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Letter: Canopy, tree data sought for Richmond

Open letter to Mayor and Council: Pete McMartin wrote a piece on the diminishing tree canopy in Vancouver in the Vancouver Sun on May 10. He shares some Vancouver city data. In 1995, the tree canopy covered 22.
tree canopy
The two images show how much tree loss has been caused by new developments between 2002 and 2013. The images are of Gilhurst Crescent and Gilbert Road.

Open letter to Mayor and Council:

Pete McMartin wrote a piece on the diminishing tree canopy in Vancouver in the Vancouver Sun on May 10.

He shares some Vancouver city data. In 1995, the tree canopy covered 22.5 per cent of Vancouver and this had fallen by 2013 to 18 per cent. This is five per cent less than Seattle with its greater population and more industry. Most of the decline was on private land. The City of Vancouver has pledged to plant 150,000 trees by 2020.

Many residents in Richmond are deeply concerned about the loss of trees due to new development and increased construction.

I would be very grateful if you could let me know what the figures are for the  changing tree canopy of our city and any similar plans for significant tree-planting by the City of Richmond.

Mary Phillips

Richmond

(Editor’s note: The City of Richmond has a tree replacement policy but has not done a tree canopy study)