Corvallis Named Oregon Tree City of the Year

The City of Corvallis earned a pair of high-profile forestry honors this week as the community celebrated Arbor Week (March 31 – April 6). The City was named “Oregon Tree City of the Year” by Oregon Community Trees, a nonprofit that encourages community engagement in urban forestry, and the Oregon Department of Forestry. The City also marked its 18th year as a Tree City USA recipient, achieving Sterling status from the program in recognition of 10 years of sustained growth of its urban forestry program.

The accolades were announced at the April 1 meeting of the Corvallis City Council. Parks and Recreation staff and volunteers from the Neighborhood Tree Stewards program and the Civic Beautification and Urban Forestry Department Advisory Committee were on hand to accept the awards and share some of the highlights of the City’s urban forestry program, which is operated through the Parks and Recreation Department. 

In giving Corvallis the “Oregon Tree City of the Year” award, Oregon Community Trees praised the City’s urban forestry program as a “leader and an innovator in urban and community forestry” that works to develop a “diverse, healthy tree canopy throughout its city limits.”

Other achievements that contributed to the “Oregon Tree City of the Year” award included:

• Corvallis has an urban forestry program and staff, along with the requisite management plans and inventories.
• The City has been proactive about exploring ways to prepare for and manage a potential outbreak of emerald ash borer in native ash trees.
• Corvallis partners with local businesses to salvage and mill city trees that must be removed due to disease or decline.
• City  Parks and Recreation staff hold positions on statewide boards and advisory committees.
• Corvallis has a FireWise USA community (uncommon for western Oregon).

At the meeting, Parks and Recreation staff reported on the success of the newly launched Neighborhood Tree Stewards program, which recruits and trains community volunteers throughout Corvallis to maintain and nurture the urban forest. More than 50 Stewards have been recruited in the first two years of the program. Staff also reported that they had received a $500 Oregon Arbor Week Booster Grant to help pay for activities related to Arbor Week, such as tree plantings and public outreach events.

For more information on Urban Forestry in the City of Corvallis, go to www.corvallisoregon.gov/trees.