Summary of Findings

• Over the past decade, the Forestry Division has increased the number of public trees that it plants and prunes each year. The City has made significant progress toward its goal of a five-year pruning cycle.
• The Forestry Division’s budget is on par with the average forestry budget for U.S. cities, while delivering a level of service that is well above average.
• The Forestry Division is currently fully staffed and has identified needed capacity in grant writing, plan review, and operations. To meet its annual targets and promote the health and career development of Forestry staff, the Forestry Division will require an operations crew and associated equipment in the coming years. Labor from contracted tree services can supplement Division capacity.
• In the future, Forestry Division resources should scale with the number of new trees that are added to the public tree inventory via development, the rate of inflation, and desired increases in the rate of tree canopy growth.

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Additional Details

THE FORESTRY DIVISION IS PROACTIVELY MANAGING PUBLIC TREES

Fort Collins’ Forestry Division provides a high level of service in the management of its public tree inventory. Over the past decade, the Forestry Division has contributed to the city’s steady canopy growth by increasing the number of public trees that it plants and prunes each year. As the inventory grows through City tree planting and development, it will be necessary to scale Forestry Division operations and capacity to keep pace.

FORESTRY IS POSITIONING PUBLIC TREE CANOPY FOR GROWTH

Proactive pruning, tree planting, and pest management are part of comprehensive urban forestry care that promotes the growth and survival of trees.

Pruning comprises a majority of yearly Forestry activities. Forestry is currently maintaining trees on a 5–7 year pruning cycle to maintain tree health and is making progress toward achieving a five-year pruning cycle. In 2022, the City reached the benchmark for a five-year pruning cycle for the first time, aided by an additional one-year budget allocation for storm response in 2021 that supported additional pruning activities. This puts Fort Collins within a minority of U.S. cities that proactively manage their public tree inventory on a routine pruning cycle of any length.

In 2021, the Division achieved a level of planting that exceeds removals, aided by $100,000 in private donations for tree planting. Also in 2021, the Forestry Division began preventative treatments of public ash trees for emerald ash borer.

FORT COLLINS’ ANNUAL FORESTRY BUDGET IS ON PAR WITH OTHER CITIES WHILE DELIVERING A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE

The Forestry Division is supported by the City’s General Fund, which is the main operating fund for the City of Fort Collins. From 2019–2023, the Forestry Division’s annual budget ranged from $2.34 million to $3.35 million. The proportion of total City budget that is dedicated to Forestry is on par with that of other U.S. cities.

Forestry’s budget supports tree activities that are completed by in-house staff and contractors. The largest annual expenditures relate to pruning.

ADDITIONAL CAPACITY WILL HELP FORESTRY KEEP PACE WITH GROWTH

In 2024, the Division employs 17 full-time staff, 5 hourly staff, and receives part-time assistance from one office assistant. One additional full-time position, housed within the Zoning Department, supports Forestry needs that relate to development. The Forestry Division has identified additional needed capacity in the near term:

• Planning & Policy Support. An urban forest planner will help with grant writing, policy development, and the incorporation of the urban forest into long-range planning.
• Consistent & Safe Operations. An additional operations crew, fully equipped, will help Forestry consistently achieve a five-year pruning cycle. Additional operations capacity will also allow for crew rotations among different tree activities, which is important for helping existing staff to develop new skills and remain healthy in physically demanding positions.
• Contracted Services. In the near term, an increase in contracted tree services can help the Forestry Division maintain the desired levels of pruning and planting until Forestry has the resources to support an additional operations crew. Thereafter, contracted tree services can supplement staff labor.
• Growing with the Urban Forest. New development will increase the number of trees in the public inventory. To maintain a high level of service, Forestry budgets, staffing, and resources should scale in proportion to inflation and increases in the number of public trees.

FORT COLLINS ON TRACK TO ACHIEVE 15.7% CANOPY COVER BY 2040

Fort Collins is on a path to achieve 15.7% tree cover by 2040 if the previous decade’s trend continues. Increasing the rate of canopy growth to deliver additional human health and environmental benefits would require a concerted effort to increase tree planting and preservation within both the public and private sector.

Growing tree cover to 17%–20% by 2040 would require additional planting or preservation of approximately 2,600– 8,800 trees per year across public and private lands. The costs of such an endeavor vary but, using Forestry’s per-tree expenditure from 2019–2023 as a benchmark, costs are estimated to be $1.3 million–$4.3 million per year, spread across the public and private sector. Enhanced tree protection and preservation provides an alternative to tree planting to achieve the City’s canopy goal.

The population of public trees (on City property) is projected to slow its growth in the next 20 years as available vacant planting sites are filled. This does not account for additional tree sites that are added via development, which has averaged 1,500–2,000 trees per year in recent years.