Louisville Urban Tree Canopy Assessment
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Louisville Urban Tree Canopy Assessment 2015 i FINAL DRAFT Acknowledgements Funding Support: This project was made possible through funding support from Louisville Metro Government and Metro Council, the Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District and MSD Board, The Louisville Tree Fund and Louisville Gas and Electric. Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Mayor Greg Fischer and the following people for their knowledge and time that were instrumental in completing this project: Louisville/Jefferson County Information Consortium Louisville Metro Tree Advisory Commission (LMTAC) Chris Aldredge, Database Administrator Henry Heuser, Jr., Co-Chair Bruce Carroll, Database Administrator Katy Schneider, Co-Chair Dr. Margaret Carreiro, LMTAC’s Inventory and Scientific Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District Committee, University of Louisville Wes Sydnor, MS4 Program Manager Shane Corbin, LMTAC’s Inventory and Scientific Committee, City of Jefferson, Indiana Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District Kevin Stellar, LMTAC’s Inventory and Scientific Committee, Michelle King, Executive Administrator Spatial Data Integrations, Inc. Bradley Coomes, Environmental Coordinator United States Forest Service Louisville Metro Government Dudley Hartel, Urban Forestry South Center Manager Maxwell Bradley, Purchasing Supervisor Maria Koetter, Director of Sustainability Dr. Mesude Duyar Ozyurekoglu, Metro Parks Forestry Manager Erin Thompson, Urban Forestry Coordinator Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, Chief, Louisville Forward ii FINAL DRAFT Table of Contents Pg Section Pg Section i Acknowledgements 39 Canopy Benefits 40 Overall Benefits iii Executive Summary 43 By Council District 45 By Census Tract 01 Introduction 01 Challenges 48 Action Plan Development 03 Solutions 49 Goals 04 Why Trees? 53 Scenarios 05 Study Area 56 Plan Format 06 Process & Methods 57 Prioritization 59 Costs 09 UTC Results 62 Private and Public Property 10 Overall Findings Changes Over Time - 11 64 Recommendations & Next Steps Canopy By Council District - 13 66 Caring for Existing Trees Canopy By Suburban City - 15 67 Planting New Trees Canopy By Neighborhood - 17 68 Supporting Efforts Canopy By Land Use - 19 Special Project Area: SoBro - 21 Socioeconomics - 22 Appendix A: Methodologies 23 Urban Heat Island Appendix B: Data Tables & Charts By Land Use - 25 Appendix C: Other Information By Suburban City - 26 By Council District - 27 References By Neighborhood - 29 31 Stormwater Management By Council District - 31 By Sewershed - 33 35 Ecosystem Health iii FINAL DRAFT Executive Summary Louisville UTC: 37% Louisville UTC minus larger parks: ~30% Louisville Urban Tree 2015 Canopy Assessment Residents, businesses and visitors of • decrease energy use, of tree cover, quantify the benefits, set Louisville are privileged to be in an area • mitigate the risk of climate change realistic goals to expand the tree canopy, and rich in natural resources and beauty. impacts, make recommendations for achieving these Louisville supports a wide diversity of native • achieve and exceed national air quality goals. woodlands, stately tree-canopied parks and standards, streets, and expertly landscaped businesses • improve waterway quality, What do we have? and residences. Largely due to the high • mitigate urban heat island effects, quality of life and opportunities for success, • increase opportunities for active living, Currently, approximately 37% of the land, or Louisville encompasses the most populated • provide nature-based recreation, and just over 94,000 acres, in Louisville is covered county in Kentucky. • engage the community in sustainability by trees. Canopy cover within the “old city practices. boundary” (before the city-county merger Recently, however, tree canopy loss and in 2003) is 26%. urban heat island effects have become a The strategies for attaining these goals will concern. be multi-faceted and long-term, but as a In comparison to other cities and regions, the small or large part of the solutions for each tree canopy is higher than Lexington (25%) The city’s 2013 Sustain Louisville plan one of these goals, trees are indeed the and St. Louis (26%), but lower than Cincinnati proposed a variety of actions to reverse answer. The Sustain Louisville plan identified (38%) and Nashville (47%). Louisville’s the trend of these issues and challenges by the Louisville Metro Tree Advisory’s canopy is also lower than American Forests achieving these important goals: recommendation to conduct a countywide recommendation of a 40% overall tree urban tree canopy (UTC) study to determine canopy cover. the historic and current amount and location FINAL DRAFT ivExecutive Summary Much of the tree canopy in Louisville grows in Figure 1: Changes in protected parks, and not directly where people Canopy, 2004 to 2012 live and work. Over 13,300 acres of tree canopy are located in just eight of the largest parks (such as Jefferson Memorial Forest, the Parklands of Floyd’s Fork, Iroquois, and Cherokee Park). Excluding large parks, the urban tree canopy in developed areas may be closer to 30%. Historically, a negative trend has also been established, as Louisville has lost 7%, or 6,500 acres, of its trees since 2004. That’s a rate of 820 acres of canopy or 54,000 trees lost per year. The map at right (Figure 1) shows the rates of canopy decrease across Louisville between 2004 and 2012. 