City Realignment Benefits Trees

If the Tree Care Manual and Tree Ordinance are now followed by the City of El Paso, practices that damage or destroy trees such as the one depicted here will stop.

Thanks to the dual efforts of West Texas Urban Forestry Council (WTUFC) and elpasonaturally, the City has moved the Arborist position from the Department of Transportation to Planning and Engineering. Aborist, Brent Pearson, will either this week or next begin answering to Fred Lopez and Jim Fisk. 

In an email Brent reported the positive outcomes of this realignment including the resurrection of the Tree Board with a seat for the WTUFC, planting smaller trees thus saving the City money and having a greater variety of trees from which to select, enforcement of the Tree Protection Ordinance and more grants for trees. Pearson pointed out that the office and barn used at the City Tree Farm were donated by the WTUFC. The City now wants to expand that farm and have it available to supply the Capital Improvement Projects.

No doubt elpasonaturally shining a light on the poor tree practices by the engineering department and an almost certain doom of El Paso's beloved holiday tree in the San Jacinto Plaza helped move the city toward this new policy. 

What also was a huge help was a meeting spearheaded by Vern Autry, a board member of WTUFC, with city officials. That recent meeting lasted several hours. During that time WTUFC board members were able to point out the existence of a tree ordinance, the need for a tree board, the use of the city's tree manual and better tree care practices.