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Syracuse Common Council accepted and adopted The Urban Forest Master Plan during its meeting Monday on behalf of the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Youth Program.

First published in 2019, the plan focuses on preserving the urban forest that provides services to the community. Syracuse’s existing tree canopy covers 27% of the city and provides $9.1 million in services, as outlined in the plan.

The executive summary, created by Davey Resource Group — a natural resource and utility consulting service — details that 65% of the monetary value currently created by the canopy comes from the particulate matter the trees remove from the air.

To advance the city’s urban forest, the plan set out three goals: improving urban forest safety and resiliency, growing the canopy equitably throughout the city and connecting the entire community to the urban forest.

Specifically, the first goal of the plan instructs the city to plant an additional 2,870 trees per year over 20 years. The added 57,400 trees would increase the canopy cover to 34%, one percentage point over the current national average for a city of Syracuse’s size. The calculations from Davey Resource Group did not take into account the number of trees that would need to be planted to offset losses of trees.

Census Tract 43, which includes Syracuse University’s main campus, has a 13.3% canopy cover, according to the report — the third lowest canopy cover in all of the city’s tracts.

The second goal, which focuses on improving urban forest safety and resiliency, can be achieved through regular pruning and inventory checks as well as removing unhealthy and compromised trees, according to the report.

“Fully funded forest operations, improved design standards and construction practices, increased tree protection and better enforcement of rules on the books will protect what we have,” the report reads.

To connect the entire community to the urban forest, the plan outlines that newly planted trees must be spread out in an equitable manner.

The Davey Resource Group proposed 12 strategies to accomplish the plan’s goals. Some strategies in the 2019 report include obtaining more recently updated information on Syracuse’s tree canopy, which was last updated 10 years before the report.

Another strategy included in the plan is to address conflict between sidewalks and trees. The report states that 11% of trees lost every year come from issues related to sidewalks.

“The policy guiding sidewalk repair and responsibility should be reviewed and revised so that both pavement and trees are accommodated,” the report reads.

The report also discussed the economic benefits of investing in trees in Syracuse. Every dollar of public funds spent on tree care yields $2 of annual benefits, according to Davey Resource Group.

“If the urban forest canopy cover decreases from any or all of these challenges, the city could experience significant losses in the benefits of the canopy,” the report said. “It is important for Syracuse to take steps now to protect the integrity of its urban forest for generations to come.”

News editor Richard Perrins contributed reporting to this article.

Published on April 26, 2022 at 12:33 am

Contact Kyle: [email protected] | @Kyle_Chouinard