The Forestry Division of the Parks & Recreation Department continues to improve the City’s urban tree canopy by removing unsafe trees and planting new trees in parks and rights-of-way. With increasing pressure from native pests, and the impending threat of emerald ash borer now found along Colorado’s Front Range, managing the good health of Grand Junction’s ash trees continues to pose challenges for City arborists. The City’s urban tree canopy is comprised of over 37,000 trees and ash trees make up 18% of the urban tree canopy. Added pressures such as heavy winter storm damage impacts hundreds of public trees.
During the spring, summer, and fall seasons, the Forestry Division will be planting and removing trees to help improve the urban tree canopy. This spring, crews will remove 250 public trees that were deemed unsafe or in poor condition and will begin a new ash tree injection program to protect the health of the largest and most valuable public ash trees. Crews will then work to plant around 250 trees this spring and an additional 105 this fall.
A varied and diverse mix of trees is the best way to prevent large scale tree loss due to insects and disease. The City is prepared to plan 75 different tree species during the upcoming planting season. The Forestry Division will install these new trees with assistance provided by a $4,000 Xcel Foundation Grant for tree planting and $5,000 from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
The Forestry Division is also connecting with residents to plant new trees in public rights-of-way adjacent to private properties. The Forestry Division prunes, removes, and treats street trees as a standard service for residents, and the planting of new street trees is also an option when a property owner commits to providing trees the water they need. Grand Junction residents can request the planting of a street tree by visiting gjcity.org/forestry.
Contact: Greg LeBlanc, Sr. Assistant to the City Manager | 970-244 1557 or gregoryl@gjcity.org