In October, the Street Tree Inventory team completed a three-year project to evaluate, map and identify all of Portland’s street trees. Urban Forestry's Tree Inventory Data Collectors recorded the species, location, diameter, condition, and site information for 252,205 trees, providing critical information on the state and evolution of our urban forest. This work updates inventory data collected between 2010 and 2016 and will help guide future decisions on how to best manage our city’s trees.

The updated inventory results are now available on the Street Tree Inventory Project page. Urban Forestry’s Science and Policy workgroup is also developing a new interactive dashboard and map that will allow the public to explore the Street Tree Inventory data in more detail. This dashboard will be unveiled at the Tree Summit, a community event celebrating trees, scheduled for early April 2025. Stay tuned to Tree Bark for more details as we get closer to the event date.

This winter, Urban Forestry is working with contractors to plant new street trees in neighborhoods where the benefits of a lush canopy have been scarcest, through the Free Street Tree program. The 1,600 street trees to be planted this fall and winter are part of an effort to plant 15,000 new trees on public and private property over the next five years as part of the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) Equitable Tree Canopy program. This year, the neighborhoods being served are Kerns, Buckman, Foster-Powell, Kenton, King, Mt. Scott-Arleta, Piedmont, South Tabor, Wilkes, and Creston-Kenilworth—look for white marks on curbs indicating where these new plantings are planned! If you are a property owner who initially declined a free street tree but have since changed your mind, reach out to our team.

The contractors hired by Urban Forestry will water and prune these trees for three years, with additional pruning scheduled at five and 10 years to ensure they become well-established and stable. The trees are selected based on an equity framework: they require minimal maintenance beyond the usual autumn leaf-fall, are climate-resilient, and are the right size for each space where they are planted.

The trees of our city provide essential services for people and the environment. As they grow, they enhance the beauty of our surroundings, create habitats for wildlife, and contribute to the well-being of our communities, all while shading and cooling our neighborhoods during the hot summer months. To this effort, Urban Forestry is planting seeds to grow trusting community partnerships in the spaces where trees may be needed the most.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out, we love to hear from you! FreeTrees@PortlandOregon.gov or 503-823-4025