City of Bellingham Urban Forestry Management Plan
Introduction
Bellingham's Urban Forestry Management Plan
Bellingham cares about its trees.
The Bellingham community has long valued urban forests, yet the City has not had an overarching strategic plan to help guide management and stewardship efforts. The City of Bellingham is now developing its first Urban Forestry Management Plan (UFMP) to establish a long-term vision for the City’s urban forest and document shared community values, goals, strategies and priority actions to achieve this vision.
This interactive page provides information about the City’s 2022 State of the Urban Forest report . Watch this short video to learn more about the current state of Bellingham’s urban forest and explore this interactive page to find out more about the data.
You can provide your input about Bellingham’s urban forest until June 15 th , 2022. Find out more at www.engagebellingham.org .
How to navigate the page
Click on the tabs above or scroll down to learn more about the state of Bellingham’s urban forest and explore the data. On this page, you can explore the data and learn more about:
- The city’s canopy cover
- The quality of our forests
- Tree equity
- Habitat
- Ecosystem services
- Next steps + how to provide your feedback
What is the urban forest?
Bellingham’s urban forest consists of a large network of forests and trees across public and private land. Bellingham’s urban forest is found on Coast Salish land and waters that have been cared for by the peoples of Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation and Nuxwsa’7aq (Nooksack) Tribe since time immemorial.
Where is the urban forest?
Bellingham’s urban forest spans both public and private property and includes the street trees, parks trees, forested open spaces, trees on institutional campuses, and trees in many private ownership settings, ranging from parking lots to backyards.
The largest proportion of canopy cover is located on private land; it contributes 54% of the total canopy area.
*click on the chart to enlarge
How do we benefit from the urban forest?
The urban forest provides significant benefits to our community including cleaning pollutants from our air, storing carbon, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, avoiding stormwater runoff, and producing oxygen. Trees also provide habitat for fish and wildlife and benefit our physical and mental health. Prioritizing a healthy urban forest prioritizes the health and wellbeing of Bellingham’s community as a whole.
Measuring canopy cover
What is canopy cover?
Canopy cover is a common measurement used to describe the quantity and distribution of the urban forest. It refers to the area occupied by the tree crown (upper leafy surface) when viewed from above the tree from a bird’s eye view.
Bellingham’s canopy cover was estimated for the years 2006, 2013, and 2018 using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data and aerial imagery.
Canopy cover overview
This map shows the distribution of tree canopy within Bellingham’s City boundary and Urban Growth Area (UGA). Approximately In 2018, Bellingham’s canopy cover was estimated at:
- 40% within the City (7,252 acres of canopy)
- 42% within the City + Urban Growth Area (UGA; 9,613 acres of canopy)
Explore the data: Use the +/- buttons on the upper left corner to zoom in and out of the map, or type in an address in the upper right corner. Click and drag the spyglass on the map to see what canopy cover looks like in high and low canopy areas across the city.
Canopy cover by neighborhood
As you may have noticed on the previous map, canopy cover is not evenly distributed across Bellingham. You can explore the neighborhood map to see how canopy cover varies across neighborhoods. The neighborhood with the highest canopy cover is South with 73%. The neighborhood with the lowest canopy cover is City Center with 10% canopy cover. The average City-wide canopy cover is 40%.
Explore the data: Use the +/- buttons on the upper left corner to zoom in and out of the map, or type in an address in the upper right corner. Click on the spyglass and drag it on the map to see what the neighborhoods look like on the air photo underneath.
Canopy cover change
This map shows changes in urban forest canopy cover between 2006 and 2018. Bellingham’s overall canopy cover remained relatively stable, but individual sites had canopy gains and losses.
Explore the data: Observe areas of canopy loss on the map between 2006 and 2018. Use the +/- buttons in the upper left corner or type in an address to zoom to a specific area.
*click on the graphic to enlarge
The quality of our forest
Assessing forest quality and maturity
Bellingham’s native forests are found in parks, riparian areas, and on rural lands on both public and private property. The quality and extent of forests within Bellingham were explored by mapping native forests five acres or greater in size and classifying them by successional stage, type, and height.
Approximately 6,120 acres of forest was mapped within the City boundary, and an additional 2,325 acres was mapped within the Urban Growth Area
Forests were assigned to one of six forest structure classes based on height, imagery review, and 16 ground sampling plots throughout the city. The chart on the right shows the six successional stages and what proportion of Bellingham’s native forests they represent.
Explore the graphic: Click on the green circle below each forest structure class in the graphic to the left to read about typical elements of each. Use the +/- buttons in the lower right corner to zoom to enlarge the graphic.
Bellingham’s forests and tall trees
Bellingham’s tallest tree is a 251-foot Douglas fir tree found in the southern portion of Bellingham. It is taller than Bellingham’s tallest building, the Bellingham Towers!
Explore the map to find out the forest structure stages across Bellingham. Most of Bellingham's forests are young and short, between 33 and 81 feet in height. This is the equivalent of a two to six story building.
Explore the data: Use the +/- buttons on the lower right corner to zoom in and out of the map, or type in an address in the upper left corner.
