Why This Measure Matters

Trees in parks, along streets and in our neighborhoods together provide many benefits to our communities. They filter air, water and noise pollution, reduce the impacts of climate change, and make our city a beautiful place to live, work and play. Well-managed trees are an important part of healthy, sustainable cities.

What’s the Story?

In 2023, Olympia conducted a Tree Canopy Assessment, which is a standard way for cities to track the health of their urban forest. This metric will be re-assessed roughly every 5 years. Many cities in our region aim for 35-40% tree canopy cover. Olympia will be setting specific goals as part of developing an Urban Forest Management Plan by 2026 to help balance urban forestry work with other aspects of livable cities like affordable housing and economic development. 

Target

The City is tracking this metric over time to understand how it fluctuates.

Reporting frequency