HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-20-26 Public Comment - E. Darrow - Heritage Trees, Citizen Science and Lakota Consultants for NCODFrom:Elizabeth Darrow
To:Joey Morrison; Douglas Fischer; Jennifer Madgic; Alison Sweeney; Emma Bode; Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Heritage Trees, Citizen Science and Lakota Consultants for NCOD
Date:Monday, April 20, 2026 11:43:53 AM
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Greetings Mayor Morrison, Deputy Mayor Fischer, Commissioners Madgic,Sweeney & Bode:
We strongly encourage you all as our elected representatives to meet withthe Lakota Group for informed consultation on the future preservation of theNCOD in the new UDC. We also request that you incorporate the HistoricPreservation Advisory Board’s proposed Heritage Tree Program intothe Urban Forest Management Plan as recently presented at theSustainablity Board meeting. The Heritage Tree Program Proposal waswritten by Linda Semones and me in 2022-and as former members of theHPAB we believe it states an important commitment, recognizing andpreserving mature trees and tree canopy in the future of a healthy andbeautiful city.
We are eager to see a truly developed commitment to a Citizen Sciencemodel as well in public education and engagement that is only just emergingin Bozeman. This would include the I-SEA TREE Phone App, which is freeand designed by skilled data analysts in technology mapping at TABLEAUSALESFORCE as a core tool for data collection to increase publicengagement. This can complement the City Tree Inventory which onlyevaluates public-owned trees while I SEA TREE can be used to collect dataon privately owned trees mature trees (with owner permission), thatcomprise most of the tree canopy in city and Gallatin Valley.
I SEA TREE· Map and inventory trees in real time
· Measure environmental benefits, including carbon storage, airquality improvement, and water impacts, using U.S. Forest Servicetools· Utilize built-in features, including AI-assisted speciesidentification, to ensure accessible and accurate data collection
Citizen Science is a collaborative approach where everyday people—notjust professional scientists—collect data, monitor trends, and contribute toresearch. It is essentially "crowdsourcing" discovery, allowing scientists togather massive amounts of information that would be impossible to collectalone and widely utilized and applied. It has enabled people of all ages toparticipate in mapping, monitoring, and documenting all aspects of ournatural environment including trees.
The Heritage Tree Program is essential to this campaignand envisioned as part of the UFMP, it offers a practical, interdisciplinaryapproach to planning & development with educational community
engagement goals. It strengthens processes that protect heritage trees,development review, and construction impacts improving the City’s ability toidentify, document, and protect historically and culturally significant trees inall neighborhoods.
Heritage trees are more than landscape features—they are living records ofBozeman’s history and essential component of both emotional, aestheticand practical assets of a resilient urban environment in a time of growingclimate change. Their preservation requires better data, broaderparticipation by the public and coordination across departments for now andour future.
Elizabeth Darrow & Jim Walseth
Bozeman