PURPOSE OF THIS URBAN TREE CANOPY ASSESSMENT

The City of Tacoma is located within Pierce County, Washington, south of the Seattle metropolitan area. It is approximately 49 square miles or 31,607 acres of which 31,476 are land acres. Across the city, trees along streets, in parks, yards, and natural areas constitute a valuable urban and community forest. This resource is a critical element of the region’s green infrastructure, contributing to environmental quality, public health, water supply, local economies and aesthetics. The primary goal of this assessment was to provide a baseline and benchmark of the City’s tree canopy and interpret the results across a range of geographic boundaries.

URBAN TREE CANOPY IN TACOMA

Results of this study indicated that in 2017, the city of Tacoma contained 20 percent urban tree canopy (or 6,406 of the city’s 31,607 total acres); 13 percent noncanopy vegetation (4,257 acres); 14 percent soil/dry vegetation (4,469 acres); 52 percent impervious (16,344 acres); and less than 1 percent water (132 acres). Existing urban tree canopy covers 20 percent of Tacoma’s land area (6,406 of the city’s 31,476 land acres). Of the city’s 80 percent of land area not presently occupied by tree canopy, 13 percent (4,604 acres) was suitable for future tree plantings and 67 percent (21,006 acres) was unsuitable due to its current land use or other restraint. surfaces.

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