Improving Alexandria's Urban Forestry
Additional staff leads to quicker response times, better record-keeping. From The Alexandria Times, December 19, 2024
In late 2022, the more than 33,000 trees on public land in Alexandria were overseen by a single urban forester, a job title that has largely replaced “arborist.” Two years later, there has been a reboot in how Alexandria cares for and expands its urban forest.
Improvements are measurable both in the size of the urban forestry staff, which now numbers four, and in the team’s mission, which has shifted from mainly trying to add trees to an emphasis on proactive measures to improve tree health.
In the summer of 2024, two tragic incidents underscored the importance of urban forestry: A pedestrian was killed by a falling tree in Washington, D.C. and a private company tree worker in Alexandria was electrocuted.
The care and expansion of the tree canopy, a critical resource for storm water absorption, air quality and a counterweight to increasing density, is overseen by the Urban Forestry Division of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.
Phil Jubert, the city’s Urban Forest Manager, joined DRPCA in late 2023. Since the arrival of Jubert and colleagues Scott Graham, Bryce Singer and Alex Taylor, city responses to 311 calls for tree assistance has improved significantly, even as Jubert has shifted his team’s emphasis from responding first to “squeaky wheels” to a more holistic approach to managing the city’s urban forest.
Jubert plans to begin an overhaul of the existing Urban Forestry Master Plan, which dates from 2009, in early 2025. Members of the public will be invited to participate on the Steering Committee for the new plan.
The city has also contracted with the University of Vermont for a tree canopy study to get the most accurate data possible about the city’s existing canopy. The study will take about nine months and should be completed in 2025.
How Urban Forests Differ
Jubert, a 2009 graduate of the University of Minnesota’s School of Natural Resources – now called the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences – speaks regularly to citizens associations and similar groups, educating them about urban forestry. Jubert’s experience includes work as a forestry technician for Minnesota localities, building and selling a tree care business in Minnesota and consulting for local and national tree companies.
He tells Alexandrians that unlike the natural forest, urban forests do not regenerate on their own. Seedlings are often mowed down, so active planting of trees is necessary to ensure succession.
Urban trees must also meet safety standards. Urban foresters manage trees to protect people and property which can lead to difficult choices. Removal of trees, when necessary, is a core aspect of urban forestry.
Trees in an urban forest grow faster than their rural counterparts, but only live half as long as their country cousins, according to sciencedaily.com. Street trees are in locations that can create signs of stress in trees. This means more investment is required to extend the life of the urban forest.
Improving Tree Care
“The first year [in Alexandria] has all been about diagnostics, finding those small wins, learning about the community. I’ve met with most neighborhood associations and the Federation of Civic Associations,” Jubert said. “Every area has its own unique forestry challenges.
“There were some gap years here [in Alexandria] with forestry. There were some issues with our planting contracts – quality, expense, what we were getting and how that was structured. We did not renew that contract and we’ve gone to a new planting method,” he said.
Jubert said that by taking over tree selection and purchasing, his department has lowered the price for every tree installed from $627 to $349. Some watering activities have been moved from contractors to city personnel. This past summer, two students from Alexandria City High School interned with the city’s urban foresters.
Trees in urban tree wells and along sidewalks have a 10 to 15% mortality rate because the growing environment involves compacted soil and road impacts, according to Jubert, whereas the mortality rate for trees in parks is about 5%. He said that his department had increased follow-up maintenance efforts to remove water bags and stakes that trees have outgrown.
Past Approaches to Tree Planting
Alexandria reports tree planting data to the Arbor Day Foundation to maintain its status as a Tree City USA, a community that has demonstrated a commitment to the care and planting of trees. Since 1990, the city has planted an average of 401 trees per year.
Young trees require more care in their first four years. Jubert estimates that the Urban Forestry Division can support caring for 4,000 trees, which would mean planting about 1,000 trees per year. Jubert wrote in an email, that “[U]ltimately, we also want to plant more trees than we remove and have a net positive.”
Other city departments, notably the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, also plant trees, a positive for the city, but a reality that makes accurate tallies of trees planted more difficult to obtain.
“Once we realign our systems, then our tree planting numbers, [as a] city, will be more accurate. [The] city plants many more trees than what Urban Forestry just reports per year,” Jubert said in an email.
Measuring Tree-related Responses
In 2022, DRPCA began classifying residents’ 311 tree-related requests into “tree storm damage,” “tree inspection request” and “tree planting request” categories with response time goals for each.
According to Jack Browand, DRPCA Deputy Director, in calendar years 2022 and 2023, and through September 2024, there were, respectively, 250, 401 and 223 tree storm damage requests. There were an additional 1,181; 1,143; and 1,085 tree inspection requests and 90, 360 and 81 tree planting requests.
Jubert noted that when a resident makes a request, it’s entered into the system, but issues are “triaged” by staff and prioritized.
