The Washington Department of Natural Resources recently awarded the Urban Forestry Division of the City of Vancouver a grant to take an inventory of the trees located in the neighborhood parks throughout the city.
The grant, which comes for the DNR's Urban and Community Forestry Program, will be used to hire a private contractor, who will survey as many as 2,500 trees, documenting their health, composition, location, and any maintenance they may need. The survey results will be used to create an inventory which, in turn, will serve as the basis for developing comprehensive plans to manage Vancouver’s trees.
Charles Ray, a Vancouver Urban Forester, said the inventory will allow the city to be proactive in managing the assets of its park system, including the trees, by making decisions with regard to their maintenance, what species of trees should be planted, and where they should be located.
With this information, city officials will be able to plan and manage trees to create an urban forest that is widely diverse in native species, as well as age. The diversity insures that no disease, pest, or single event will be able to destroy all of the trees in the city. The survey is anticipated to take two years at most, and will survey trees in seven park districts.
City officials might consider creating an informative bro
