Creating cooling shade, improving air quality and providing wildlife habitat.
These are just three of the top benefits of trees identified by residents for the city’s first Urban Forest Strategic Plan.
The city’s canopy has been growing with the city, according to findings in the Urban Forest Strategic Plan presented to the city council late last month. About 8.2% of the city has tree coverage, up from 6.3% in 2009.
Most of that growth has occurred in the southwestern area of the city with help from the city’s expansion.
“This green infrastructure provides measurable environmental, social and economic benefits to the city,” said Dana Karcher, a Davey Resource Group project developer on the plan. “Trees help improve air and water quality, reduce stormwater runoff and enhance the overall health and livability of our city.”
Duane Roberson, center, from White Dog Tree Farm works with Jesus Lopez, left and Arturo Gomez, right, to plant a tree along 16th St. for the Greeley Forestry Department in Greeley on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Managing all that tree growth has resulted in increasing costs for the city’s forestry department, with personnel costs increasing from more than $500,000 in 2019 to nearly $1 million in 2023. But residents who were surveyed for the plan largely showed an appreciation for the value of trees, with more than 90% saying having trees in the neighborhood is important to them.
And though the city’s canopy has grown overall, in certain areas of the city, particularly in downtown and north Greeley, more trees are dying and being removed than planted. Karcher said the city’s forestry department removes about 250 trees each year due to old age, disease and environmental factors.
The city’s residential planting program called Share the Shade — a program that will continue as one of the strategic objectives in the forest plan — helps to offset this tree loss. This program offers free trees for residents to plant on their private property, with the city covering the cost and volunteers helping with the planting.
As another component of the plan, the forestry department will take a more proactive approach to canopy management so that trees can get the attention they need before they may need to be removed.
Duane Roberson, left, from White Dog Tree Farm and Arturo Gomez, right, unload a tree from their truck while planting trees for the Greeley Forestry Department in Greeley on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Councilwoman Deb DeBoutez represents the southern portion of downtown Greeley, where the rate of tree replacement is not keeping pace with the number of trees being lost. Forestry Manager Shiloh Hatcher confirmed this is a direct result of the number of apartment buildings and rentals in downtown Greeley.
“You just pointed out the biggest challenge we have going forward, which is how to reforest areas that are losing trees, and they’re hard to replant because you don’t know their survivability,” Hatcher said. “There’s a substantial amount of properties that have abandoned their landscapes, and it makes it hard to regrow trees. It’s a challenge.”
The Urban Forest Strategic Plan, which earned unanimous consent from the council, provides strategies for proactive management and sustainable growth over the next 20 years, addressing challenges such as aging trees, development pressures and the need for equitable care canopy coverage across the city. The plan aligns with city priorities including climate resilience, public health and quality of life.
Other objectives identified by the plan are to repeat a study of the city’s canopy in five to 10 years, analyzing the best places for trees for the benefit of the entire community, promoting a culture of trees across city departments and expanding regional and strategic partnerships.
“Bring in people like landscape architects and birders, people who have adjacencies to trees so that they can also understand the value and help grow the urban forest in Greeley,” Karcher said.
Duane Roberson, center, from White Dog Tree Farm works with Jesus Lopez, left and Arturo Gomez, right, to dig a hole while planting trees for the Greeley Forestry Department in Greeley on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Hence then, the article about greeley s first forest strategic plan aims to enhance city s urban forest was published today ( ) and is available on GreeleyTribune ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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