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City forestry staff report turf conversions, 1,100 trees planted and expanded nursery efforts
Summary
City urban forestry staff told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission they removed about 160,000 sq ft of nonfunctional turf, planted roughly 1,100 trees citywide and operated an on‑site nursery to improve tree quality and canopy over time.
Brad Dressler, the City of Las Vegas urban forester, told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission on May 6 that the city has stepped up turf conversions and tree planting as part of a water‑conservation and canopy‑preservation effort.
Dressler said crews completed 11 turf conversion projects this cycle, removing about 160,000 square feet (roughly 3.5 acres) of nonfunctional turf and planting 300 trees as part of those conversions. Across the city’s parks and streets program he said crews planted about 1,100 trees this past year and pruned nearly 3,500 trees while removing about 700 trees that were dead or otherwise unsuitable.
“We removed about 160,000 square feet of what was deemed as nonfunctional turf, which is right about 3 and a half acres of grass,” Dressler said. “In the process, we planted 300 additional trees in these spaces in our parks, and preserved trees that were worthy of being preserved.”
Dressler described the conversion approach as intended to preserve mature trees while replacing high‑water grass with lower‑water landscape, drip irrigation and native plantings. He said the department uses inline drip tubing stapled on the surface and covers irrigation with wood‑chip top dressing to avoid damaging roots. He added that the Southern Nevada Water Authority rebates require replanting up to 50 percent coverage for turf removal credits, but the city often exceeded that requirement and aimed for full canopy coverage over time.
Examples Dressler highlighted included small turf islands converted to landscaped pads at Bruce Trent Park to support a farmers market, a native plant area at All American Park that uses mostly non‑irrigated Mojave plants, and a pollinator garden at Lorenzi Park funded in part by Cox Communications that planted about 300 plants and cost roughly $10,000 in sponsorship.
Dressler also described the city’s nursery program: the city grows a share of its own trees to ensure quality and species selection. He said the nursery now holds 1,500–1,600 seedlings destined to become street and park trees in coming years, and that planting a tree requires infrastructure work — irrigation and staking — to ensure long‑term success.
The commission asked about heat impacts and groundcover choices; Dressler said the department favors wood chips, native plants and living groundcovers over extensive landscape rock to avoid increasing heat, and that mature canopy preservation is central to cooling strategies.
Ending: Dressler emphasized that tree benefits accrue over years and the department is balancing water savings with long‑term canopy goals; no formal policy vote was taken at the May 6 meeting, as the item was presented as an informational program update.