40% 38% 37% Canopy Change in 2004 in 2008 in 2012 Increase 0%-12% Decrease 0%-5% To compound this trend, Louisville will experience Decrease 5%-10% a significant canopy loss due to the exotic pest Decrease 10%-15% emerald ash borer (EAB). Ash trees comprise 10%- Decrease 15%-20% Decrease >20% 17% of suburban and rural forests, meaning tens of thousands of ash trees will be lost in Louisville within the next five to ten years (UK 2014). Given the historic trend of tree loss and combined with Louisville is losing an average of the inevitable loss of ash trees from EAB, if no steps 820 acres (approximately 54,000 are taken to address canopy levels, Louisville’s tree canopy will drop to 31% by 2022 and potentially to trees) of canopy each year. 21% by 2052. Future canopy projection is shown in Figure 2. 2004 2008 2012 2022 2032 2042 2052 Actual Canopy 40% 38% 37% Future Canopy Based on Existing Trends 37% 35% 32% 28% 25% Future Canopy Including Ash Loss 37% 31% 28% 24% 21% 2012 Canopy 37% 37% 37% 37% 37% 37% 37% v FINAL DRAFT Executive Summary Louisville Future Given both the threats to and opportunities for managing and expanding the tree canopy Figure 2.C Louisville’sanopy Estimated Estim Futureate Canopys (No Action Taken) in Louisville, and all of the ways trees can help achieve sustainability goals, this UTC Actual Canopy assessment was undertaken to examine tree Future Canopy Based on Existing Trends canopy in detail. Canopy was accurately 50% mapped and then analyzed by a multitude Future Canopy Including Ash Loss of factors including land use, surface temperature, and demographics. Additionally 45% canopy was segmented by council districts, 40% neighborhoods, suburban cities and 38% sewersheds. 37% 40% 35% For the first time, Louisville’s citizens, allied 32% organizations, and government agencies have 35% accurate tree canopy data to rely upon and 28% formulate next steps. 30% A prioritized planting plan was also created Canopy 31% 25% to maximize tree benefits in areas of greatest need. Plantable areas were evaluated based 25% 28% If current trends hold, 20% 24% Louisville canopy is 21% projected to decrease to 15% 31-35% in the next ten years, dropping to as 2004 2008 2012 2022 2032 2042 2052 low as 21% over the next Year forty years. vi FINAL DRAFT on environmental features (proximity to local lbs. of nitrogen dioxide, 600,000 lbs. of sulfur How do we get there? waterways, soil type, floodplains, slope, and dioxide, and 1.2 million lbs. of soot, dust and forest fragmentation), stormwater issues, and other particulates that irritate human lungs. Attaining canopy goals involves more than just urban heat island concerns. planting trees. Maintaining and protecting However, if the canopy continues to decrease, the existing tree cover must go hand in hand Why trees? so too will these benefits. And if the trend with aggressive tree planting to achieve is not reversed, the simultaneous decline desired canopy cover. As a result of the UTC Why does knowing how much tree canopy in tree canopy and increase in population study, Louisville Metro Government and its exists in Louisville matter, and why should and development will cause more problems citizens now have the statistical data, mapping more trees be planted? The answer is for aging, over-burdened infrastructure, analysis, and a prioritized planting plan that because trees are truly a community’s “green and create real crises in public health and will help focus tree management and tree asset” and an infrastructure component that community livability. planting resources where they are needed provides a tremendous quantity of “ecosystem most. services” such as cleaning the air, intercepting What do we want? stormwater before it reaches municipal Recommendations for growing and protecting sewer systems, increasing property values, Establishing tree canopy goals is an important the tree canopy in Louisville based on the absorbing carbon, saving money on energy action to ensure that trees, as a valuable findings of the UTC study are provided costs, and moderating hot temperatures in green infrastructure asset, are maintained to inform consensus and promote action. urbanized areas. at minimum thresholds, even as Louisville Thousands of young trees will need to be continues to develop. planted and thousands of mature trees Louisville’s current canopy provides $330 will need to be cared for if trees are to be million in benefits each year. This includes Louisville’s preliminary goals are “no net loss” embraced as a way to reduce stormwater annually intercepting over 18 billion gallons of in five years, and increasing overall canopy issues, improve air and water quality, and stormwater, removing 150,000 lbs. of carbon to 40% or 45% in future years.