“Urban Forestry departments benefit greatly from 311 intakes, as the public serves as our eyes and ears in the field. … However, it’s crucial that residents understand that an Alex311 request does not guarantee immediate service. Each request is evaluated to determine if action is needed and when,” Jubert wrote in an emailed response.
Jubert cautions against exclusively focusing on the city’s progress toward its 40% tree canopy coverage goal.
“We’re kind of backing off on that. … We need to understand how we look at it with other data and other key performance indicators. If it’s not proportionate with other goals, there could be errors,” he said.
Jubert said it’s not a best practice for forestry departments to focus primarily on tree canopy goals.
“[Problems arise when] instead of communicating properly on how to manage the forest,” trees are left standing to preserve the canopy goal when they should be removed because of their condition. “Canopy [coverage] is good, but it needs to fit within the larger puzzle,” Jubert said.
Tree-planting Partnerships
Volunteers who are passionate about the environment generally and the city’s trees in particular are essential to a thriving urban forest in Alexandria.
“There is a high level of intellect [among these volunteers],” Jubert said. “They aid my department; not only do they save me money in hiring contractors and planting, but they do other activities, [including] education and awareness. … They are dedicated to their craft and you can [have] detailed conversations with them …”
This fall, the Tree Stewards of Arlington and Alexandria, the Alexandria Beautification Commission, DRPCA, Master Naturalists of Arlington and other volunteers coordinated with the goal of planting 275 trees for Alexandria’s 275th birthday in three locations, according to Eleanor Quigley of the Beautification Commission. Quigley said that the Beautification Commission was increasingly focused on sustainability.
New trees were planted in Mount Jefferson Park on Sept. 28 and along Four Mile Run on Oct. 1. A tree planting day in the Eisenhower Valley scheduled for Nov. 9 was canceled because of drought. Tree stewards, such as long-time activist Russ Bailey, served as team leaders for the tree planting days.
Another tree-planting effort involved the T&ES Storm Water Division, which Jubert said is “a critical partner.” The Storm Water Division approached the urban foresters about a 275-tree planting effort. Estimates are that the city’s more than 33,000 trees in its parks and on its roads absorb more than 230 million gallons of water every year.
Benefits of Proactive Pruning
The Urban Forest Division publishes two key performance indicators, the number of trees pruned per year and the ratio of trees planted to trees removed, on an online dashboard viewable
Jubert sees these measurements – the pruning cycle and the tree replacement ratio – as data that reflect controllable activities by his department.
“If we’re successful, it means we’re properly communicating to the city leadership on budgets, and properly communicating to the residents,” Jubert said. “In recent times, trees have gotten somewhat political … whose trees get pruned has turned into a political dynamic.”
Jubert thinks that a more proactive pruning plan will make the city safer and improve its appearance.
“Proactive work is more efficient, increases productivity, and enhances public safety by addressing tree defects earlier,” he said.
Jubert also emphasized that his department must take a holistic approach to protecting and increasing the city’s trees, and not just prioritize the most vocal residents.
“I want the residents to know that in order for the arborists to keep the city safe, to maximize efficiency and to have a good [return on investment] for taxpayer funds, for us to improve esthetics, [we must have] an equitable pruning plan. … The entire city [must be] taken care of, not just hot spots because I’ve got residents calling from particular neighborhoods.”
The Role of Residents
Property owners play an important role in caring for the tree canopy because about 49% of the city’s tree canopy is on privately owned land.
Jubert said he sees a threat to the urban forest in the accelerating shortage – which began in 2015 and 2016 – of qualified and experienced forestry personnel. Accordingly, Jubert urges homeowners to hire only certified arborists.
Optimally, homeowners will have their trees inspected every three years.
“What is going to be the most serious crisis that is at our doorsteps is oak wilt disease,” which Jubert said particularly affects white oaks.
Oak wilt is a fungus-caused disease that grows through a tree’s water conducting system.
“[Oak wilt disease] is rampant in Maryland and Pennsylvania and it is close to us. … It is going to be by far the biggest threat to our urban forest as a biotic factor.”
Jubert said the city will begin testing for oak wilt disease soon. He said residents can save money on tree removal expenses and preserve property values by taking a proactive approach to their trees.
Jubert has standardized the planting of 15-gallon trees that weigh about 40 pounds in city tree wells. Residents’ patience will be rewarded in the long run with reduced tree removal costs and enhanced property values.
“After about five years, [a 15-gallon tree] will catch up to [larger trees of the same species] and pass it.”
–aboutalexandria@gmail.com
5216 Seminary is where Planning and Zoning is allowing at least 34 trees to be cut down to make way for a warehouse-look , no setback row of 7 contiguous three story buildings they call townhomes that are to be rentals. Many of the trees are mature. Neighbors pleas to save the trees as well as the whole street’s leafy esthetic were to no avail.