Urban Forestry
Welcome to Fayetteville, Arkansas, a 28-year Tree City USA community.
Urban Forestry is the management of trees and other vegetation on public and private land.
Fayetteville's urban forest provides fundamental benefits to the community's livability and vitality, including cleaner air and water, pedestrian-friendly walkways, lower utility consumption, enhanced property values and viable wildlife habitat. These elements are essential to the prosperity, health and comfort of any city.
Urban Forests
Urban forests are made up of public and private forests, prairies, wetlands and other ecological communities that provide environmental services to the urban and/or suburban community of Fayetteville.
Community trees can be found along streets, in parks and on public and private property. Landscaping required of new developments also is a community asset that can be found in the same places. It is the combination of these trees and landscapes that create the urban forest. As a community, we receive multiple benefits from trees and plantings within the urban forest.
Benefits of Trees
Not only do trees add to the aesthetics of our City, shade our trails and give good homes to wildlife, trees also provide economical, environmental and behavioral benefits.
Using trees as wind blocks or as shade producers can decrease utility bills. Trees also remove huge quantities of pollutants from the air, aid in erosion control and decrease stormwater runoff. It has been proven that given a green shady area to relax or play in, a person will stay calmer and remain outdoors longer.
Trees planted where they can be observed from residential dwellings, hospital rooms or school classrooms can reduce crime rates, quicken patient recovery rates and increase child productivity.
Management
Fayetteville's Urban Forestry Program is managed by three separate entities within the City:
- Street tree maintenance is performed by the Transportation Department right-of-way work crews.
- Park and trail tree maintenance is carried out by the Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs Department Urban Forestry Services crew.
- Tree preservation and protection for new development is performed by the Urban Forester.
The City of Fayetteville Urban Forestry Department works with other City departments, as well as outside contractors, to plant trees. Every year, the Urban Forestry Department conducts a Tree Escrow planting with funds received from developments that were not able to achieve on-site mitigation. When other City departments are organizing the tree plantings, Urban Forestry staff assists by suggesting tree species to be planted. Tree planting projects happen in the fall and/or spring, as these are the best times to plant trees for survival. However, trees can be planted throughout winter if it is a mild winter. Staff chooses locations for tree plantings based on right-of-ways that are lacking trees.
Tree replacements are conducted by the Transportation Department or the Urban Forestry Department in fall or (if it is mild) winter.
As representatives of the people of Fayetteville, the City’s forest management practices focus on providing an urban forest that is safe, healthy, diverse and able to provide the greatest benefit to the people, wildlife and environment of the City.