What rules apply to trees in Tacoma?
TMC 9.20 Tacoma Municipal Code Chapter 9.20, which is titled "Urban Forestry" and regulates tree planting, pruning, and removal within the city's right-of-way and public property
How to decide what tree is appropriate for specific situations?
Donate money you can depend will benefit Tacoma’s Tree Canopy?
Find out what’s happening regarding our Urban Forest in Tacoma?
City of Tacoma Urban Forestry Department
Discover what other cities are doing?
Local: MRSC Urban Forestry
Nationwide: Vibrant Cities
National: US Department of Agriculture Urban Forests
International: American Forests
How to value trees?
Where to seriously research all aspects of Urban Forestry?
International Society of Arboriculture
Where to understand Stormwater issues?
More Information
Why Does Tacoma Have Such Few Trees?
Settlement Clearcut
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“When outsiders first entered what is now known as Puget Sound, they marveled at the immense old growth forests that blanketed the shorelines and inland valleys” (From ‘Brief History of the South Sound Country’ by Edward Echtle). Imagine being British Captain George Vancouver when he first entered Puget Sound in 1792, sailing among the islands in sight of the Olympic Mountains, only to seek the land further south leading to a magnificent peak he sighted on May 8th, known to local tribes as Mount Tahoma. He sent Peter Puget to explore the area and penned the mountain as Mount Rainier, after his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier.
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For 13 thousand years this richly forested land had been habited and preserved by native tribes who lived off the abundant salmon in the creeks, protected from the weather by dense forests, and rewarded by the sun with meadows of wildflowers and native flowering rhododendrons in the spring. Dominant in the area were the SpuyalÉ™pabš, a peaceful group of native Americans, who in their own Lushootseed language, were and are still known as the puyalapabs.
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After welcoming the new settlers and peacefully helping them survive, the Puyallup Tribe was officially named in1854 when forced onto one of three reservations by the US Government. Three tough years of war followed as they tried to defend their heritage, and the Puyallup Tribe was overwhelmed and forced back onto their reservation. This also marked the beginning of clearcutting by the settlers, as the booming young town of Tacoma became the logging and pulp mill center of the northwest.​
By the time Washington became the Evergreen State in 1889, Tacoma homeowners were beginning to plant trees to replace the ones that had been clear cut to create their neighborhoods. These are the trees, as exemplified in Wright Park, that represent the base of our canopy today, and the trees we must protect for our future. These are the only trees we can offer the Puyallup Tribe as tribute to the thousands of years they stewarded the original growth timber that forms the structure of many of the homes built on their land between 1880 and 1930 that we still live in today.
This picture tells the story. No Trees. Lots of mud. Not very pretty, but still permeable. Amazing how mother nature compensates. No stormwater yet to the sound!​
For the next 100 years, except for those few trees replanted by the settlers in the city’s north end, the people of Tacoma have lived without the benefit of a tree canopy. During this same timeframe, Tacoma has added impermeable surface everywhere. Rooftops, sidewalks, patios, driveways, play yards, malls, warehouses, retail markets, parking lots, public gathering places, freeways and streets all cause water to move rather than to soak in. Some of this water enters our stormwater drainage system where it can be treated, at great expense, before being dumped into Puget Sound. But most of it flows across the impervious landscape, down our hills and into Commencement Bay, or some other creek or waterway, which in turn flows into Puget Sound.
Tacoma’s current urban forest is essentially limited to uninhabited Point Defiance, Wright Park, and a few gulches. We are left with a few streets like North Union and North 30th in the Proctor area, and a few others in the Stadium and North Slope Districts as examples of what we now seek throughout the rest of Tacoma. It is our challenge to replace the trees cut down by settlers 150 years ago.
May 2024 at North 30th & North Proctor May 2024 at North Union & North 30th
How many streets in Tacoma can look like this in 2095? If we reforest the City, we will see streets like this all over Tacoma.
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Our heritage lives with the Puyallup Tribe, some of whom can still remember the fear and frustration of their grandparents who watched their life-supporting forest disappear. Our challenge is to join forces with our native Americans to restore our forest to its intended life-supporting purpose as stewarded before we clearcut “the immense old growth forests that blanketed the shorelines and inland valleys” of Puget Sound.
Housing and Trees
vs.
Do you think those two bushes will offer any relief to this brand-new housing development?
The Lessons of History
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When our founding fathers took over the lands of south Puget Sound during the end of the 19th century, we were blessed with a dense forest that had supported native Americans for thousands of years. Had we understood how valuable that forest was, we might have saved a few trees for future generations. Had we listened to the puyalapabs, we would have respected what was given to us.
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History and science together tell us trees are vital to a healthy environment for all forms of living beings. Of course we need places to live, but so do squirrels and birds and insects that form the foundation of the native habitat that nurtures our daily existence. The lessons of Tacoma’s history are clear. Cut down every tree and suffer the consequences. Placing higher priority on housing than retaining the natural foundation of our Pacific Northwest leads to uncomfortable and unhealthy living, no matter its cost. A healthy future for generations to come requires that we invest now in the restoration of our urban forest.