News

October 11, 2019 | From City of New Orleans

City Releases Urban Canopy Inventory and Assessment

Tree Canopy


NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans' Department of Parks and Parkways (Parkways) today released the inventory of its tree canopy, which will enable the department to develop proactive urban forestry maintenance, facilitate tree protection for development projects and more efficiently manage green infrastructure. Parkways is responsible for maintaining 104,117 trees in the public right-of-way.


"The tree inventory database will enable us to proactively manage our urban forest canopy, which is a critical part of the City’s green infrastructure. The report includes a breakdown of the environmental and social impact of the urban forest in the management of stormwater flooding, air quality, urban heat island temperatures, property values and the general well being of our residents and visitors," said Ann E. Macdonald, Director of the Department of Parks and Parkways.

 

Parkways contracted ArborPro, Inc. to complete the inventory. According to the report, the City’s trees provide more than $6.5 million in annual environmental benefits as detailed below:

  • Energy savings: $1,312,038/year
  • Stormwater interception: $2,085,774/year
  • Carbon sequestration: $235,176/year
  • Improved property value: $2,917,928 (total)

View Tree Inventory Summary here.

 

The City of New Orleans has been named a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for 35 years. Parkways is actively working both in-house and through strategic partnerships to grow the urban canopy:

  • This year, more than 1,378 new trees have been installed on City property and another 1,100 are planned by the end of the 2019-2020 planting season;
  • On Dec. 14, Parkways will host its annual 1,000 Tree Giveaway in partnership with NOLA Tree Project;
  • Parkways is partnering with the foundation on The Time for Trees initiative (https://timefortrees.org), which is a commitment to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities worldwide by 2022 — the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day.

In order to continue to maintain a healthy and sustainable tree canopy, Parkways has developed standards for tree maintenance and installation. Per Sec. 106-212 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, permission must be received from the City prior to trimming, treating or planting trees in the public right-of-way.

 

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About Department of Parks and Parkways

New Orleans offers thousands of acres of green space for visitors and residents to enjoy, which includes parks, playgrounds, city squares, neutral grounds, and street trees. Parks and Parkways manages, maintains, develops, beautifies and preserves more than 2,000 acres of New Orleans' public green space, which includes two major parks, 200 smaller parks and squares, including Jackson Square, Armstrong Park/Congo Square, and Lafayette Square, New Orleans' neutral grounds, the 18-hole Joseph M. Bartholomew Municipal Golf Course, located in Pontchartrain Park, and more than 106,000 trees.