HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-15-26 Public Comment - L. Semones - Comments in support of the Bozeman Tree Coalition evaluation of the UFMP updateFrom:Linda Semones
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comments in support of the Bozeman Tree Coalition evaluation of the UFMP update
Date:Tuesday, September 15, 2026 11:01:37 AM
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Dear City Commission,
I support the Bozeman Tree Coalition's comments and recommendations for the UFMP update. The Bozeman Tree
Coalition represents a scientific and citizen activist approach to working with the city on its tree ordinances. We
need to listen to the skilled citizenry. We are at a crucial turning point, with trees ,in the downtown area especially
,being removed and not replaced. This removal of trees on private land will affect the city and make it a hot spot in
years to come without action now. All across the country, large and dense cities are moving retroactively to rebuild
their urban forests and create canopy over their hot spots created by development. We have a chance to avoid this
fate. We need to take action now.
The draft UFMP has a strong overarching call to action for a healthy and sustainable urban forest with goals to
expand the canopy and care for publicly owned trees. I hope this includes the trees that developers have removed
on boulevards for their convenience of operating large equipment. Convenience is not a legitimate excuse for
contributing to hot spot creation. The tiny trees that developers plant along boulevards that replace mature trees will
not save us from heating up the environment for another 20 years. We need to be proactive about protecting
boulevard trees that are healthy, and we need to plant many more.
I can also point to the many trees removed on the Medical Arts Building site, as well as the area around the old
hospital as further examples of mass destruction of mature growth on private property. We also saw an
unnecessary removal of cottonwoods on the property at Bridger Drive and Story Mill. And, although the developer
of the old Black Angus restaurant site has graciously saved the historic lodgepole pine on the property, the heavy
equipment parked on the roots of this historic tree point to the need for root protection of heritage growth.
Destruction of healthy trees on private property not only contributes to hot spots but also eliminates habitat for birds
on their migration paths. We are responsible for the natural world and should take all of these negative effects into
consideration now before it is too late.
The inclusion of a Heritage Tree template is a good step forward for establishing a program in Bozeman.
However, the UFMP needs to include a stronger emphasis and language for improving tree ordinances and city
codes for tree retention (aka preservation). The UFMP should include a recommendation that the City Forester (or
an Urban Ecologist, if hired) be involved early in the development application process so that important habitat or
existing trees can be designed around rather than removed.
Thank you for your consideration and for updating this important city plan.