By KATELYNN WINEBRENNER
Tree cover on residential properties decreased in College Park between 2009 and 2020 despite overall growth throughout the rest of the city, according to a new assessment.
In a presentation to the city council in February, Mike Galvin, director of SavATree’s consultant group, said the city’s efforts to limit the number of trees residents remove and to encourage them to plant more are “great proactive steps” toward slowing or stopping the loss of tree canopy in neighborhoods. Canopy is the layer of tree leaves, stems and branches that make up tree coverage when viewed from above.
“Most of the canopy loss was not roadside tree canopy,” Galvin said. “It was in people’s backyards.”
The College Park Department of Public Works partnered with SavATree to assess canopy throughout the city. SavATree, which is headquartered in Bedford Hills, N.Y., offers comprehensive tree, shrub and lawn care services throughout much of the nation.
According to the report submitted to the council, 38.7% of College Park is covered by tree canopy, and 39% of that total is over residential properties. That category showed a net loss of 8.5 acres’ worth of cover between 2009 and 2020.
State- and county-owned land accounts for 52.3% of the city’s total tree cover. These properties gained 28.7 acres’ worth of cover during that same period.
Factoring in modest gains in tree cover over properties in College Park that are owned by the city, local churches, federal agencies, and other public and private entities, the combined net gain in canopy was 12.6 acres’ worth, according to the report.
“The big picture is the canopy overall has been fairly stable over that period, with a slight increase over that time,” Galvin said.
The report estimated that College Park has more than 56,800 trees.
Galvin noted that most cities of comparable size aim to have tree canopy over 40% of their total acreage.
The report could help city officials determine where to plant more trees to reduce stormwater runoff, cool the pavement in the summer and serve as wildlife habitat.
“Having forest is so critical, not only for the environment, but for our ability to go about our day-to-day lives in a city,” University of Maryland (UMD) Campus Arborist Richard Jones said.
“It’s easy in very built environments to have a lot more canopy loss than that, and seeing that offset has been great,” Jones, who conducted a similar assessment of the UMD campus, said.
The city typically does a tree canopy assessment every three to four years. Its 2019 report also documented a net loss of tree canopy over residential property.
Following the release of the 2019 report, the city took action to address the loss. Initiatives have included tree giveaways and a partnership with Casey Trees, a nonprofit based in the District that promotes canopy restoration; Casey has worked with the city to plant saplings on residential properties.
In addition, the city passed an ordinance in 2022 that requires property owners to get permits to prune more than 20% of live wood or to remove trees. The city also reimburses a percentage of costs to property owners who plant trees through the Tree Canopy Enhancement Program.
Some have said, however, that the effectiveness of these programs has yet to be seen.
“Just because two trees are planted does not mean that the planted trees will live and improve the canopy,” Suchitra Balachandran, the president of the West College Park Citizens Association, said. “It takes some effort to plant a sapling and keep it alive so it will thrive. Folks who cut down mature trees may not be inclined to take care of saplings.”
During the city council presentation, some councilmembers asked about speeding up the next assessment to get a full picture of the tree damage from a severe storm in July 2022 and to assess results of the 2022 ordinance.
