COSTA MESA : City Seeking Coveted ‘Tree U.S.A.’ Status

The city has applied for “Tree U.S.A.” status and should hear back from the National Arbor Foundation by early December, said David Alkema, superintendent of parks and parkways.

Alkema applied for the designation last spring. The city has more than 20,000 trees.

“Tree U.S.A. status is a designation that is given out to cities that have taken an aggressive approach to either improving or maintaining their urban forest,” Alkema said. “It’s a philosophical standing. It has nothing to do with whether you have the most amount of trees in the country.”

He said the city applied for the prestigious designation last year but failed to meet one of the requirements: holding an Arbor Day celebration in conjunction with a tree-planting program.

But this year, the city will do just that, with the help of ReLeaf Costa Mesa, which recently received $8,500 in tree-planting grants from the California Department of Forestry, the Little Garden Club of Newport Beach, the Tree Society of Orange County, Job’s Daughters-Masonic Order and private citizens.

Various trees grow within the city--Canary Island pines, American sweet gums, Australian willows, magnolias and Aristocrat pear trees among them. The city also wants to add palm trees along Newport Boulevard, to mirror those planted near Triangle Square, Alkema said.

But the palm trees will be planted only if the city qualifies for a $160,000 state grant.

The city tries to preserve as many trees as possible, even when it is forced to take them out, Alkema said. Under the parkways improvement program three trees must be planted for every one cut down, Alkema said.