Last year, legislators in Washington state passed a law to bolster the urban forestry work of the Department of Natural Resources. The agency’s urban and community forestry program, which had just two staffers in 2020, will grow to nine positions once the department finalizes new hires.
Those new staffers, along with a new state-funded grant program, will supercharge the department’s efforts to inventory tree canopy in Washington’s communities, help cities maintain their trees and determine where to plant new ones.
“We’re on a trajectory of meteoric growth for urban forestry,” said Ben Thompson, the program’s manager. “All of a sudden everyone’s passionate about this. It’s a lovely surprise.”
