FONTT sent an email to the City Council on July 18, 2023 advocating four clarifications regarding the goal of increasing biodiversity and the policy to favor native trees.

Mayor and Councilmembers,

Our group, Friends of Native Trees in Takoma (FONTT), recently submitted comments to the Urban Forest Manager on proposed changes to the city’s Approved Tree Species List.  We used this exercise as an opportunity to reflect, in light of three years of implementation, on the 2020 urban forest resolution and revisions to the municipal code regarding the urban forest (the “tree ordinance”).

Our conclusion was that the council should clarify certain points regarding the goal of increasing biodiversity and favoring native trees.  Otherwise, here in Takoma Park, we may see Maryland native trees disfavored in the future, and unnecessary harm done to the biodiversity in the natural ecosystem that depends on these trees.

Summary

We advocate the following clarifications of the current biodiversity goal and related measures in the tree ordinance:

1. Specify that “native species” means species native to Maryland.

2. Favor native species and promote their climate resilience.

3. If a native species is not suitable for a specific site, favor a climate-resilient near-native.

4. Ensure that the Annual Urban Forest Management Report gives the number and species of trees planted by street location for the preceding year.

Background

The previous council undertook an extensive review of the city’s tree policies, 2018-2020, culminating in revisions to the tree ordinance.  As part of the review, the previous council also adopted a resolution on the overarching goals and principles for urban forest policies in Takoma Park.  

In the resolution, two goals concerned tree canopy coverage targets, while the third goal regarding biodiversity and native species was as follows:

“increased biodiversity (such as species, size) and a focus on planting of native species, and where appropriate, climate-adapted species” (2020-15 Resolution, page 2).

In the revised tree ordinance, the following two measures were designed inter alia to give traction to the above biodiversity goal:

• The Annual Urban Forest Manager’s Report would report on the numbers and percentages of native and climate adapted trees relative to non-natives (Para 12.12.140.B).
• An Approved Tree Species List, favoring native and climate-adapted trees, would indicate which species would be planted with city funds, on public land, or by property owners replacing trees in connection with a tree removal permit (Para 12.12.140.D).

Need for Clarifications by the City Council

We are proud that our city has joined a small group of municipalities who have recognized their power to address the intertwined global crises of biodiversity loss and climate change at the local level.  That said, certain aspects of the biodiversity goal and related measures in the tree ordinance need clarification, as the wording is open to conflicting interpretations.

The City Council is the appropriate body to discuss and resolve these differences, because they require fundamentally political, not technical, decisions about how to interpret the intention behind the biodiversity goal and revised measures.

Below we outline what clarifications we suggest and why.

Suggested Clarifications

1.    Specify that “native species” means species native to Maryland.

Neither the resolution nor the tree ordinance specifies native to where: Maryland? the Mid-Atlantic region? east of the Mississippi? North America?  We strongly advocate that “native species” should be understood as species native to Maryland.

The main reason to use this definition is that it aligns with the purpose behind the biodiversity goal in our view, which we can summarize as follows:

to sustain the biological community in Takoma Park and surrounding areas by protecting the interactions among native trees and other native species that provide food, shelter, and the requisites for reproduction.

This focus on Maryland is also practical.  Two highly reputable and easy-to-use sources identify Maryland native plants:

• Smithsonian Institution, 2021, Vascular Plants of Maryland USA: A Comprehensive Analysis of the State’s Botanical Diversity.
• The Biota of North America Program, North American Plant Atlas (US County Level Species Maps: List by Genus).

2.    Favor Maryland native tree species and promote their climate resilience.

The tree ordinance refers to favoring “native species and climate adapted species.”  This phrasing differs from that in the resolution (“favor native species, and if appropriate, climate adapted species”) and seems to suggest a false choice.

First, it suggests that researchers have determined which tree species will thrive best in our city’s environment 50 to 100 years from now.  We’re not convinced that the data are sufficiently strong for that determination at present, especially considering the environmental disservices that non-native trees may deliver by not supporting other native species.

Second, positing a trade-off between planting native versus climate-adapted species obscures the many ways in which the climate resilience of native species can be enhanced.  These tactics include:

• Plant native species whose ranges extend south of Takoma Park.  For example, perhaps the city no longer plants sugar maples as street trees, since Takoma Park is located at the southernmost limit of the range for that species.
• Plant native species seedlings that are sourced from farther south, e.g., Quercus alba (white oaks) grown from Virginia or North Carolina acorns.
• Increase the number of native species on the approved species list, and therefore the number of options available to plant at any given site.  A poor match between species and site can predispose a tree to failure that is then incited by a climate-related factor such as drought or flooding.
• Adapt installation and management practices to climate change–for example, more watering during droughts, longer post-installation care, improved tree boxes, and accessing good sites for street trees on private land through agreements with the property owners.

3.    If a native species is not suitable for a specific site, favor a climate-resilient near-native.

We understand that it may not be possible to find a suitable native species for a specific site for some reason.  However, the phrasing “native species and climate adapted species” opens the door to using tree species from ecosystems very dissimilar to ours.  It would require substantial investigation to establish whether non-natives from, say, the Mississippi Valley will support biodiversity in our area.  These non-natives should not be used unless and until this research has been done.

Near-natives, by contrast, are non-natives that come from a neighboring state and within the same Piedmont physiographic region in which Takoma Park is located.  Near-natives from states to our south, such as Virginia and North Carolina, are part of biological communities that we can expect to be gradually migrating north due to climate change.  Near-natives could thus contribute to supporting the evolving biodiversity in our area.

4.    Ensure that the Annual Urban Forest Management (UFM) Report gives the number and species of trees planted by street location for the preceding year.

The tree ordinance requires that the Annual UFM Report give the location and species of the trees planted by the City and by property owners who planted replacement trees.  In last year’s report, however, the locations of planted trees were not reported.

Prior to the revised ordinance, we would learn the number and species of trees planted by street location from a councilmember who requested this information from the Urban Forest Manager and received a simple table in response.  We advocated that location and species be added to the requirements for the Annual UFM Report because we believed—and clearly the council agreed—that this information ought to be more widely and more readily accessible, allowing residents to see for their neighborhood what trees the city was directly and indirectly (through permittee tree replacements) planting.

To further residents’ understanding, we believe the UFM Report should state:

• the street address,
• the number and species of trees planted at that address, with common and scientific names, and
• the program under which the trees there were planted.

Regards,

Gene Blanton                               Sharon Broderick

Linda Carlson                               Gina Deavers

Julie Dobo                                     Jim Douglas

Stuart Gagnon                             Bob Gibson

Seth Grimes                                  Danny Gubits

Sarah Gubits                                 Larry Himelfarb

Diane Ives                                      Kopal Jha

Byrne Kelly                                    Lizz Kleemeier

Ellen Knowles                              Slater Knowles

Virginie Ladisch                           Larry Lempert

Rita Marth                                     Geoff Maxson

Tim Rahn                                       Tom Salyers

Susan Schreiber                           Mark Sherman

Bradley Simpson                         Elizabeth Strickler

Elizabeth Thornhill                     Sue Tripp

Kelly Vaena                                   Meg Voorhes

James Wang                                 Jeremy Wells

Barbara Whitney                        Becca Williamson

Pablo Wolfe

Non-resident FONTT member:
Kit Gage, Advocacy Director, Friends of Sligo Creek