New Study Reveals Dramatic National Tree Loss; San Antonio Leads the Way Announcing Greening Strategies at Urban Forest Conference

9/17/2003

From: Rachel Brittin of American Forests, 703-862-5302 (cell) San Antonio Office: 210-362-6474

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 17 -- During a news conference today at the National Urban Forest Conference in San Antonio, Texas, American Forests (americanforests.org) unveiled a dramatic new national study that shows urban areas have a severe tree deficit that is costing tax payers billions of dollars each year in air and water benefits. The deficit has increased by 21 percent during the last 10 years.

"This is a huge nation-wide tree deficit that is getting worse," says Gary Moll, American Forests' vice president of the Urban Forest Center. "Trees work to clean air and water naturally, and they do it for free. Communities can harness these assets by maintaining existing trees and planting new ones. American Forests recommends communities increase their tree cover by a minimum of 10 percent."

According to American Forests' study-which analyzed 448 urban areas defined by the US Census-tree cover in these areas stands at an average 23 percent. Using Landsat satellite images, from a sample of 40 urban areas, American Forests calculated that urban areas have 21 percent less tree canopy today than they did 10 years earlier. This equates to over 1.7 billion trees needed to increase tree canopy to the recommended 10 percent in the 448 US urban areas. Actions to reverse this national deficit can be taken at a local level. Today San Antonio will join Charlotte, North Carolina and San Diego, California as the first cities in the nation to take action to reverse the tree loss trend by incorporating tree cover data into their infrastructure database. All three cities have taken action in the last few months and are models for other cities to follow.

AMERICAN FORESTS' report of San Antonio marks the second phase of a two-part analysis that began in 2002, showing changes in tree cover over time as well as measures the value of the area's tree cover for stormwater management, air quality, and energy conservation. San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza has been encouraging the city's residents to take a close look at the recent numbers, even if they were troubling. "It's easier for citizens to understand the need for regulatory changes when we have real numbers and research to back them up," he said. This study provides the city with a green data layer, a digital map of the tree cover produced from high resolution aerial imagery. Using the tree cover data and a computer software tool called CITYgreen valuable environmental information called ecosystem services can be calculated for the city and used for decision making.

The findings show that San Antonio has 27 percent tree canopy, seven percent open space, 64 percent impervious/bare urban land, and one percent water. If tree cover were increased from 27 to 35 percent citywide, environmental benefits would increase substantially. Increased canopy would remove 2.5 million pounds more air pollutants each year, a service worth an estimated $6 million annually. More trees would also reduce the amount of stormwater runoff by 103 million cubic feet during an average 2-year, 24-hour storm event. This service would be worth an additional $200 million in avoided stormwater facility construction.

The Urban Ecosystem Analysis of the city documented the importance of tree cover in special ecological zones like the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, the city's sole source of drinking water and an area that is also ripe for development. Reducing tree cover below 45 percent in this ecologically sensitive area where rain water seeps into the grown and recharges the ground water would cause a sever problem for city residents. Now that the city has data documenting the existing tree cover it can set tree cover targets that provide adequate drinking water for its residents while carefully managing growth.

The report makes a number of recommendations for communities and their decision-makers. The study suggests the city develop public policies that increase tree cover and promote green infrastructure. Second, the community should include trees and the values associated with trees when making land-use decisions. Lastly, the analysis recommends that the community should set tree cover goals and institutionalize a system to maintain this goal. Citywide, American Forests recommends a 35 percent tree cover and 45 percent in special ecological areas.

The results of the study will be used by San Antonio's Alamo Forest Partnership, a consortium of public, private, and nonprofit agencies and organizations, spearheaded by City Public Services, who want to take a proactive approach to planning and managing the area's natural resources.

The green data layer will facilitate the integration of green infrastructure into everyday planning and development in their communities. "The green data layer will play an integral role in the design and evaluation of Early Action Compact programs," says Dorothy Birch of the Alamo Area Council of Governments in the San Antonio region. "For their part, EPA states that the four counties must implement air quality programs that are 1) quantifiable, 2) enforceable, and 3) permanent."

"Flooding in San Antonio is an age-old issue," says Carol Haywood, a planner with San Antonio's neighborhood and urban design department who is eyeing the green data layer's public education potential. "Most folks think we need more concrete culverts to simply whisk the water away as fast as possible. We will use this green data layer to model and demonstrate the ability of trees to perform a similar function without adding new concrete."

Participating in the news conference were: City of San Antonio's Bonnie Connor; USDA Forest Service's Mark Peterson; Texas Forest Service's Robin Thompson; and American Forests' Gary Moll.

In addition to announcing the study results, American Forests has announced an initiative in cooperation with the Texas Forest Service to plant trees in San Antonio. The goal is to plant 1,000 new trees descended from the revered Treaty Oak in Austin, which was poisoned years ago. American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery has grown the offspring of this great Texas Historic Tree and plantings will begin immediately in San Antonio, continuing through out the next few years-adding to the tree canopy and helping citizens celebrate its heritage and history.

The City of San Antonio thanks Ventana Communities and Anheuser-Busch, TetraPak and the Witte Museum for being the first to step up and support this initiative to plant trees in San Antonio.

AMERICAN FORESTS is a national leader in the urban forestry movement. The organization combines education, action, and research into programs that improve the trees, forests, and overall environmental health of our communities. In addition to conducting Urban Ecosystem Analyses (UEA) in regions around the US, American Forests developed CITYgreen software for communities to use in calculating the value of urban forests in their local areas.

These findings were unveiled as 1,000 urban forest practitioners, researchers, citizen groups, GIS analysts, and legislators gather for the 2003 National Urban Forest Conference held in San Antonio September 17-20. Participants will share new information and strategies for reversing the tree deficit and incorporating more trees into urban ecosystems.

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AMERICAN FORESTS, founded in 1875, is the oldest national nonprofit citizen conservation organization. Its three Centers -- Global ReLeaf, Urban Forests, and Forest Policy -- mobilize people around the world to improve the environment by planting and caring for trees. AMERICAN FORESTS publishes American Forests magazine and can be found on the Internet at http://www.americanforests.org.

ALAMO FOREST PARTNERSHIP was established to jointly encourage the conservation and planting of trees in the Greater San Antonio Area. The group consists of representatives from City Public Service (CPS), City of San Antonio (COSA), Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG), Texas Forest Service, San Antonio Water System (SAWS), Department of Defense (DOD), National Park Service, Texas Parks & Wildlife, along with non-profit organizations like, SA Forest, SA Trees, Bexar Audubon, and Neighborhood Resource Center.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

1) American Forests has calculated the tree loss in your area for use in your story. Please contact Rachel Brittin at 210-362-6474 or 703-862-5302 for your tree cover information.

2) High resolution, print quality digital images from the report can be downloaded using FTP software. First go to ftp://ftp.americanforests.org, click on the "Communications" folder, and then the "Engineering Green" folder. There, you will find images you can use.

3) Rachel Brittin, director of communications can answer questions and schedule interviews. Contact her by calling 202-955-4500 ext. 234 or cell phone at 703-862-5302. Her email address is rbrittin@amfor.org.