The City of Davis invites the public to provide input on the formation of an Urban Forest Management Plan (Plan). This Plan will communicate the community’s vision for the City’s future urban forest and guide the care and planting of trees over the next 40 years. An urban forest is the collection of privately and publicly owned trees and woody shrubs that grow within the City. 

The Plan will look at key areas of the City’s urban forest and develop recommendations for management, budgets, service level matrices and process improvements that will help improve and optimize the overall administration of the City’s urban forest. The Plan, to be finalized by March 2023, will include an innovative final product: a living, interactive, online-based plan that will evolve as the program evolves, designed for regular community engagement.  

“This updated Urban Forestry plan will map out the care and maintenance of our urban tree canopy through 2040, and continued investment in a robust tree canopy will be an important tool in our fight against climate change,” said Mayor Lucas Frerichs. 

The work being done reinforces the City’s vision to build a more resilient community and helps to address a key City Council goal to ensure environmental sustainability. Recommendations from the City’s draft 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan will also support the work of the Urban Forest Management Plan. 

The public will also be able to provide feedback on the Plan at the Davis Farmer’s Market on Saturday, August 27 from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., where staff will have a table with more information. Additional drop-in events and virtual meetings are planned and will include feedback from a diverse cross-section of the community, including those living, working and recreating in Davis. For information on the planning process, notices about public meetings and a comment box for providing feedback at any time, visit: www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/urban-forestry/urban-forest-management-plan. 

The development of the Plan is funded in part by a 2018 CAL FIRE grant that also supported the planting of 1,000 new trees within the City’s limits. Tree Davis has planted 998 trees to date, and the City is now working on the Plan. To contact the Urban Forestry Management Plan, email [email protected], or call the City’s Urban Forestry Division at 530-757-5633. 

Press contact: Barbara Archer, [email protected], 530-400-3418