Springfield inventories trees across city

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The city of Springfield has been conducting an inventory of its trees to determine the trees' overall condition and where new trees need to be planted.

The complete inventory, which is being conducted by the Davey Resource Group for up to $90,000, is expected to give the city an idea of the maintenance needs of the city's trees, The Springfield News-Leader reported.

Crews will be in Springfield for about two weeks completing the inventory. The last city tree inventory was in 2001.

In the current survey, foresters are measuring the trees and checking their general condition, all of which will be included in a report to the city.

"We'll make recommendations if a tree needs to be pruned or if it's a dead tree and needs to be removed," said Cory Meyer, an urban forester with Davey Resource Group.

Meyer said the inventory involves surveying the city's approximately 20,000 "street trees," which are those in the right of way of streets or other city property or on city property itself. Trees on private property won't be included in the survey.

Forester Reid Gibson said Springfield's 20,000 street trees are actually a low number for a city of its size. Foresters have been documenting about 30 to 40 trees per street mile, while the benchmark is about 100 trees per street mile.

The inventory also will note the species and location of each tree, which the city can use to determine where more trees can be planted.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com