New Orleans’ old growth tree canopy is shrinking.
Here’s what we can do about it.
“We need to stop saying we are a resilient city when everything we do flies in the face of us being resilient. Trees are our number one resilient asset here, because they do multiple functions. The more we lose, the more we lose resiliency,” says Groundwork New Orleans Executive Director Todd Reynolds.
At the September 16 Joint Utilities and Public Works committee meeting, council members threw major shade (pardon the pun) on our tree canopy when discussing power outages during Hurricane Francine, but provided no specific data to support those claims.
You can tune in to the recording here. At the 1:31 mark going forward for quite some time, Cms. King, Morrell, and Green discuss the need to increase the amount of trimming clearance given to Entergy, expanding it from 4′ to 8 ‘ around power lines. At around the 1:34 mark, Cm. King goes even further to say he thinks maybe we should “Cut the oak trees down and replace them with other types of trees with branches not as wide.” (He released a statement on 9/23, saying he misspoke.)
Here are 2 upcoming opportunities to speak for the trees (and they need your voice!). It is imperative that where trees (or power outages) are being discussed, tree allies be present or submit comments in advance. Please attend when you can and share with your networks. (Also please pay attention to notices of cancellations, as these meetings are often cancelled with very little advance warning!):
Residents will have an opportunity to make public comments at the
- Joint Utility, Cable, Telecommunications and Technology and Climate Change and Sustainability Committee meeting chaired by Cms. JP Morrell and Helena Moreno on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at 10 am and at the
- Quality of Life Committee meeting on Oct. 7, 2024 at 1 pm, when Parks & Parkways will introduce its tree protection ordinance.
Both meetings will be held in council chambers, 1300 Perdido Street 1st Floor, Room 1E07 New Orleans, LA 70112. Check https://council.nola.gov/meetings/ for any schedule changes before heading to City Hall. For those who cannot attend in person, there are instructions on how to access the livestream and submit comments in advance at https://council.nola.gov/home/.
Read the September 19 press release from the S.T.O.P Coalition (the UC is a member).
To receive periodic updates on tree advocacy opportunities, please visit https://www.urbanconservancy.org/project/tree-canopy-protection/#take-action.
Thank you for paying attention to our canopy!
Background:
Measures are urgently needed in New Orleans to protect our old growth tree canopy from damage due to road, water, and electrical projects. In 2020, City Planning published its Tree Preservation Study to catalyze what would become The New Orleans Reforestation Plan. In 2022, local nonprofit, Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL) presented data that revealed New Orleans’ tree canopy only covered 18.5% of the city, as compared to 47% in Atlanta, 38% in Austin, and 37% in Memphis. New Orleans’ tree canopy is roughly on par with Houston’s 18%.
SOUL then led a multi-year planning process to create the New Orleans Reforestation Plan, a blueprint for reforesting New Orleans. The New Orleans Reforestation Plan was released at a press conference in January 2023, during which public support was expressed by the Mayor’s Office, City Planning, the Office of Resilience and Sustainability, Parks and Parkways, and the City Council.
Despite the Reforestation Plan’s endorsement by municipal government, trees continue to suffer damage and are coming down at an alarming rate across New Orleans. No clear information has been provided about how Parks and Parkways plans to mitigate future tree loss. Demands by neighborhood and citywide associations for greater transparency about the tree loss spurred the creation of Tree Canopy NOLA (TCNOLA). One of TCNOLA’s main goals was to update the City Code provisions governing trees and move us toward a Unified Tree Policy, as called for in the New Orleans Reforestation Plan. In January, TCNOLA sent an email to all members of the City Council calling for ordinance reforms to provide better tree protection.
In response, Councilmember Leslie Harris and two members of her staff met in February with TCNOLA’s Convenor, David Marcello. All agreed that it would be helpful to have a proposed draft of City Code updates for consideration at a May 6 meeting of the Council’s Quality of Life Committee, which Cm. Harris chairs. Her Office asked for a draft by the end of March. TCNOLA delivered its Discussion Draft on March 22 in an email that was sent to all members of the City Council and Parks and Parkways.
Shortly before the May 6 Committee hearing, Parks and Parkways announced that they would author their own version of an ordinance and that they needed an extension till the end of May. When the end of May arrived, Parks and Parkways asked for another extension to the end of June, and thereafter, they sought and received another extension to the end of July. The most recent communication with members of the STOP Coalition said that a Parks and Parkways draft would not be scheduled for a hearing until October.
David Marcello warns, “Trees are being irreparably harmed by roadwork and other ills. Current City Code provisions are woefully outdated. We need robust ordinance protections that will safeguard the city’s diminishing tree canopy from further harm.”
Executive Director of SOUL, Susannah Burley, says, “The City has publicly expressed support for the Reforestation Plan, which calls for a Unified Tree Policy. Ordinance reform is crucial to mitigating the tree losses that we’re seeing right now. Evidence in the Reforestation Plan shows that cities with a robust tree canopy have robust tree ordinances to protect them. New Orleans needs the same protection. We need it now and with a robust and transparent process behind its creation.”
