Tree Inventory
The City of Sammamish is excited to report that the public tree inventory has been completed through a partnership with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Community Forestry Assistance Grant!
The inventory has captured data from 19,997 publicly owned trees - 8,618 trees within publicly-owned rights-of-way and 11,379 trees in City-owned and maintained parks.
Project Details
In 2019, the City of Sammamish developed its first Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP), which was then supported by the development of the UFMP’s Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) in 2021.
One of the goals of the SIP was to assess the ecosystem services provided by public trees and natural areas to establish additional metrics and conduct a resource analysis. This goal was supported by developing a public tree population inventory. In 2021-22, the City contracted with Davey Resource Group (DRG) to develop a 10,000 public tree inventory comprised of 10,000 trees located within public rights-of-way.
The City applied for and received the Community Forestry Assistance Grant from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to support the collection of an additional 10,000 publicly owned trees, which would be inventoried from City-owned and maintained parks and civic properties.
Additionally, the DNR grant provided the City with the resources to purchase a 5-year license for the tree-inventory management software called TreeKeeper and an Inventory Report that would give a detailed analysis and recommendations for managing the urban forest resource.
Collecting Data for the Tree Inventory
Through the summer and fall of 2022, DRG visited each tree individually to collect data, which included site attribute data like:
- creating a unique Tree ID,
- mapping coordinates,
- maintenance area,
- inventory date,
- site designation,
- grow space,
- grow space size,
- grate present, and
- wires present.
Individual tree attribute data included information like:
- species,
- diameter,
- primary defect, and
- condition.
Maintenance information included:
- maintenance needs,
- details and notes, and
- follow-up inspection and risk assessment required.
DRG also mapped each tree and created unique GIS markers. All the data collected was input into the inventory management software, TreeKeeper.
Tree Inventory Data Access
TreeKeeper data is stored in the cloud and can be accessed online by both the public and city staff. The public can see basic data and the city users with login credentials are able to see all the attributes listed above.
Tree Inventory Report
Through the support of the DNR grant, the City had DRG produce a detailed Tree Inventory Report. The report includes statistical data based on the inventory, highlighting species diversity, summarizing maintenance needs, recommendations for operations, and ecosystem modeling. This report will be used by the City’s maintenance teams and soon-to-be-hired sustainability coordinator to develop work and maintenance programs.
The City of Sammamish is excited to implement its new urban forest management resources and appreciates the support of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources for helping to make their development possible!