Trees and Land Management

Trees are a vital part of a community’s green infrastructure. How can local governments do more to promote reforestation and sustainable land-use practices?

Trees provide vital ecosystem services that result in cleaner air, storm water retention and transpiration, erosion prevention, carbon storage, and wildlife habitat. Trees form a natural shield from ultra-violet rays from the sun. The shade and natural cooling from urban trees have the secondary effects of reducing heat island effects and saving energy. Trees also improve community aesthetics and raise property values. Healthy green open spaces are critical to the overall health of the urban landscape.

What Communities can do

  • Educate residents about the benefits of trees, native plants, and biological diversity. Sources of information include the Cox Arboretum, the Ohio Native Plant Society – Miami Valley/Dayton Chapter, Tree City USA, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Program. A good way to engage residents is to sponsor training programs such as those offered by Five Rivers MetroParks or the Ohio State University Extension, including Master Gardener training and the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist program. In general, it is important to emphasize education of private property owners because there is a lot more private land than public land in the Miami Valley.
  • Use the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Asian longhorned beetle Tree Check materials to educate your residents about the ALB and how to detect it. Protect the trees in your community.
  • The Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) also provides workshops for the public.
  • Inform residents of annual native plant sales at MEEC and Aullwood Audubon.
  • Educate residents about the importance of maintaining soil quality. County Soil and Water Conservation Districts have resources.

  • The maintenance of urban trees requires knowledge and skill, so employ or develop a relationship with a qualified arborist and provide adequate training and budgets for existing staff. The Ohio Division of Forestry offers a Tree Commission Academy for training.
  • Assess your community’s tree canopy, since an accurate inventory is needed for good management. A field-based tree inventory can also be useful. More information about types of urban forest assessments can be at USDA A Guide to Assessing Urban Forests.
  • Develop a municipal tree planting program funded at a level to maintain and restore the tree canopy. The City of Hamilton has an excellent example of online mapping of tree plantings. Make sure to follow best practices to plant the right trees in the right places in the right way so they survive. Also take projected climate changes into account when selecting tree species.
  • Become a Tree City USA — If your community has not already done so, become a Tree City USA by meeting the four standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and celebrating Arbor Day. While meeting these minimum standards does not guarantee a sustainable urban forest, it sends a message about the importance of trees, even in times of tight budgets.
  • Include storm preparedness in municipal emergency response plans, so you can deal with tree damage and wood waste reutilization in a safe and sustainable manner.
  • Make the commitment to public education and sustainable pollinator habitat and become a “Bee City USA” community. Vandalia and Wright-Patterson AFB are both certified Bee Cities.
  • Use native plants on city, county, and township grounds to set a good example for sustainable landscaping. Many garden centers are offering more native species these days. OhioNativePlants.org provides a a list of Ohio native plant nurseries on their website. County Soil & Water Conservation Districts offer workshops on using native plants to create backyard habitats.

  • Tree protection ordinance — Municipal tree ordinances can address trees on public land (such as street trees), trees on private land (tree preservation and landscape planting requirements), and the ways that trees impact views or impact solar access. The International Society of Arboriculture provides a guide. Also note that there is an emerging trend to focus less on the protection of individual trees today and more on ensuring a healthy percent of tree cover in the future.
  • Tree and woodland protection in developing areas — Communities with development occurring on wooded sites have different tree protection needs than urban communities. The Ohio Balanced Growth Program offers strategies for protecting blocks of trees in these areas and long-term strategies for ensuring adequate tree cover.
  • Permitting native and edible plants - To remove legal barriers to residents growing food or beneficial native plants, ordinances should be modified to allow such uses. In Cleveland Heights, for example, the updated landscaping ordinance (see Chapt. 1166) is modeled on a typical nuisance ordinance, but distinguishes native plantings and other alternatives to turf grass, and defines edible landscaping as a substitute for lawns. The ordinance requires a plan, setbacks, and maintenance of native landscaping to address the nuisance concerns that typically accompany alternatives to turf. In addition, the Ohio Balanced Growth Program offers guidance on natural areas establishment and management.
  • Complete and green streets — See Transportation chapter.
  • Stream setbacks — See Water Quality chapter.
  • Green infrastructure and storm water — See Water Quality chapter.
  • Urban garden zoning — See Food chapter.

To improve the ecological functioning and beauty of the regional landscape, all communities in the Miami Valley can:
  • Support regional reforestation efforts.
  • Participate in multi-community greenspace and trail planning efforts.
  • Work with land protection organizations — such as the Tecumseh Land Trust, Three Valley Conservation Trust, B-W Greenway Community Land Trust, Trust for Public Land, and the region’s many Park Districts — to protect parcels of high-quality greenspace.