A Look At New York's Ambitious Goal To Plant 25 Million Trees

Forbes

29-03-2025

Apple trees ready to be planted.
New York has a new interactive web tool to track the state's progress in an ambitious goal by Gov. Kathy Hochul to have people plant 25 million trees within a nine-year period.
The new online 'Tree Tracker' enables state residents to self-identify as a private landowner, group members, paid professional, municipality worker or state agency employee and input information about their tree planting.
'New York is taking decisive action to protect our environment and strengthen communities' ability to withstand severe weather,' Hochul noted in statement unveiling the online tool last month. 'Our progress toward the 25 Million Tree goal is a testament to the power of community-driven action, and the new Tree Tracker will make it easier for New Yorkers to track our progress, share updates and contribute to a healthier environment for the future.'
In April 2024, Hochul awarded $2.4 million in forestry grants to 32 urban projects. At that time she announced in a press statement that the money would improve air quality and bring more greenery to cityscapes.
At that time, NY's State Parks Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons stated, 'Trees and forests support our parks and our environment by helping clean air and water, providing wildlife habitat, fighting climate change and sometimes just offering a place to relax in the shade. I encourage New Yorkers to get involved and get their hands dirty by planting a tree in their own communities.'
The Tree Tracker shows 348 trees had been planted in the state from the first of this year through March 28. The online metrics for last year indicate not many New Yorkers planted enough trees to achieve the 25-million goal. Figures for 2024 indicated 153,044 trees were planted most in the Southern Tier, followed by the North Country, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, the Hudson Valley, Western New York and Central New York.
Last year, Smithville in Chenango County came in No. 1 by planting the most trees (41,000), followed by 24,000 trees planted in Franklin in Delaware County.
The two areas with the least enthusiasm for tree planting last year were Long Island (where just under 670 were planted) and New York City (with only 37 new trees recorded).
No matter these metrics, New York officials remain hopeful about the project. 'Every tree planted is a step toward a healthier, greener New York. The Tree Tracker will empower New Yorkers to share their stories with us as our partners in this historic effort, which will have a lasting impact on the environment,' noted Sean Mahar, interim commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Also applauding state's goal for new trees and the online tracker was Bill Ulfelder, N.Y. executive director of The Nature Conservancy: 'Achieving this goal would help New York meet its carbon reduction goals while protecting clean drinking water, restoring wildlife habitat, and reducing the risks of extreme heatwaves, which can be fatal in neighborhoods without trees.'
The governor unveiled her '25 Million Trees by 2033' program last year as a natural solution to improve the environment for people and address the loss of habitat for wildlife while maintain existing forests and creating new ones.
Of the state's 30.2 million total acres, 62% (18.6 million acres) is covered by forests, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation. New York is estimated to have over 100 different types of trees, with the most common kinds being birch, maple and beech trees that account for over half of all forest trees.