The proposed urban forestry management plan also would grow the tree canopy, as advocates urge the city to “invest now in tomorrow’s mature forest.”
Walking outside her house in the York Neighborhood of Bellingham, City Council Member Lisa Anderson looks at a nearby stump and remembers what it used to be: a Douglas fir, estimated to be 100 years old and 80 feet tall. Neighbors loved the tree, which was frequented by wildlife such as owls.
But for reasons unknown to Anderson, a neighbor wanted to cut down the evergreen, which the city owned and which wasn’t on private property. Anderson and other neighbors fought for that Douglas fir. Before the city could issue a stop-work order, the tree was reduced to a stump.
The cost to the neighbor who had the tree cut down? A noise disturbance fee of $50, according to Anderson. The cost to the neighborhood? The loss of a mature tree, and Anderson no longer sees owls frequenting the neighborhood.
“The fine structure was so low that it became just the cost of doing business,” Anderson said.
The urban forestry management plan, being created by the City is hoped to solve this issue along with others related to protecting and enhancing trees in Bellingham. Urban forests are areas where trees and other vegetation exist in cities.
Growing goal
Bellingham’s urban forests include trees in parks, forests, streets and backyards — both public and private. The larger goal of the plan is to have a tree canopy coverage of 45% by 2050.
As of 2018, Bellingham had an average canopy coverage of about 40%, according to the urban forestry management plan interactive website. However, canopy coverage isn’t consistent throughout the city.
At the high end, the South neighborhood, nestled between the Edgemoor and Samish neighborhoods, has a coverage of 73%, whereas the city center has a coverage of 10%.
Trees are vital to many components of life, from carbon sequestration to reducing stormwater pollution and even helping to keep areas cooler. The urban forestry management plan is one part of the city’s efforts to combat climate change.
Community members have long valued trees and what they provide to Bellingham, according to Analiese Burns, the habitat and restoration manager for the city. The urban forestry management plan will be a set of goals and strategies to help sustain that value.
In spring, the city’s draft plan went through a second round of public comments. Although the team working on the plan is still sifting through all the feedback, according to Burns, they hope to include specific actions that will work to protect Bellingham’s urban forests before the final draft.
“The urban forest plan will provide a clear vision, goals, strategies and actions that we can take to sustainably manage our urban forest for years to come,” Burns said in an email.
Planting and advocacy
In addition to community responses, local groups and organizations have stepped up to give specific feedback. One is the Bellingham-based Whatcom Million Trees Project which focuses on planting trees, protecting mature trees, and community connection and education. Started in 2021 by Michael Feerer, the nonprofit has since planted about 2,700 native trees and protected nearly 310,000 mature trees.
“Part of our value to the community is to be an independent set of eyes,” Feerer said.
Whatcom Million Trees Project, based in Bellingham, wrote an 18-page white paper of changes they believe need to be made to the urban forestry management plan. These points included stronger policies for mature tree protection, climate resilience and environmental equity, prevention of unauthorized tree removals and stronger action statements.
RE Sources, a nonprofit focused on protecting the environment of central Salish Sea and based in Bellingham, also commented on the draft, pushing for more specific actions about mature tree protection, additional tree planting for the Lake Whatcom watershed, and looking at particular areas within neighborhood boundaries to identify high-priority areas that need trees.
Kaia Hayes, land and water policy manager at RE Sources, also emphasized the need for strong, clear language in this plan, as well as other plans and codes in Bellingham for the urban forestry management plan to be implemented successfully.
“Investing right now in tomorrow’s mature forest is really important,” Hayes said. “We can’t afford to wait.”
Other cities such as Tacoma, Seattle and Olympia have already set up urban forestry plans with defined framework. According to Feerer, Bellingham’s draft was much more general than others in the state.
Anderson hopes that input from local organizations will help the people working on Bellingham’s urban forestry management plan make it more specific for the city and its needs.
The stump in front of her house serves as a reminder, but implementing a stronger fine system for the improper removal of trees is only one branch in the plan.
“It’s not just the tree canopy, that’s one cog in a major system,” Anderson said. “But if we take it out, it does leave such a gaping hole.”
— By Margaret Baumgartner