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The trees page is an effort to encourage home owners and developers to keep and or re-plant site appropriate trees on their property in order to restore and preserve the tree canopy of Bridlemile and SW Portland.

Our perception of Bridlemile is to a great extent defined by its trees. They bring beauty to our streets.

4900 block of SW35th, just North of Albert Kelly Park. Photo by Victor von Salza
4900 block of SW35th, just North of Albert Kelly Park. Photo by Victor von Salza

The trees in our neighbors yards are often what constitute our views and sense of place.

4917 SW37th, just North of Albert Kelly Park. Photo by Victor von Salza
4917 SW37th, just North of Albert Kelly Park. Photo by Victor von Salza

And they are the background of our memories of other activities we enjoy in Bridlemile.

Hamilton Park looking North. Photo by Victor von Salza
Hamilton Park looking North. Photo by Victor von Salza

But each housing development and home remodel often results in the removal of trees from our neighborhood.

The Value of Trees

Trees provide many benefits: improved air and water quality, reduce runoff, noise reduction, summer cooling, winter heating, habitat for birds and other critters, aesthetics, privacy, and can significantly increase the resale value of your property.

Choosing Site Appropriate Trees for Your Yard

Just as the right tree can add value and save you money the wrong tree - one that will grow too tall, requires lots of water, is prone to disease, not suited for your soils, is overly messy, or has very invasive roots - or even the right tree planted in the wrong place - too close to your home, foundation, or power lines - can be a significant detriment to your yard and pocketbook. Therefore consulting with a local arborist to find a selection of trees appropriate for the conditions in your yard is well worth the time, effort, and dollars spent.

The Hoyt Arboretum is a great place to see mature tree species. Visit it at different times of year to see their spring bloom, summer shading, fall color, and winter form.

Tree Regulations and Enforcement

Current tree regulations are very complex, as shown in this flowchart:

TrPtFlCht.pdf 84 KB / 1 page

making it too difficult to simply determine whether or not you need a permit to cut a particular tree on your property, and if so who to get it from. Enforcement of existing regulations is pretty much confined to the site plan review process, with virtually no follow up on site after construction takes place.

In March of 2005, Greg Schifsky, Margot Barnett, John Gibbon, Leonard Gard and others (see page 16 of PDF below) began a series of meetings to research the problem and come up with specific workable solutions and recommendations. After seven months of work, peer and SWNI review, here are their findings and recommendations:

Tree Protection and Preservation Report.pdf 524 KB / 20 pages

If you have questions regarding Tree regulations, e.g. whether or not you need a permit to cut a tree on your property, please contact SWNI Land Use Specialist Leonard Gard leonard@swni.org, 503-823-4592

Urban Forest Management Plan(UFMP)

An interbureau team of City staff, led by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation, has been working on a UFMP Implementation Strategy action plan to implement the 2004 Portland Urban Forest Management Plan. The goal of both is the protection and enhancement of the city's urban forest: it's public and private trees and natural areas.

If you'd like to join a working group to dedicated to formulating next steps in protecting and expanding the urban forest canopy in the Portland-Vancouver Region contact Jim Labbe, jlabbe@urbanfauna.org, 971-222-6112 and read all the latest at http://www.urbanfauna.org.

Related Links:
• Friends of Trees
• Portland Plant List - Native Trees
• Portland Tree Liaison Program/Training - Learn how to prune and care for trees in your neighborhood - become a Neighborhood Tree Liaison (NTL). This 10-session course, offered by Portland Parks & Recreation/Urban Forestry Division, will teach you general tree care, tree biology, tree planting, preservation, and identification. Once trained, NTLs work with Urban Forestry staff to educate their neighbors on proper tree care and the importance of a healthy urban forest.
• Tualatin Riverkeepers Urban Forestry page talks about and shows examples of the environmental, storm water, and economic benefits of trees in urban settings.
• US forests cost-effective vs global warming study shows that trees can play crucial role in battle against global warming.
• Urban Fauna - Friends of Advocates of Urban Natural Areas, a group of individuals and organizations dedicated to the protection and restoration of watersheds for fish, wildlife, and people and more fully integrating the built and natural environments in the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Region.
• Urban Greenspaces Institute
• Western Washington and Oregon Community Tree Guide.pdf 2.9MB - good information on benefits, costs, general guidelines for selecting and siting trees, recommended trees for western Washington and Oregon communities

• Preparing Tree Preservation Plans.pdf 2.7MB
• BDS Tree Review Doc.pdf 432KB
• Portland Maps