"The best time to plant a tree is 50 years ago.
The second best time to plant a tree is now."
Maumee is rebuilding its tree canopy.
A concerted effort is underway to rebuild Maumee’s tree canopy. Since 1990, the city’s tree canopy has fallen over 30 percent, reducing the overall canopy from 31 percent to 21 percent. The Emerald ash borer impacted the city’s urban forest canopy, and the routine removal of dead or diseased overmature and declining trees outpaced plantings until just a few years ago.
With guidance from the Maumee Environmental and Tree Advisory Commission, the goal over the next ten years is to recoup those losses and get the tree canopy back to 30 percent or more.
The City of Maumee is under a Findings and Orders from the State and Federal Environmental Protection Agency to comply with the Clean Water Act of 1972. Trees help to comply with those EPA mandates because Trees act as a sponge and soak up rainwater, which keeps excess water out of the city’s sanitary system. It also saves money because less water is sent to the Lucas County Water Resource Recovery Facility for treatment.
(Images courtesy of Urban3)
Why Plant Trees?
Do you own your home and benefit from it being worth more?
Trees increase property values.
Do you like driving around on smooth streets?
Trees protect street infrastructure by preventing them from boiling in the summer sun which makes it not degrade so quickly.
Do you prefer not to have traffic speed down your residential street?
Trees create vertical elements that naturally slow cars.
Do you prefer quiet especially when resting?
Trees suppress sound.
Do you use your air conditioner when it gets too hot or look for shade in the summer to get out of the sun when outside too long?
Trees decrease heat islands, cool your home, and allow for better cooling of space and buildings. Also, because the tree is shading your home, it makes for lower energy bills because your AC doesn’t have to work so hard.
Do you prefer a safe neighborhood?
Trees are known to deter crime and prevent violence.
Do you or anyone you know suffer from mental health problems or need reasons to smile more?
Trees make people happier and support better mental health.
Do you prefer to be healthy and not suffer from respiratory issues, especially from pollution?
Trees clean the air by filtering pollutants and fine particles.
Do you prefer a dry basement, no standing water in your yard, and not having the sewer systems overrun in large rain events?
Trees absorb rainwater quickly and prevent erosion.
Do you enjoy watching birds and other wildlife around your neighborhood?
Trees support important wildlife by providing shelter, a place to raise their young, and a place to find food.
Trees Planted In the Public Right-Of-Way
Street speed, overhead utility wires, soil makeup, and size of the area designated for planting are just a few of the many elements considered when trees are planted in the city right of way. In addition, a master planting design is underway in Maumee to help guide the city’s tree-planting program. A wide variety of species and genotypes, which are also being planted, helps to ensure that if there is a pest or fungus that knocks out a type of tree, the entire tree canopy is not decimated in a neighborhood.
What If Tree Roots Damage Or Interfere With the Sewer?
Trees DO NOT damage sewer lines!
A tree root will get into sewer lines because the sewer line is cracked and leaking and needs to be lined, replaced, or repaired.
No matter how well you care for your sewer lines, a time will come when the piping will need to be corrected whether or not a tree is planted nearby.
Who Is Responsible For Caring For The Trees?
The City of Maumee is responsible for pruning, trimming, mulching, watering, and removing trees.
I Don’t Want A Tree!
Residents may decide whether to plant trees on their private property. However, in the city right-of-way, which is city-owned property, a property owner does not have that decision-making oversight.
City trees are green infrastructure or public goods like sewer systems, water systems, fire hydrants, curbs, streetlights, and streets. Property owners located within the municipal city limits of Maumee may not opt out of having a public good in and around their property, which means that it is not possible to opt out of having a tree planted in the right-of-way, even if it is adjacent or in front of your property.
Intentional Tree Damage Is Against The Law
Treating public spaces with care and consideration for the well-being of the community is imperative. Respecting public property, specifically trees planted in the city right-of-way, is also a legal requirement. As such, vandalism against city property including city trees not only damages community resources but can also have legal consequences.
Deliberately killing a public tree is a violation of Ohio law which could result in a misdemeanor for criminal damage. If the loss is over $1000, those charges could rise to a felony level.
Click here for Ohio Revised Code Section 2909.05 Vandalism and 2909.06 Criminal damaging or endangering.