Clark County and Vancouver outline tree-canopy baseline, target planting after new county assessment

Clark County and the city of Vancouver presented a first coordinated picture of urban tree canopy and related stormwater benefits at a joint meeting on July 16, 2025, after the county completed an urban tree-canopy assessment of its urban growth areas.

The county's assessment found 28% tree canopy across the studied urban growth areas, approximately 9,866 acres, and identified plantable opportunities where an additional 33% of currently unplanted land could support trees. The study estimated an annual ecosystem-service value of about $6,900,000 from the existing canopy. As part of a DNR-funded pilot, county and partners implemented 850 new plantings in the Minnehaha neighborhood and gave away more than 200 yard trees and 30 right-of-way trees.

Why this matters: officials said better tree canopy helps reduce stormwater runoff, cool neighborhoods and provide habitat, and the new data will feed code updates, stormwater permit compliance and targeted planting. The county's Clean Water Division also framed tree canopy as a stormwater asset as it expands capital and maintenance programs for aging infrastructure.

The presentations and subsequent discussion laid out both near-term implementation steps and policy questions. Charles Ray, urban forester with the city of Vancouver, summarized the city program: "Urban forestry is the management of of the trees, the shrubs, the soils that those, plants are living in throughout our community." Ray described Vancouver's goals and programs, including a 30% canopy goal for the city and an annual planting target of about 2,000 trees.

Devin Rossfer, Clean Water Division manager for Clark County Public Works, outlined the county's responsibilities and why canopy matters to stormwater: "We focus on stormwater, which is essentially all of the water that comes down from rain, hits roofs, hits hard surfaces, and runs off our lawns, and ultimately enters catch basins, goes through pipes, into our streams... so we're focused on stormwater." Rossfer said the county's new assessment used the same contractor and mapping tool (Planet Geo / Treeplotter) the city uses, allowing regional comparability.

The county assessment's headline findings and implementation notes presented July 16 included: - Urban growth area canopy: 28% (~9,866 acres) and an estimated loss of about 1.1% between 2011 and 2023. - Planting potential: about 33% of currently unplanted land was identified as plantable once fields, ballparks and utility corridors were excluded. - Pilot implementation: a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant funded a pilot that targeted the Minnehaha neighborhood because of low canopy and higher impervious surface; the pilot included three volunteer planting events and yard-tree giveaways. - Data continuity: the county used Planet Geo and Treeplotter so its dataset aligns with the city and other nearby jurisdictions.

County staff described follow-up steps and regulatory drivers. Rossfer said the county plans a second-phase assessment to map rural and remaining unincorporated areas and will request funding in the 2026 budget (Rossfer cited a $120,000 request to complete the next phase). He also said a state regulatory requirement will require jurisdictions to map tree canopy on publicly owned properties and adopt related canopy goals and policy by a December deadline noted in the meeting.

Speakers and nonprofit partners at the meeting flagged volunteer capacity and on-the-ground planting experience as important complements to government programs. "On average, we put in easily about 15,000 plus trees, shrubs and trees. A lot of those are trees, and we do that all with volunteers," Sunrise Almohoney, executive director of the Watershed Alliance of Southwest Washington, told commissioners when she described the alliance's planting work and volunteer base.

Discussion among commissioners and staff covered how goals should account for zoning and development pressure, whether larger trees should be weighted more heavily in mitigation calculations, and how to coordinate incentives across jurisdictions. Mark (last name not given during the meeting) and others urged approaches that give extra credit to larger, established trees because of their outsized ecosystem value.

City of Vancouver officials described program pieces that the county can replicate or adapt: an up-to-date canopy-management plan (a 2023 update to a longstanding plan), a street-tree inventory nearing completion using on-the-ground data collection, an annual planting program, and ordinances and permit processes for street- and private-tree work. Ray noted Vancouver has a current municipal canopy target of 30% and said the city is able to check progress with two-year satellite or imagery updates using commercial services.

Clean Water staff also laid out concurrent water-infrastructure work: the division is expanding staff, maps more than 2,000 public stormwater facilities and manages an asset inventory of pipes, bioretention facilities and ponds that require inspection and maintenance. Rossfer said the county is still building capacity to add and maintain newly planted trees in rights-of-way and public facilities.

What commissioners asked for and next steps: staff said they will present the county assessment results to the county council on Aug. 13 and that the division will return with a funding request for the phase-two assessment. Staff also flagged upcoming requirements from the Washington Department of Ecology and Department of Natural Resources that will affect mapping, permit compliance and future implementation. The Clean Water Commission is planning a nonpoint source pollution symposium on Oct. 28 to continue regional conversation about stormwater, land use and canopy strategies.

The meeting closed with commissioners and partner organizations offering to continue technical coordination, share data (Treeplotter exports) and pursue partnership plantings that combine Friends of Trees volunteers, conservation-district outreach and county planting capacity.