The Stockton Tree Foundation

      In 2008, the City of Stockton proposed a plan to widen El Dorado Street from Mariposa Avenue, north to the Calaveras river bridge.  As part of that proposed project, 100  existing street trees along the proposed route were cut down.  No notice to homeowners and residents of adjacent properties was given.

      A number of concerned citizens objected to the proposed plan which lacked street trees and formed the El Dorado Street Citizens Committee.  Those Citizens included several landscape architects, arborists, environmental planners, attorneys, educators, and ordinary citizens.

      After three years of discussions with the City, a new plan emerged that included replacement of street trees demolished.  In October of 2012, construction of the revised project was initiated and trees were installed in the spring of 2013.

      The Stockton Tree Foundation was formed in 2011 as an outgrowth of the El Dorado Street Citizens committee with the express purpose of preserving and enhancing the Urban Tree Forest of Stockton.

      The Urban Forest provides many benefits to the residents of the City, not the least of which is beauty.  The many benefits trees provide are detailed in the Foundation’s web site.

      It has become clear to members of the Stockton Tree Foundation that the City does not see the urban forest, especially street trees, as a priority and his given up almost all maintenance  (except emergencies) of the trees.  As a result major sections of the City’s tree canopy are in steep decline with many diseased and structurally weakened trees.

      There does not seem to be a cohesive plan on the removal of diseased or damaged trees and replacement of removed trees.  There also seems to be a lack of allocating enough tax dollars to support the Urban Forest.

      The Mission of the Stockton Tree  Foundation is to bring these issues to the public and encourage the City and other interested parties in preserving and enhancing the urban forest.

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Ver. 10/10/2023