6 days ago
The City of Oaks makes a welcome turn toward saving its trees
Raleigh sprouts new apartment buildings, stores and subdivisions at a rapid pace, but what may not be growing in the City of Oaks are trees.
It's hard to say exactly how many trees are being lost to development. The most recent assessment came in a Wake County report that measured the change in tree canopy cover from 2010–2020.
Countywide, the tree canopy shrank by 3.6 percent, or 11,122 acres. In Raleigh, the decrease was 2.2 percent, or 1,305 acres. But in the more urbanized areas of central and Southeast Raleigh, the loss was greater than 10 percent.
With the uptick in development since the pandemic ended, it's likely the canopy loss has continued or accelerated. Losing trees has consequences not only for the city's leafy character, but also for stormwater runoff, air quality, wildlife habitat and the spread of 'heat islands' as temperatures rise with climate change.
'We're losing tree canopy. It's critically important, not only for our brand but our quality of life,' said Sig Hutchinson, a former Wake County commissioner who has supported the expansion of parks and greenways.
Now the City of Raleigh is pushing back with a new project called 'Leaf Out.' It is focused on protecting existing trees, expanding the canopy, reducing heat islands and encouraging residents to plant and protect trees on their private property.
'Leaf Out' is a welcome but limited response to tree loss. Its plantings will be only on public land, though its educational efforts could encourage a greater effort by private property owners to preserve and plant trees. The city is surveying the public about ways to protect the canopy and will offer final recommendations in a 2026 report.
When it comes to trees, Raleigh has a lot to work with. Despite tree loss, the canopy still covers more than 50 percent of the city.
'There is more canopy here than most cities our size, especially the older ones,' said Zach Manor, Raleigh's urban forester.
Hutchinson said visitors who fly into Raleigh-Durham International Airport for the first time often comment to him about the abundance of lush greenery.
'They look down and say, 'Where's the city? It's all a bunch of trees down there,' ' he said. 'Every time I see it, I think, I'm so glad I live down there.'
Dave Klemp is committed to protecting the canopy. Klemp, a Raleigh arborist who has a degree in forest management from N.C. State University, founded a nonprofit called Trees for the Triangle. Its website declares its mission as: 'Improving the environmental, aesthetic and economic well-being of the Triangle, one tree at a time.'
Trees for the Triangle encourages private property owners to plant native trees. Since launching in 2018, Trees for the Triangle has planted more than 2,200 trees, but Klemp said it's a race against tree loss from development.
'We can't plant faster than in some of these areas where they are wiping things out,' he said.
Raleigh's commitment to denser development also leaves less room for trees, he said. 'We're building denser, taller buildings. It's tough to preserve trees with construction going all the way to the property line. The city can't do much about that.'
Klemp said the struggle to preserve the Triangle's canopy 'is about a stalemate right now. Development is continuing, but there's what we're trying to do with the Leaf Out program. We need to make a bold push to do what we can to save what we can.'
In the push to preserve its canopy, Raleigh should set 'moonshot goals.' Klemp said, 'A lot of tree planting, a lot of tree maintenance.'
'It's easy to be impressed by our tree canopy if you come from places that don't have one. It's something we're proud of,' he said. 'Fifty percent (canopy coverage) is pretty good. If it were to remain, we would be pretty happy with that.'
Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett@
