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Urban Forestry in SeattleMike Kuhns

USU Extension Forester

Seattle Facts & Figures

• Metro area population 3.4 million; city 600K• Density 7,100/mi2 (SLC is 1,700/mi2)

41% f it ’ i t• 41% of city’s area is water• 37 in./yr. precip; 0.8 in. in July; cool, mild• Home of Starbucks, Nirvana, Microsoft, Pearl

Jam, Amazon, Jimi Hendrix, Boeing (sort of), Bruce Lee (buried)

• Called ‘Rain City’, ‘Emerald City’, ‘Jet City’

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Sabbatical with the U.S. Forest Service PNW Research Station’s New Urban Natural Resources Stewardship Program

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Seattle City Forestry

• SDOT – Non-boulevard street trees– City Arborist; City Landscape Architect

• Parks & Rec Park and boulevard trees• Parks & Rec – Park and boulevard trees– City Forester

• Planning & Development – Private trees• Seattle City Light – Utility trees

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Seattle Urban Forestry Issues

• Parking strips privately owned w/ city easement• Canopy cover from 40% in 1972 to 18% in 2007

– Goal to increase cover to 30% in 30 yearsy• Most canopy not native• New ordinance may restrict all private tree removal

– Currently can remove 3 trees/year without permit– Partly due to major landslide & stormwater runoff concerns

• 2007 Urban Forest Management Plan –tiny.cc/SeattleUFMP

Citizen Involvement

• Seattle Urban Forest Stakeholders• Green Seattle Partnership

C d L d C• Cascade Land Conservancy • PlantAmnesty• Seattle Parks Foundation• Earthcorps• Many community, neighborhood groups

Urban Canyons

Space for Trees

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Traffic

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Traffic Circles

SEA Streets

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Tree Protection

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Signs

Woody Weeds

• Woody weeds everywhere; only Tamarisk requires control.

• Noxious weeds they’ve given up on:• Noxious weeds they ve given up on:– Blackberries, butterfly bush, ivies, Scotch broom.

• Weeds of concern: – Common hawthorn, English holly, English laurel,

European mountain-ash

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Woody Plants of Note

• Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)• Incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)

S t B b th (C i )• Santa Barbara ceanothus (C. impressus)• Raywood ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa)• witch-hazel (Hamamelis species)• variegated sweetgum (Liquidambar

styraciflua ‘Variegata’)

Woody Plants of Note

• cucumbertree (Magnolia acuminata)• Persian parrotia (Parrotia persica)

l l f l (P if )• purpleleaf plum (Prunus cerasifera)• sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima)• Swedish whitebeam (Sorbus intermedia)

Japanese maple(Acer palmatum)

incense-cedar(Calocedrusdecurrens)

Santa Barbara ceanothus(Ceanothus impressus)

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Raywood ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa) witch-hazel (Hamamelis species)

witch-hazel (Hamamelis species)variegated sweetgum (Liquidambar

styraciflua ‘Variegata’)

cucumbertree (Magnolia acuminata) Persian parrotia (Parrotia persica)

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purpleleaf plum (Prunus cerasifera) purpleleaf plum (Prunus cerasifera)

sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima)Swedish whitebeam(Sorbus intermedia)

Weyerhaeuser Bonsai Collection

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References

• Seattle City Tree Portal – www.seattle.gov/trees• Seattle SEA Streets – tiny.cc/SEAStreets• Pervious pavement – www perviouspavement orgPervious pavement www.perviouspavement.org• Wash. Park Arboretum – depts.washington.edu/wpa• Butchart Gardens – www.butchartgardens.com• Bonsai – www.weyerhaeuser.com/Company/Bonsai• King County Weeds – tiny.cc/KingCountyWeeds• Fremont Area – www.fremontseattle.com• USU Extension Forestry – extension.usu.edu/forestry

Thanks to…

• U.S. Forest Service PNW Research Station Urban Natural Resources Stewardship

• Nolan Rundquist Seattle City Arborist SDOT• Nolan Rundquist, Seattle City Arborist, SDOT

Mike KuhnsUSU Extension Forester

435-797-4056

mike.kuhns@usu.eduextension.usu.edu/forestry

www.treebrowser.orgwww.utahforestproducts.org