Winnipeg Urban Forest Strategy

The term urban forest describes the sum total of all trees, vegetation, soil, and associated natural processes across a landscape – both on public and private land. This includes all trees in parks and existing forests, on streets, private properties and agricultural lands, and as part of other ecosystems.

Winnipeg’s urban forest faces many significant challenges. These challenges include insects and disease that threaten the most common tree species in the city, as well as climate change and urban development that continue to place pressure on the urban tree canopy. These combined challenges threaten the urban forest’s capacity to provide beneficial ecosystem services like cooling, improved air quality, rainwater interception, and habitat connectivity – all key contributors to our city’s resilience. The Winnipeg Urban Forest Strategy provides an opportunity to establish a long-term vision for the urban forest, to develop clear guidance and measurable outcomes, and to identify the resources required to sustain an urban forest that is resilient to current and future challenges.

Developing the Winnipeg Urban Forest Strategy will require:

• Analyzing technical information and data to assess the current state of the city’s urban forest 
• Conducting jurisdictional scans to look at how other municipalities are responding to similar challenges
• Engaging with residents and stakeholders to identify priorities and potential solutions for preserving, protecting, growing, and enhancing the urban forest
• Developing a community-supported vision for the urban forest that captures Winnipeggers’ perspectives on identity, culture, and long-term wants and needs 
• Drafting a strategy that uses information gathered through analysis and engagement to shape a vision and recommendations for managing Winnipeg’s urban forest
• Refining the draft Strategy and recommendations with feedback from residents, City staff and other stakeholders

The City manages more than 300,000 public trees on our streets and in our parks. The Urban Forestry Branch is responsible for the City’s public tree inventory, including tree planting, watering, pruning, removals, protection and inspections, Dutch Elm Disease management on all properties, public education, consulting and extension services, and contract administration.

The City has been planting trees on boulevards and in urban parks since the late 1800s. American elm was a tree of choice because it is native and hardy, reaches a grand size, and creates beautiful arching canopies over streets. Our city has the largest urban population of American elms in North America. When Dutch Elm Disease (DED) was first discovered in Winnipeg in 1975, the City responded and quickly became a municipal leader in DED management.

As an alternative to the American elm, ash trees were widely planted because they are also native and can tolerate Winnipeg’s climate and urban conditions. However, ash is now under threat with the 2017 detection of emerald ash borer and cottony ash psyllid infestations. The City began reducing the number of ash trees planted in 2009, and altogether stopped planting ash trees in 2016. Few other shade tree species offer the same promise of reliable growth that elm and ash have historically provided.

Dutch Elm Disease (DED) was first detected in Winnipeg in 1975. Since then, the City has become known as a North American leader in municipal DED management. Winnipeg’s Urban Forestry Branch conducts annual city-wide surveillance of all American elms, monitors for and enforces proper disposal of elm firewood, removes diseased elms from public and private properties, and prunes and plants a diverse mix of trees on public property. The City’s Insect Control Branch conducts elm bark beetle control. The Urban Forestry Branch also provides public education in partnership with Trees Winnipeg, a local non-government urban forestry organization. 

Find more information at: https://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/parksOpenSpace/UrbanForestry/DED.stm

Emerald ash borer (EAB) was discovered in the City in 2017. The City’s early EAB response included surveillance and tree removal in the areas where EAB was first detected. The Urban Forestry Branch has identified the "Slow Ash Mortality," or SLAM approach as the most effective to manage EAB and the loss of our ash trees to this invasive pest. Through this approach, a percentage of eligible ash trees on public properties will be injected with an approved pesticide to preserve them as long as possible to help manage the losses. The remaining ash trees on public properties will be removed as they die and will possibly be replaced over time. Currently, this approach is being applied as existing resources permit. 

Find more information at: https://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/parksOpenSpace/UrbanForestry/EmeraldAsh.stm

The report outlines current local context, ongoing opportunities, and current and future challenges that will help inform strategy development.

• The 2021 service-based budget for tree planting, tree pruning and removals, and Dutch elm disease is $12.2 million and capital budget for reforestation and urban forest enhancement is $6.18 million
• The approximate annual budget for boulevard and park tree maintenance is $15/tree (not including DED management)

• More than 90 percent of the public tree inventory is in fair to good condition; just six percent of trees in the public tree inventory are in poor or dead condition
• Trees are pruned approximately once in 31 years  
• In 2020, approximately 19% of boulevard and park trees removed were replanted
• There are approximately up to 14,500 sites to plant replacement trees and approximately 26,000 vacant sites to plant new trees on public property