Redmond Tree Canopy

Evans Creek Trail / Bob Yoder

Tree Canopy in Redmond is very important to our government officials and it's residents. In fact, every year for the past many years our Council and mayor have had multiple Study Sessions on our trees.  

Why is tree canopy so important?  Redmond’s character and main attraction for many community members is its trees, wooded areas, and urban forests. The benefits of trees and urban forests include reduced stormwater runoff, improved water and air quality, attractive communities, increased property values, greenhouse gas reduction, habitat for native wildlife,and improved quality of life, including finding serenity while hiking through Redmond's many wooded trails. 

Currently there are 4,062 acres of tree canopy within Redmond. I'm not sure if this includes our street trees and the Redmond Preserve. (Comments?) Overall, tree canopy coverage is declining at a rate of 12 to 13 acres per year as vacant and underutilized parcels continue to develop or redevelop. During the 2019 Redmond Lights festival I ran into Gary Smith, a parks and trails commissioner. He said a large development in North Redmond involved removing a significant number of trees; he thinks and hopes the trees will be replaced in the Keller Farm Mitigation Bank. 

The City of Redmond is currently at 38.1% tree canopy (as of 2017); the City is working hard to see this grow and has adopted a goal of 40% tree canopy by 2050.  The 2050 goal represents a 200-acre increase in canopy from where we are today. The City currently restores and plants approximately two acres of trees and shrubs annually and is planting four acres of trees in 2019 . Green Redmond recruits citizen volunteers to plant many of these trees.

John Reinke, a Redmond photojournalist, has taken many pictures of birds and wildlife in our woodland habitat. I sent him an outstanding article WITH great pictures titled "Super Trees."  It's a must see.  (For more on John's tree experiences "Read More"

Several years ago John held a fundraiser at his Redmond condominium to support a nonprofit protecting mangroves. Mangroves are significant shrimp habitat and are being destroyed by the shrimp industry when harvesting.   

To quote John:  "I'm not sure I have ever mentioned my involvement years ago, with a local Seattle nonprofit called the Mangrove Action Project .  It was founded around 1989 by Alfredo Quarto, a former Boeing engineer.

In 1996 I organized and co-led a group of young Americans to replant mangrove seedlings at a failed shrimp farm on the coast of Ecuador.  This was located not far from Muisne, a modest small beach resort town.  We were able to travel there from Quito by bus.  

We spent about two weeks there and worked with a local environmental group of young folks who had done a great deal of preparatory work in clearing the area to be replanted and previously planting mangrove seeds which then grew into replanteable seedlings.  Our group stayed in rooms in the small local hotel.

I had arrived in Quito five or six months earlier to attend a month of classes at a Spanish language school, and also to visit the local environmental group in Muisne in order to make arrangements for our subsequent group trip to that location.  I think we ended up with 10 or 12 persons who traveled down from the U.S.  It was quite a worthwhile experience.

In 1997, I joined another mangrove replanting expedition, this time to southern Thailand.  I went as a participant, not as a leader.  This was also a worthwhile and fascinating trip that was sponsored by the Mangrove Action Project. I still remember a few of the Thai phrases I learned on that trip."

-- John Reinke, 12/12/19

SUPER TREES!

https://www.vox.com/a/supertrees?fbclid=IwAR3grZfnOx-aerEDcILSdYMvyPfu3Rs_8rO9YA01AXPjhZm28MG0XU0HeCc

Reported by Bob Yoder, 12/13/19