Chicago Region

How to Build Laws, Regulations, and Policies to Protect Trees

Commonsense regulation and policy can help a community prioritize its tree canopy, maximizing the benefits of trees for its residents.

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Every community is different, with a unique combination of history, form of government, and local awareness of the value and many benefits of trees. Whether your community has tree laws that could be stronger or does not yet have a tree law, tools developed by The Morton Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program, the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, can help you tailor an ordinance for your community’s needs.

There are many ways tree policies can be implemented. Two major aspects of local tree laws include:

  • Tree protection: Ensuring trees on already-developed property are not damaged or removed
  • Tree preservation: Concerning trees threatened by land development and construction.

Ordinances for tree protection and tree preservation can be applicable at different scales and may include trees on both public and private lands. CRTI offers ordinance builder tools that suggest structure and language for ordinances at an entry or advanced level regarding both tree protection and tree preservation.

Other government actions also support the health of trees. For example, many communities create a tree board of concerned citizens and relevant officials to advise elected officials and build public support for actions to maintain and enhance the tree canopy.

Having clear policies concerning trees such as urban forest management plans, even if they do not have the force of law, can also help trees by providing guidance and support to local government staff providing tree care and making tree decisions.

Data about your community’s trees are essential to inform the development of tree ordinances and policies and to build support for them. CRTI provides a wealth of such information, including Community Tree Canopy Summaries that provide important data about the trees in each municipality in the seven-county Chicago region.

 

The Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative also offers technical assistance to local governments and agencies in making or improving tree laws and policies.

Contact CRTI to get advice and to be connected to additional resources to help you protect trees in your community.

Build an Ordinance for Tree Protection

Protection ordinances concern the trees on a local government’s own property, such as parkways and rights of way. For example, a tree protection ordinance typically establishes penalties for damage to these public trees and procedures for protecting public trees from construction damage. Some protection ordinances can apply to private property.

CRTI offers entry level and advanced ordinance builder tools to help develop laws for tree protection.

Ordinance Builder and Entry-Level Components

If your community has no tree protection ordinance and is just starting to develop one, or has a very basic ordinance you are looking to enhance, use the 21st Century Ordinance Builder for Tree Protection.

Advanced Ordinance Components

If you are working to improve an existing tree protection ordinance, consider using the Advanced Components of the 21st Century Ordinance Builder for Tree Protection.

Build an Ordinance to Preserve Trees in Land Development

Preservation ordinances concern the public interest in the maintenance of the overall tree canopy, often including trees on private property, during land development. For example, these ordinances may require preservation or replacement of trees be included in development or construction plans. CRTI offers entry level and advanced ordinance builder tools to help develop laws for tree preservation.

Ordinance Builder and Entry-Level Components

If your community has no ordinance covering tree preservation, use the 21st Century Ordinance Builder for Tree Preservation in Land Development: Entry-Level Components.

Advanced Ordinance Components

If you are working to improve an existing tree preservation ordinance, also use the Advanced Components of the 21st Century Ordinance Builder for Tree Preservation in Land Development.

Find Data on Your Community’s Tree Canopy

Data about your community’s trees are essential to inform the development of tree ordinances and policies and to build support for them, as well as providing support for advocacy efforts and forestry management plans. CRTI provides a wealth of such information.

Community Tree Canopy Summaries

For each municipality in the seven-county Chicago region, CRTI has collected data on tree canopy cover, plantable space, and the relative proportion of land use types. Each of the Community Tree Canopy Summaries compares those characteristics to similar communities and shows the ecosystem services that the trees provide. In communities with sufficient tree species inventory data, the summaries also characterize species composition.

CRTI Priority Maps

CRTI Priority Maps show how tree canopy cover correlates with flood risk, surface temperature, vulnerable populations and other social and environmental factors to target priority tree planting areas across the Chicago region.

Canopy Counts Program

The Canopy Counts Program is a web app that lets residents track trees and plantable spaces across the Chicago region. Use the Canopy Counts Program map to learn more about the trees in your community and encourage residents to record trees through the app.

Setting Tree Policy

Having clear policies concerning trees, even if they do not have the force of law, can provide guidance to local residents, developers and utilities, and lend support to local government staff providing tree care and making tree decisions.

Other government actions also support the health of trees. For example, many communities create a tree board of concerned citizens and relevant officials to advise elected officials and build public support for actions to maintain and enhance the tree canopy.

Forest Preserve Tree Policies

The Forest Preserves of Cook County’s Tree Mitigation Plan and its Tree Protection and Preservation Manual are examples of detailed and forceful administrative tree policies.

Tree Board University

Tree Board University, an online training course from the USDA Forest Service, explains what municipal tree boards do and prepares people to serve on them.