DDOT's Urban Forestry Division (UFD) is the primary steward of Washington DC's ~170,000 public trees and has a mission of keeping this resource healthy, safe, & growing! Trees in the city are critical to our well-being. Among many other benefits, these trees improve our air and water quality, cool our neighborhoods, and provide critical habitat for birds, bees, and...people, too! To help the public understand and connect with the forest that surrounds them, UFD has created this interactive portal. Scroll down to explore information describing the history, value, and management of the urban forest in Washington, DC.

,The launch of Sustainable DC in 2011 established a goal of achieving a citywide tree canopy goal of 40% by 2032. To track our progress toward this goal, DDOT's Urban Forestry Division performs land cover assessments every five (5) years. To date, four (4) studies have been conducted, spanning the period between 2006 and 2020.,

,

,

,

,

,Trees in the city are critical to our well-being. Among many other benefits, trees improve our air and water quality, cool our neighborhoods, and provide nurturing habitats for birds, bees, and numerous other wildlife. Large trees provide greater environmental benefits than smaller trees and are protected from unnecessary damage or removal by the Urban Forest Preservation Act and the Tree Canopy Protection Act in the District of Columbia. Any tree with a trunk greater than 100” in circumference is called a heritage tree. Heritage trees may only be removed if considered hazardous by a city arborist, otherwise, heritage trees cannot be removed, topped, girdled, or destroyed.,If a heritage tree is within the limits of disturbance of a construction project, then they need to be properly protected throughout construction. However, there are times when the site plans cannot provide adequate protection, and so the only remaining legal option is to move the tree to a safer place on the property. This is a laborious, careful process, but ultimately preserves the environmental benefits and the cultural significance of the heritage tree.,

,

,

This is the story of tree cover in Washington, DC from the role of trees since the earliest planning, through current measures taken to ensure a green legacy for all that follow. Washington, DC stands apart from most other US cities when it comes to trees. Trees were considered so essential that they were included as an integral part of Pierre L'Enfant's original design. The L'Enfant Plan, drafted in 1791, reserved space in the public right-of-way exclusively for trees and DC remains the "City of Trees." Agency Website.