Parks, Riverkeeper, MMSD Partner on Tree Planting

Aerial diagram of tree planting site in Kinnickinnic River Parkway. Milwaukee County Parks.

Milwaukee County Parks needs all the help it can get to restore tree canopy on the 15,000 acres it manages.

Luckily, it’s not the only institution interested in urban reforestation. The department is partnering with the nonprofit Milwaukee Riverkeeper and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to begin planting trees on county parkland.

MMSD seeks to plant six million trees and restore 4,000 acres of wetlands over 10 years through its Reforestation and Wetland Restoration Program. The Riverkeeper is working with the sewerage district on the program and want to plant trees on county parkland. Parks recently selected the first site for tree planting through the initiative, a .5-acre area in the Kinnickinnic River Parkway.

Parks has worked with Riverkeeper in the past on local cleanups of riparian areas and lagoons. It will begin its new partnership by planting trees in the KK parkway between W. Montrose Avenue and W. Sumac Place.

Trees and wetlands are useful for capturing stormwater. They also improve air quality, strengthen local plant and wildlife habitats and reduce the urban heat island effect. Reforestation efforts are also critical to maintaining existing levels of tree canopy in Milwaukee County. The parks department has been removing trees across the system killed by pests and invasive species like the Emerald Ash Borer. The department estimates that all ash trees in the system will be removed by 2030.

Parks planted 1,800 trees in 2023, with some help from park friends groups. However, it continues to remove trees at a rate of approximately 2,500 trees a year.

The county recently received approximately $1.5 million through a federal urban forestry grant. Parks announced it plans to use the funds to expand its forestry team.

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Related Legislation: Tree planting partnership