Berwyn Park District (BPD) currently manages 612 trees throughout its park system. There is also a limited amount of room in the parks for future tree planting, which represents potential for growth of the park district’s urban forest. BPD’s trees were inventoried as part of a project this past year culminating in this Urban Forestry Management Plan, which will detail how these trees will be managed for the benefit of Berwyn Park District and its residents and patrons over the next 10 years, with a focus which begins in 2022, and projects out to 2032.
In terms of the condition of the Urban Forest in BPD, there are both strengths and opportunities for improvement. In terms of strengths, the park district has a smaller tree population to contend with, and has been managing that resource somewhat satisfactorily in the past, however there is work to do in terms of near term maintenance. Once the necessary maintenance is complete, BPD will be able to focus on enhancements rather than remedial action. In terms of opportunities, the diversity level and overall number of species could be higher. This will be examined in further detail below, but diversifying new plantings based on our recommendations is the general recommendation. Also, the current budget being applied towards forestry management should likely be larger. At $8,500 per year, this is enough to fulfill basic needs, even a modest increase in budget would allow BPD to accomplish much more.
In order to enhance the Urban Forestry program so it will create long term benefits to the community while reducing costs, the following Urban Forest Management Plan will address each one of these strengths and opportunities, and create goals and milestones for each. Further detail is given in the body of the Plan, with separate sections detailing specific Urban Forestry activities, and how we propose they are achieved, along with standards and Best Management Practices for each.
An urban forestry program has been created in this Plan which attempts to achieve the greatest benefit for the community, based on the available data we have from the inventory, as well as input from stakeholders and residents of the City of Berwyn. However, all plans are subject to change based on new information, budgets, or other unforeseen circumstances. For this reason, it is asked that readers consider this plan to be an evolving document, and goals and strategies will be updated to fit new circumstances as needed.
This Urban Forestry Management Plan should be reviewed periodically, at which point the park district, and its residents, business owners, and other stakeholders will have an opportunity to provide input and help improve the Plan during those annual reviews. These strategies and goals are not absolute, but rather serve as guideposts to mark the road to success.
Please open the PDF attached at the link below in order to access the entire Urban Tree Management Plan.
