Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Urban Forest topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tumwater urban forester unveils Tree Canopy Equity plan, targets Furland Estates
Summary
Brian Coughlin, Tumwater's urban forester, presented a grant‑funded Tree Canopy Equity program targeting disadvantaged neighborhoods such as Furland Estates to address a drop in canopy cover and local heat‑island impacts; council voted to ask Coughlin to present to full council.
Brian Coughlin, Tumwater’s urban forester, told the Public Works Committee on May 7 that a River Network grant will fund a Tree Canopy Equity program focused on single‑family neighborhoods with low canopy cover and elevated temperatures. “In 2019 we had 49% canopy; in 2025 that dipped to 38%,” Coughlin said, noting the city’s Urban Forest Management Plan directs expanding canopy.
The program will target sites mapped as disadvantaged and high in the urban heat‑island index. Coughlin identified Furland Estates — about 97 homes near SPSCC — as the first neighborhood for door‑to‑door outreach, noting consultants ranked it high for priority planting. He said sensors, planting milestones and homeowner outreach are grant milestones; milestone 1 deployed ambient air temperature sensors and milestone 2 funded the urban forester hire.
Coughlin described a stepwise approach: knock on doors, recommend one of four tree species suited to each lot, invite homeowners to workshops that demonstrate correct planting and aftercare (including use of water bags and mycorrhizae), and coordinate delivery or pickup so lack of transport is not a barrier. “We don’t want to just drop a tree off and hope it gets planted,” he said.
He also outlined related work: an updated planting specification to improve survivability and avoid sidewalk damage, a city‑owned tree inventory now being mapped by interns, and an expanded municipal planting program that planted 480 seedlings this year with plans to scale up next year.
Council members raised concerns about tree size and sidewalk impacts in small‑lot subdivisions; Coughlin said two of the species are smaller and the program will match tree size to site conditions, and that sidewalk retention alternatives are being explored. After questions, Council member Eileen Swartout moved and the committee voted unanimously to invite Coughlin to present the program at a future full council meeting so the broader council and public can review the plan.
Next steps: Coughlin will prepare a presentation for a future council meeting; no formal policy or funding decision was taken at the committee meeting.
