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Preserving Our Green Canopy: A New Plan for Managing Nelson's Trees

Bill Metcalfe
By Bill Metcalfe
April 20th, 2012

There are about 30,000 trees in parks and on public property in Nelson—that amounts to three for every resident of the city. On April 16, the city’s Public Works Supervisor Karen Macdonald brought a draft Tree Management Plan to council. They reacted appreciatively, saying that such a plan has been needed for years.

Tree issues in Nelson include aging trees, removal, pruning, planting, conservation, safety, selection of species, interface with new construction and with public utilities, and public involvement. 

“Our intention is not to change the look of Nelson. It is to preserve the look of Nelson,” Macdonald told Council. She said the draft plan proposes a shift from “reactive to proactive management”.

Recognizing trees’ real value

Councillor Paula Kiss likes the fact that the draft plan attaches real value to trees.  “Trees attract tourists, attract new residents, regulate storm-water runoff, regulate temperature, create beauty, give us shelter from the wind, prolong the life of pavement by providing shade. They reduce our air conditioning bills. If it wasn’t for trees we’d be baking in the heat here in the summer.” 

Kiss says placing value on trees means the city will have to budget for tree management. “If we don’t think of what trees do for us, it’s hard to spend money on them.”

For future generations

The mission statement of the draft plan states: “The City of Nelson will protect, replace and enhance our urban forest to ensure the economic, environmental, cultural, and social benefits of a healthy and vibrant ecosystem for our future generations.” 

That statement mirrors a provision in Nelson’s Official Community Plan that makes the “green character” of the city a priority. 

Nelson’s heritage trees

Some very old hardwood trees create some of that green character. From the draft plan:

“The City of Nelson is also known for its “Heritage Trees”, found within the City’s Downtown and Uphill neighbourhoods.  These include ash, maple, oak, chestnut, and elm tree species. These “Heritage Trees” were planted along the streets in the 1920’s and have reached maturity. There are approximately 480 such heritage trees in Nelson.  These “Heritage Trees” can be found in the City’s historic core.  It must be recognized that many of these older boulevard and park trees are in a serious state of decline resulting from a combination of advanced age, construction/utility projects, past cultural practices (i.e. improper pruning), traffic and disease.”    

Public controversy

Tree management in Nelson is often under the public radar, surfacing only occasionally with passion and controversy when the impending cutting or pruning of a tree offends the neighbours.

Mayor John Dooley said the plan might reduce public conflict over trees, by creating clear policy guidelines. “This plan means not being second-guessed by the public when we go out there to remove a tree,” he said. 

“In the past,” said Macdonald, “we have had a lot of people thinking the trees in front of their homes on public land are theirs, and have done terrible things to them. Now a lot of them are in poor shape because of that.” 

Macdonald says the plan will help her department to work more effectively with hydro and other utilities and also with developers. “There was nothing in place to say, ‘OK, you are developing this, you have to protect the tree and the roots,’” she said.

Managing the urban forest

The plan sets out goals for the management of Nelson’s urban forest, including 

  • managing aging trees,
  • creating by-laws and policies  to protect trees, 
  • integrating tree management into the planning of other departments including new construction and private development, 
  • using best arboreal practices, 
  • recognizing the full value of trees, 
  • increasing the tree canopy and the number of trees
  • interacting with and educating the public

The 23-page draft plan contains suggested policies and procedures for all those areas. 

No mention of climate change

Councillor Donna Macdonald pointed out that the draft plan contains no provisions for climate change. “We have to make sure the trees we plant now can cope with drought conditions in the future,” she said. 

Urban infrastructure

“An urban forest should have the same recognition of importance as any other City utility and infrastructure. Trees should be considered “green infrastructure”. For that reason, care in planning the City’s public works and utility projects is necessary in order to minimize impacts to existing trees. A Tree Management Plan sets the framework for establishing processes to consider ways to mitigate negative impacts to trees prior to routine and planned infrastructure projects through such measures as tree protection fencing, root pruning, and modifying practices when possible to accommodate the tree.”

Council made no decision about next steps for the draft plan.

This article was amended on April 20 to add the comments from Karen Macdonald.

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