By Mallorie Barber
Background
Marilyn Ray Smith is a Brookline resident and tree lover. She is on the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance board and is a park advisor for the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. At her first meeting as a park advisor, she learned that gas leaks were killing 150 trees along the Emerald Necklace, spurring an ongoing commitment to protecting Massachusetts trees.
Why is tree canopy expansion and protection important?
We now understand the climate, health, and social impacts of tree canopy such as cleansing the air, calming traffic, reducing crime, mitigating floods, reducing the impacts of drought, and cooling the streets. In Massachusetts today, the Gateway Cities program supports 26 designated cities with planting trees and many other towns have developed their own programs to expand the urban tree canopy. But a lot of the cities and towns that need trees the most because of their greater exposure to climate, health, and social impacts, don’t have the resources to apply for a grant, or to raise the money, or to marshal the nonprofit organizations to go door to door and make tree planting happen.
It's a great thing to plant a tree, even a little baby tree, but many of us are amateurs -- I'm an amateur, and I make mistakes all the time. It's very helpful to have someone who can tell you that a particular tree is going to thrive in this environment because it's dry and hot, and this other tree is going to thrive in this environment because it's cool and muddy. This is why it would be so valuable to have expertise at the state level, so we aren’t expecting 351 cities and towns to each become experts on trees.
There's also increasing emphasis on native trees because they are hardy, friendly to pollinators, and in sync with local seasonal cycles. This is a great development, but it means there's a scarce supply of native trees and therefore a need for a coordinated strategy to develop our local nurseries to grow these trees here in New England.
What is the Municipal Reforestation Act?
The Municipal Reforestation Act addresses all of these needs. It creates a program that requires municipalities with more than 10,000 residents to create a reforestation plan, with their efforts supported by an Urban Forest Advisory Council under the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It also allows groups of smaller towns to collaborate on a regional plan. The Forest Advisory Council will provide technical expertise on topics ranging from which trees are needed, to advice from the Department of Conservation and Recreation on how to plant trees in densely populated neighborhoods with limited space, including planting trees in front and back yards, where there is no room for street trees. The Department of Transportation is also involved, because changes to street infrastructure may be needed to achieve optimal canopy.
The bill has a long-term target of 60% tree canopy cover for every municipality – one that produces enough tree density to create a canopy and achieve all the positive benefits of trees. The bill prioritizes communities that have 20% or less canopy cover and have high levels of air pollution, heat islands, and/or are designated environmental justice neighborhoods. Then after we’ve focused on those communities, we go to communities with 40% tree canopy cover, and then after that over time to the ideal tree canopy cover of 60%.
The funding is the final piece. The bill calls for funding to come from a variety of sources: state appropriations, environmental bond bills, federal grants, private grants, and donations. Funds will be managed by a Municipal Reforestation Trust Fund, administered by the secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs through an equity-weighted formula.
How can we support the bill?
The bill was filed in the Senate by Senator Cynthia Creem from Newton, and in the House by Rep. Steve Owens from Watertown and Rep. Jennifer Armini from Marblehead. It has had its hearing before the Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources and will be reported out favorably, we hope, in February.
What we need right now is to make it clear that this work is important to people across the Commonwealth. Municipalities especially have a powerful voice in moving this bill forward. Every legislator represents a city or town and wants to support what their residents are enthusiastic about.
Climate change is not a faraway idea anymore – we are feeling the impacts right here in Massachusetts. Planting trees is a tangible, real tool to mitigate those effects, sequester carbon, and make our communities healthier.
Your support can make a big difference. Call the offices of the Senate and House Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources, asking them to give the Municipal Reforestation Act a favorable report. Encourage your local select board or city council to pass a resolution in support of the bill. Let your state representative and senator know that this bill is a priority for you and your community and ask them to exert their influence with the Committee and with their colleagues. Be ready to respond to Sierra Club Action Alerts. Together we can make a difference for healthier communities!