Street Tree Care

During the pilot phase, we will begin tree care in designated neighborhoods, testing the full range of services, including inspection, pruning, removal, replacement planting, and other planned regular maintenance. This phase will help refine the process and budgets before citywide expansion.

As a first step, we will remove large dead trees in priority service areas to address safety concerns. These neighborhoods have lower canopy cover and have historically had less access to professional tree care due to costs. They also face greater risks from extreme heat and climate impacts. Starting in these areas ensures communities with the greatest need receive services first, aligning with Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund guiding principles and City of Portland values. 

Using data from our street tree inventory, we identified the first batch of approximately 70 large dead street trees and stumps and will cover the cost to remove and replace them. For sites that can be replanted, the removal will include replacement tree planting, leaving neighborhoods safer, greener, and more resilient.

Funding provided, we will scale to full operational capacity over several years, tailoring the process with incoming data to provide efficient, city-wide professional street tree care. By 2029, we will have the trained teams, proven systems, and established contracts needed to serve all Portland neighborhoods effectively and efficiently. As a result of this scale up, we expect to care for about 33,000 street trees annually, approximately 10% of Portland's street trees.

Starting in 2029, each street tree will be on a ten-year maintenance schedule, ensuring Portland's urban forest stays healthy for generations to come.

A street tree is a tree planted in the public right-of-way, usually the strip between the sidewalk and the curb.

Providing proactive, citywide maintenance for all street trees is a large and complex task. With new funding, including from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, and support from Portlanders, Urban Forestry is now able to develop a citywide program to inspect, prune, and if needed, remove and replace street trees. Building the program is a multi-year process that is critical to achieving the City's goal to increase our urban canopy to 45% in 40 years.

Portland has approximately 330,000 trees lining our streets. Since 2010, Portland Parks & Recreation has partnered with communities to identify, measure, and map nearly all street and park trees, with the latest inventory completed in 2024. 

The inventory includes traditional street trees planted between the street and the sidewalk, as well as trees in forested areas along roadways such as in the West Hills. Information and tools from the inventory help tree professionals and community members protect, preserve, and grow our urban forest. 

The estimated annual cost to care for Portland's 330,000 street trees is between $15 and $20 million, which will be funded by the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund. The 2025-26 Pilot Phase will validate these estimates and provide more accurate cost projections over the next few years.

Portlanders should expect to see services steadily increase from 2026-2029. Starting in 2029, each street tree will be put on a ten-year maintenance schedule. 

Even once fully operational, however, we will only be able to service 33,000 trees each year, with the expectation that every street tree will be cared for every ten years. Given the ten-year maintenance cycle, some street trees will not be pruned by Urban Forestry until 2039.

Tree canopy coverage and household income data are used to set priority service areas for our tree planting and maintenance and education and outreach.

These neighborhoods have fewer trees and have historically had less access to professional tree care due to costs. The neighborhoods also face greater risks from extreme heat and climate impacts. Starting in these areas ensures communities with the greatest need receive services first, aligning with Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund guiding principles and City of Portland values. 

We will begin removing large dead street trees in Priority Service Area neighborhoods through the winter of 2025-26. Upon successful completion, we may expand to remove dead street trees throughout Portland.

Information on other tree concerns can be found on the Urban Forestry website, including resources to connect with local arborists through the City's Local Tree Care Provider list.

You should report dangerous trees to Urban Forestry for emergency response. Contact 823-TREE, option 1. Emergency dispatchers are available 24/7. 

A tree emergency occurs when any of the following events happen on publicly owned property or City right-of-way:

• A tree or large branch has fallen over and it is blocking a street, sidewalk, or public park
• A tree located in a park or City right-of-way is splitting
• A large branch is hanging from a tree over a sidewalk, street, or other public property
• Any other immediate hazard situation on public property or City right-of-way

For most street tree removals, we will check the removal site to see if a new tree can thrive at the site. If the conditions are suitable, we will contact the property owner about planting a new tree—at no cost to the property owner.

But don't stop with just replacing your dead street tree. Whether you're a renter, homeowner, business owner, or educator, we have a free tree program for you.

Property owners are still responsible for maintaining trees located on their property and on the adjacent street planting area (the right-of-way) as outlined in the City of Portland's Tree Code, Title 11. For any questions about the Tree Code or rules or regulations around trees, please contact us at trees@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-8733. We are here to help.