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News Release

Grants Pass Is Honored As Oregon Tree City Of The Year - 04/17/20

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in partnership with Oregon Community Trees (OCT) has named Grants Pass as Oregon Tree City of the Year for 2020. Each year, ODF and OCT select one of Oregon’s 66 nationally recognized Tree City USA communities statewide to award for that city’s commitment to its urban forest. Last year’s Oregon Tree City of the Year was Corvallis.

OCT President Samantha Wolf said the award is intended to highlight communities delivering best urban forestry practices to their residents. “Grants Pass residents have a better quality of life because they live in a healthy urban forest. This award acknowledges the fine work the City of Grants Pass does to ensure its urban forests continue providing a wide range of social, health and ecological benefits long into the future.”

According to ODF’s Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program Manager Kristin Ramstad, “Grants Pass is a shining example of what a great Tree City USA should be. They have good citizen engagement and excellent planning, including comprehensive goals around tree selection to promote appropriate and diverse choices. This award recognizes their many years of outstanding work to care for and promote a healthy urban forest.”

Specific achievements that contributed to Grants Pass being named Oregon Tree City of the Year include:

  • Purchase by the City of a 444-acre tract of forested land on Dollar Mountain which will be developed into a nature trail park over the next several years.
  • Hiring an urban forester with a Master’s degree from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
  • Hosting educational tree walks
  • Planning to expand City-planting of yard trees from spring only to other times of the year as well
  • Having a comprehensive urban forest management plan that includes among many other items:
    • A registry of significant trees
    • A memorial tree program
    • A hazardous-tree removal assistance program

Grants Pass Urban Forester Tony Mecum said, “Grants Pass is rooted not only in its extraordinary natural resources, but also in its community members who steward the precious environment in which we live. For over 32 years, their hard work and foresight to create tree protections in our municipal code, form an urban tree advisory committee, create innovative programs to expand our urban forest, and promote the data-driven evidence that trees are green infrastructure workhorses, are what led us to this moment.”

Tree City USA is an Arbor Day Foundation recognition program. For more than 30 years, Grants Pass has met the Tree City USA program’s four minimum standards by:

  • maintaining a tree board (Parks and Natural Resources Advisory Board)
  • a tree ordinance
  • a minimum $2 per capita expenditure for tree planting and maintenance
  • an annual celebration and proclamation of Arbor Day

Visit www.arborday.org/programs/treecityusa/ to learn more.

                                                                    # # #

Grants Pass Is Honored As Oregon Tree City Of The Year - 04/17/20

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in partnership with Oregon Community Trees (OCT) has named Grants Pass as Oregon Tree City of the Year for 2020. Each year, ODF and OCT select one of Oregon’s 66 nationally recognized Tree City USA communities statewide to award for that city’s commitment to its urban forest. Last year’s Oregon Tree City of the Year was Corvallis.

OCT President Samantha Wolf said the award is intended to highlight communities delivering best urban forestry practices to their residents. “Grants Pass residents have a better quality of life because they live in a healthy urban forest. This award acknowledges the fine work the City of Grants Pass does to ensure its urban forests continue providing a wide range of social, health and ecological benefits long into the future.”

According to ODF’s Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program Manager Kristin Ramstad, “Grants Pass is a shining example of what a great Tree City USA should be. They have good citizen engagement and excellent planning, including comprehensive goals around tree selection to promote appropriate and diverse choices. This award recognizes their many years of outstanding work to care for and promote a healthy urban forest.”

Specific achievements that contributed to Grants Pass being named Oregon Tree City of the Year include:

  • Purchase by the City of a 444-acre tract of forested land on Dollar Mountain which will be developed into a nature trail park over the next several years.
  • Hiring an urban forester with a Master’s degree from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
  • Hosting educational tree walks
  • Planning to expand City-planting of yard trees from spring only to other times of the year as well
  • Having a comprehensive urban forest management plan that includes among many other items:
    • A registry of significant trees
    • A memorial tree program
    • A hazardous-tree removal assistance program

Grants Pass Urban Forester Tony Mecum said, “Grants Pass is rooted not only in its extraordinary natural resources, but also in its community members who steward the precious environment in which we live. For over 32 years, their hard work and foresight to create tree protections in our municipal code, form an urban tree advisory committee, create innovative programs to expand our urban forest, and promote the data-driven evidence that trees are green infrastructure workhorses, are what led us to this moment.”

Tree City USA is an Arbor Day Foundation recognition program. For more than 30 years, Grants Pass has met the Tree City USA program’s four minimum standards by:

  • maintaining a tree board (Parks and Natural Resources Advisory Board)
  • a tree ordinance
  • a minimum $2 per capita expenditure for tree planting and maintenance
  • an annual celebration and proclamation of Arbor Day

Visit www.arborday.org/programs/treecityusa/ to learn more.

                                                                    # # #