Tree Board outlines urban forestry plan as tornado cleanup drives removals

Glenn Schulte, chairman of the City Tree Board, presented a draft five-page Urban Forestry Management Plan and explained why the board removes trees, how it decides replacements and how tornado damage has increased near-term removal activity.

Schulte told the council the tree board’s downtown budget is set at $28,000 (the group began the year with a little over $29,000) and that as of June 15 the board had spent roughly 93% of its funds. He said 72% of spending to date went to removing trees — roughly $19,000 in the record — and another 22% paid for stump grinding. Schulte said the June 18 tornado will likely increase removals substantially in the coming month.

The draft Urban Forestry Management Plan identifies five key areas, Schulte said: inventory and assessment, goals and objectives, management strategies, community engagement and monitoring and evaluation. He said the board needs an accurate professional inventory — citing Davy Resources as an example vendor — to produce baseline canopy figures and support strategic plantings. Schulte described a 30-20-10 planting strategy (no more than 30% of trees from one family, 20% from one genus, 10% from one species) and emphasized a preference for natives and pest-resistant species.

Schulte also summarized recent grant activity: the board has planted roughly 42 trees under an existing grant and has a second grant to plant 100 trees in the next year; he said one more grant application could cover data assessment work by a vendor like Davy Resources. In response to council questions, he described how the board prioritizes hazardous trees, differentiating between structural defects, storm damage and trees interacting with infrastructure.

Council members thanked the board for its work and asked staff to post planting-recommendation materials when the city’s new website is launched. Schulte said the board will continue to focus on maintenance and replacement to increase canopy over time.