The trees in Manitou Springs are doing well, but more are needed, according to the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment presented by Parks and Recreation Director Gillian Rossi at this week’s City Council work session.
“The city’s parks and streetscapes are on the right track,” said Rossi. We found a good diversity of species, a good diversity of age within our tree canopy, with the trees that were included in there, and also the condition of the trees.”
Rossi explained the distinction between the tree inventory, started in February 2024, and the canopy assessment. “The tree inventory is essentially a snapshot of the species of tree and the number of tree we have on the ground right now,” she said. “A tree canopy assessment shows the area that those trees canopies cover. The inventory showed us the species and how many we had. The assessment is showing us the percentage that those canopies cover.”
According to the tree inventory, 72% of Manitou’s 616 trees are in “good” condition. Of the city’s trees, 523 are deciduous, or leafy trees, and 93 are coniferous, or cone-bearing.
“Those are actually excellent trees to increase tree canopy cover because they literally cover more ground with their shade, and they also provide more habitat for wildlife and other increased benefits,” said Rossi. “Not that we don’t love our cone-bearing trees, but as far as tree canopy goes deciduous trees are typically the best choice.”
The inventory did not reflect private property trees, riparian corridor, or any parts of the City outside of the parks and downtown.
Rossi also discussed future plans for the city’s trees. “Continuing to increase our species diversity – in diversity we build strength,” she said. “There is a bug called the emerald ash borer in Colorado, and the more diverse our canopy is the less likely we are to suffer if we do get that pest to come into Manitou Springs; for example if we had too many ash trees in Manitou as opposed to a diverse canopy.”
Joshua Radey, a senior GIS technician, explained Manitou’s overall canopy coverage. “According to the nonprofit American Forest, the ideal urban canopy cover in Colorado is 24%,” he said. “We had 41% tree canopy cover in city parks, 11% tree canopy cover in the Commercial Core Zone, which stretches from along Manitou Avenue from Old Man’s Trail to Ruxton roundabout, there was 16% tree canopy cover in the URA [Urban Renewal Authority area], and 19% canopy cover in the West Manitou zoned area, from Ruxton Roundabout to Serpentine Roundabout.”
Councilor John Shada noted the problem areas in the analysis. “I just want to go on record, we’re really behind the curve in terms of the tree canopy on the commercial district and the URA.”
Rossi provided recommendations for increased tree health. “We need to continue planting trees and that’s the short of the summary,” she said. “How do we do is by launching a ground campaign to promote planting in neighborhoods and commercial areas, such as the URA, that are lacking in tree canopy cover. We can do this through continued City sponsored programs such as our tree voucher program, where residents get a $100 voucher to plant a tree on their property, through the city educating on fire-wise planting, so ensuring that whatever planting is happening is also keeping fire mitigation in mind, so partnering with our fire department to ensure that we’re providing residents the proper information they need to plant trees and locations that aren’t going to cause issues later in terms of fire mitigation.”
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