Mapping tree equity
Exploring equity in the urban forest
Maps presented in the ‘Measuring canopy cover’ tab show that canopy cover is not equally distributed across the city. As a result, benefits from the urban forest are not experienced equally across Bellingham’s neighborhoods. Households with lower incomes, minority groups, seniors, children, and unemployed people are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change and may benefit more from having trees near where they live and work.
To evaluate tree equity, the project team used American Forest’s Tree Equity Score methodology. A lower score (pale colours on the map) indicates a greater priority to increase canopy cover. You can learn more about the methodology here .
Canopy Cover
The Tree Equity Score combines data about lack of canopy cover (Canopy Gap) with data about the highest need for trees (Priority Index) to prioritize areas for tree planting. This map shows the existing canopy cover found in all neighborhoods, including the Urban Growth Area. It shows that neighborhoods in the city’s downtown core have the lowest canopy cover overall. To calculate the Canopy Gap, we measure the gap between a canopy cover target and the existing canopy cover. A canopy cover target is created for each neighborhood from a baseline canopy target of 40% (set by the USDA Forest Service) and is adjusted based on population density factors from The Nature Conservancy. See Tree Equity Score, below, for how the Canopy Gap score is used to calculate a Tree Equity Score.
Explore the data: Explore the current canopy cover by neighborhood.
Tree Equity Score
Benefits from trees and forests are not experienced equally across Bellingham. To evaluate tree equity, we applied American Forest’s Tree Equity Score methodology. This methodology uses Canopy Gap score (see above) and a Priority Index to calculate a Tree Equity Score. The Priority Index considers social factors and urban heat to identify areas with the greatest needs for the cooling benefits of canopy cover. The Priority Index is based on the most recent (2020) census data which includes income, employment, race, age, climate, and health.
The Tree Equity Score is calculated by multiplying the Priority Index with the Canopy Gap score. A lower Tree Equity Score indicates a greater priority for increasing canopy cover.
Overall, Bellingham has a high Tree Equity Score of 89 out of 100. This score is high, particularly when compared to nearby cities with similar population and area. However, neighborhoods in central Bellingham have lower than average Tree Equity Scores. This mapping will inform priorities for urban forest management.
Explore the data: Click on a neighborhood to see the Tree Equity Score. Zoom in on the map to see tree equity score at the census block group scale, click on a block group to explore the 2020 census data including income, employment, race, age, climate, and health.
Details informing the priority index include:
- Income: Percentage of population below 200% of poverty
- Employment: Unemployment rate
- Race: Percentage of people who are not white non-Hispanic
- Age: Ratio of seniors and children to working-age adults
- Climate: Urban Heat Island severity
- Health: Prevalence of poor mental, physical, respiratory, and cardiac health (composite index)
Habitat
Fish and wildlife habitat
Bellingham’s urban forest is home to critical fish and wildlife habitat found throughout Bellingham’s forests, including within riparian areas.
Riparian areas in the city averaged 40% canopy cover with Chuckanut Creek and Chuckanut Bay watersheds with the most canopy cover, exceeding 80%. Habitats important for wildlife exist throughout the city but are concentrated on the perimeters. The most significant barrier to wildlife movements is Interstate 5.
Explore the data: Click the watersheds on the map to see the canopy cover by riparian area within each watershed in 2018.
Click on the layer button on the upper left corner to explore Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Network layer (wildlife corridors, habitat areas, and significant movement barriers) and see where wildlife habitat is found in the city.
Ecosystem services
Ecosystem services
Benefits provided by trees in Bellingham are referred to as ecosystem services. A program called i-Tree Canopy was used to estimate the value of benefits provided. Bellingham’s urban forest canopy in 2018 provides an estimated $42 million in carbon storage benefits and annual benefits of more than $6 million related to carbon sequestration, avoided stormwater runoff, and air pollution removal.
Did you know Bellingham’s urban forest removes the equivalent of 327 Olympic sized swimming pools annually in stormwater runoff?
Did you know Bellingham’s urban forest offsets 6,653 passenger vehicles through annual sequestration per year?
The table below provides a summary of the urban forest benefits using 2018 canopy estimates.
*Click on the table to enlarge
Project next steps
How can you get involved?
You can provide your feedback on Bellingham’s urban forest. Your feedback will help create the vision, goals, and targets for an Urban Forestry Management Plan. To provide feedback visit engagebellingham.org/UFMP and:
- Take the online survey – take the 10-minute survey to share your thoughts on Bellingham’s urban forest. The survey is open from May 9 th to June 15 th 2022.
- Share your stories – have a story to tell about trees and forests in Bellingham? Share a story using the Stories tool.
- Share your favorite place – is there a special place in the urban forest that you care about? Share places in Bellingham that you value and places that could use improvement using the Places tool.
- Reading the State of the Urban Forest report ( here ) – You can read about key findings, maps, and data that will inform the Urban Forestry Management Plan.
Next steps
The data you explored, and more key findings provided in the State of the Urban Forest report, will directly inform the development of the Urban Forestry Management Plan.
Once the current round of public engagement closes on June 15 th , stay tuned for the second round of public engagement in spring 2023. In the second round of engagement, we will seek feedback on the draft Urban Forestry Management Plan to prioritize actions for implementation. Final plan approval will be completed by City Council.
