Austin tree lovers and environmental advocates, rejoice! Thanks to a recent report by the U.S. Forestry Service assessing the species, condition, and location of Austin’s nearly 7.4 million urban trees, the city has created a new forestry leadership team, a Justice League for Trees if you will. Members of this team include departments that deal with trees on a regular basis, including the city’s Community Forestry Division, the Public Works Department, the Watershed Protection Department, and occasionally the Fire Department.
According to KUT, the team will work to get to the root of the problems faced by urban trees in an effort to support trees in the aesthetic and environmental value that they bring to Austin and its citizens. The group will work together to branch out and provide proactive solutions instead of the typical reactive ones that the city has provided in the past; a 2014 report by the City Manager’s office “revealed that maintenance of trees was hired almost entirely reactionary,” according to the KUT story.
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