Effingham's efforts to protect its trees

Yahoo

06-03-2025

The City of Effingham was awarded $50,000 last year from the Morton Arboretum to complete an inventory of the city's trees, develop an Urban Forestry Management Plan with the community's input, remove dead trees and plant trees in disadvantaged areas. This ordinance is only for trees on public property, not private.
One of the requirements for the grant is adopting a Tree Preservation Policy, which Public Works Director Jeremy Heuerman presented during Tuesday's City Council meeting.
The ordinance, provided by and approved by Morton Arboretum, identifies how to preserve trees, how to prune them, what the city's regulations are for planting and protecting them, how to properly remove them, how to preserve legacy trees, where to properly place trees, how to properly care for them and more.
'It's a full ordinance basically to regulate how we operate with trees in our public right of way, remove, replace and get recommendations on a more diverse species, so we're not just removing anything and everything out there,' said Heuerman.
The ordinance also says that people may be fined if they violate any of the provisions outlined in it.
Heuerman said the ordinance goes hand-in-hand with an Urban Forestry Management Plan, which is being drafted. This will outline how the city will properly care for trees and the city's goals, like different tree plantings and community plantings. It will also identify areas that lack trees, also known as disadvantaged areas.
The community plantings will be through a soon-to-be-formed volunteer program. After finalizing the initial data for the Urban Forestry Management Plan and the Tree Preservation Policy, the city plans to advertise the community plantings, which will be open to the public for volunteers or other community groups like Girl Scouts and garden clubs.
According to Heuerman, there are 1,902 trees in Effingham, and most of them are on private property. Since the Ordinance is only for trees on public property, private landowners will be encouraged to plant a variety of tree species, as well as recommended planting locations and pruning methods. This information will be in the Urban Forestry Management Plan.
City Administrator Steve Miller commended Heuerman's work on this because he says the city has had trouble in the past with trees getting cut down.
Once the Urban Forestry Management Plan is finalized, it and the already-completed tree inventory will be brought to the City Council for approval.
'The ordinance is a great step in the right direction to better protect and preserve our urban forest,' said Heuerman. 'Having access to [a] Certified Arborist to give us professional advice is a great asset for our community. The ordinance puts the rules and policies in our Municipal Code, which not only allows enforcement but also gives direction and recommendations on correct methods for tree preservation. The best part is all of this work is 100% grant funded. It will be a great tool for Effingham to not only [use] in the immediate future but also as a guide for years to come.'