Case Study: City of Longview strengthens urban forest planning with PlanIT Geo’s urban tree canopy assessment

How Longview, Washington Uses Canopy Data Preemptive Canopy Assessment Has Longview Ready for What Comes Next

The City of Longview, a municipal government, faced the challenge of managing its aging urban forest, as many of its 100-year-old street trees were in decline. This created a looming threat to the city's canopy cover and prompted a need for data to guide future planning, justify budgets, and communicate with the public. To address this, the city partnered with PlanIT Geo to gain a comprehensive understanding of its tree resources through an urban tree canopy assessment.

PlanIT Geo provided an urban tree canopy assessment and its TreePlotter CANOPY software, which gave Longview a crucial baseline of data. This solution enabled the city to identify areas in need of trees for equity reasons, set strategic planting priorities, and powerfully communicate the value of the urban forest to city leadership and residents. The data provides $1.2 million in annual quantified tree benefits and is being used to tactically update the city's comprehensive and urban forest management plans.

City of Longview

Joanna Martin

Parks and Urban Forestry Manager