20.16: Oak Tree Protection

Olympia

• Olympia Municipal Code Ch. 16.60: Tree Protection and Replacement
• Olympia Municipal Code Ch. 16.56: Landmark Tree Protection

Seattle

• Tree Protection Regulations in Seattle: Client Assistance Memo No. 242, 2011

Walla Walla, WA

• Walla Walla Municipal Code Ch. 12.50: Heritage Trees.
• Parks and Recreation: Street Trees

County Provisions

King County Code Ch. 16.82: Clearing and Grading – In particular, see Sec. 16.82.156 – Significant Trees (in Title 16)

Thurston County Code Sec. 21.80.040: Preservation of Significant Trees (Lacey UGA)

Statutes

Revised Code of Washington:

• RCW Ch. 35.105: Urban Forest Management
• RCW 35A.80.040: Code cities encouraged to provide utility customers with landscaping information and to request voluntary donations for urban forestry
• RCW Ch. 76.15: Community and Urban Forestry
• RCW 80.28.300: Gas and electrical companies authorized to provide customers with landscaping information and to request voluntary donations for urban forestry.

URBAN & COMMUNITY FORESTRY Washington State Department of Natural Resources

MRSC Urban Forestry

Benefits of Trees

The benefits of urban forests to citizens include heightened recreational and cultural opportunities, energy conservation, improved stormwater management, enhanced biodiversity, plant and animal enrichment, increased environmental educational opportunities, and higher economic and property values.

Benefits of Trees: National Arbor Foundation - The value of trees to a community.

Benefits of Trees: Treelink - Links to articles on the benefits of trees.

Greenbacks in the Greenery: Never Forget the Economic Value of Trees, Parks and Open Spaces, by Catherine Benotto of Weber + Thompson. Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, April 18, 2002.

The Benefits of Urban Trees: Urban and Community Forestry: Improving Our Quality of Life. Forestry Report R8-FR 17/USDA Forest Service

Trees Mean Business: Trees and the Retail Landscape. Kathleen L. Wolf, Mainstreet News, No. 263, August 2009,

Urban Forest Case Studies: Challenges, Potential and Success in a Dozen Cities. American Forests

Values of Urban Trees: A Technical Guide to Urban and Community Forestry. US Forest Service, Saint Paul Field Office - Includes methods of inventory and appraisal.