American Forests Unveils the National Urban Tree Deficit

American Forests
Wednesday, 5 September 2001

At a news conference today in Washington, DC, American Forests (americanforests.org) unveiled a dramatic new national study titled "Gray to Green: Reversing the National Urban Tree Deficit," which shows an estimated 634,407,719 trees are missing from America's urban areas due to development and other factors. The report also provides decision makers across the country with a powerful new tool they can use to reverse the tree-loss trend.

"Gray to Green: Reversing the National Urban Tree Deficit" provides the following information:

1. An estimated 634,407,719 trees are currently missing from metropolitan areas across the United States as the result of urban and suburban development. These calculations are based on American Forests' Regional Ecosystem Analyses conducted over the past six years in select cities (cities listed on the next page) with the support of the USDA Forest Service, private corporations, and foundations. Using satellite imagery, American Forests has been able to document the decline of city trees in areas across the United States.

2. American Forests also demonstrates a detailed analysis of the urban forest of Washington, DC, called the Gray to Green Scale, using the next generation of satellite imagery and latest technology. These are the sharpest, highest resolution images available and clearly show that DC, like many cities across the country, is becoming a "city of sidewalks and parking lots." The satellite images show DC has an average tree canopy of 30%. To increase tree cover just 5%, the District would need to plant 551,040 trees. The Gray to Green Scale provides a color-coded map of a region showing which neighborhoods are dominated by gray infrastructure (sidewalks, buildings, etc.) and which have adequate green infrastructure (sufficient tree cover). American Forests hopes decision makers will use this new analysis technique to address tree deficits in their communities.

"Most people will be amazed to see that more than 634 million trees are missing from America's cities," said Gary Moll, vice president of the organization's Urban Forest Center. "But it reinforces something that American Forests has been documenting for years: our cities are paying a high price for the reduction of tree canopy. As trees are lost, so too are the environmental and economic benefits they provide relative to reducing stormwater runoff, air pollution, and energy usage. The good news is that cities can now use high-resolution imagery to see almost every tree in every neighborhood and determine where and how tree canopies can be increased in their communities."

Participating in the news conference were: Anthony Williams, Mayor of Washington, DC; Daniel Glickman, former US Agriculture Secretary and a member of American Forests' Board of Directors; Sheila Hogan, Executive Director of the Casey Trees Endowment Fund; John Hazel of the USDA Forest Service; and American Forests' Gary Moll.

The news conference kicks off the 2001 National Urban Forest Conference, being held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, September 5-8. Organized by American Forests every two years, the Conference brings together urban foresters, city planners and engineers, citizen activists, and others who want to learn about the living infrastructure in and around cities and who are interested in improving the urban environment. The theme of this year's Conference is Investing in Natural Capital, to highlight the extraordinary economic and environmental benefits of urban trees. USDA Forest Service, Eddie Bauer, The Davey Tree Expert Company, ESRI, and O'Doul's are sponsors of the Conference.

Regional Ecosystem Analyses data from studies conducted in the following cities was used to determine the National Urban Tree Deficit: Denver, CO; Houston, TX; Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC; Seattle, WA; Chattanooga, TN; Roanoke, VA; Atlanta, GA; Canton-Akron, OH, and Portland, OR. American Forests' studies of these cities (except Portland) can be found at www.americanforests.org. The Portland study will be released next month. For the past six years, American Forests' Urban Forest Center has used satellite imagery to document the decline of urban forests in our nation's cities and has calculated the economic and environmental benefits the lost trees would have provided those communities.

In 1999, an American Forests' Regional Ecosystem Analysis of Washington, DC, showed that overall tree canopy declined from 37% to 21% between 1973 and 1997. The lost tree cover increased stormwater runoff by 34% and would have removed about 354,000 pounds of pollutants.

"Gray to Green: Reversing the National Urban Tree Deficit" was conducted in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service, which has supported American Forests' research and satellite analysis efforts.

The Casey Trees Endowment Fund, a foundation established by Washington, DC, philanthropist, Betty Casey, also funded the report. The 2001 National Urban Forest Conference and "Gray to Green" study are scheduled in coincident with significant partner investments. The USDA Forest Service and the Casey Trees Endowment Fund are cooperating with Mayor Anthony Williams and community groups to raise the profile of the nation's capital as a model urban forest.

For more information, or to contact American Forests, see their website at: www.americanforests.org