On Tuesday, June 25, the Fort Worth City Council adopted the Urban Forest Master Plan as the official guide for future decisions related to managing Fort Worth’s urban forest.
Fort Worth, the 12th largest and one of the fastest-growing large cities in the United States, loses up to 2,500 acres of natural open space annually. The master plan aims to manage, preserve, and grow the tree canopy amid ongoing growth and development.
The Texas Trees Foundation, City of Fort Worth Development Services Department, Park & Recreation Department, and other city departments led the creation of the report. The plan includes:
- Planning efforts to engage community stakeholders, developers, and forestry experts.
- Evaluating current urban forest resources, city policies, and ordinances.
- Recommending strategies to sustain and enhance the urban forest.
- Supplying methods to measure progress while addressing current and future urban forestry elements.
- Collaborating with the Park & Recreation Department to create green spaces throughout the city.
The development of the master plan involved extensive public input from meetings with the 18-member Steering Committee, city staff, six industry-related focus groups, a bilingual online survey, interviews, social media postings, and public engagement events gathering opinions from 2,300 community members and 55 participating organizations.
Key elements of the plan include identifying strategic partners for urban forest growth, priority planting and preservation areas, reassessing the citywide tree canopy goal, and recommending amendments to the Urban Forestry Ordinance.
To view the master plan, please visit the Urban Forest website here or download the plan here.
