Forestry Division Rocks the Block

The Urban Forestry Division takes seriously the responsibility of managing the 40,000 trees that line our city streets. Since the release of the Urban Forest Plan in September of 2022, the Division has been building capacity and delivering results. This is no small task, considering managing trees in a city environment is very different than tending to trees on forested land. Trees in cities need to be pruned regularly—not only for the safety of vehicles, pedestrians and houses, but also for the health of the trees themselves.

The street tree pruning in Boston has traditionally focused on responding to resident requests in the 311 system. While those cases are still a priority, the Division has now embarked on a broader and more systematic approach. Rather than sending a crew to address a single case, our arborists are also out creating work orders for entire blocks at a time. This proactive “block pruning” system is a more efficient use of resources and will result in more trees being maintained across the City.

In an effort to preserve our tree canopy and all of its benefits, maintaining our existing trees is one of the primary goals of the Urban Forest Plan. Block pruning will contribute significantly to achieving this goal. Before the Urban Forest Plan, the Division pruned on average 2,500 trees per year. In contrast, from January through August of this year, the division has already pruned 4,000 street trees. The Division is well on its way to doubling the amount of tree maintenance done this year.

Implementation of this strategy has been focused on some of the busier streets in neighborhoods across the city including:

• Brighton: Washington St.
• Dorchester: Quincey St.
• East Boston: Bennington St.
• Hyde Park: Dana St.
• Roxbury: Keegan St.
• South End: Clarendon St.
• West Roxbury: Montclair Ave.

You can look forward to more proactive tree pruning throughout your neighborhood in the months and years ahead!