A city of Columbus program that was supposed to plant 300,000 trees by next year may be dying at its roots.

“We continue to evaluate the program to see if its current structure is the most effective,” Brian Hoyt, spokesman for the Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks, said in an email response to questions by The Dispatch.

In August, The Dispatch reported there were 35,718 trees planted since the 2015 inception of the tree planting program, Branch Out, under former Mayor Michael B. Coleman. City officials also said at that time that the program was under evaluation.

Since then, the city has recorded only an 8 percent increase in new trees planted to 38,631, records show, despite the fact that fall was prime planting season.

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Last month, researchers at the Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center released a 125-page climate adaptation plan for the city. Branch Out was mentioned in the report and, if completed, would help alleviate conditions since Columbus is the fastest-growing heat island in the country, according to researchers. A heat island is an urban area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas because of human activities.

Jason Cervenec, education and outreach director for the center, said planting trees provides shade, helps with evaporation, improves mental health, enhances quality of life, supports ecosystems and helps with storm-water issues.

"We also couch that with: You want to have species in the ground that are going to be resilient with the climate of the future," he said.

Growing zones are supposed to shift northwest as temperatures continue to rise. By mid-century, average temperatures in central Ohio are expected to warm another 3 to 5 degrees, even if air pollution from greenhouse gas emissions is lowered. There could be an increase in average temperatures of 4 to 6 degrees if emissions continue to increase without action.

Yet the city's adaptation plan states the Recreation and Parks department is working with The Nature Conservancy and has "identified the need for a strategic plan to guide implementation, as fewer than 40,000 new trees have been planted to date."

Hoyt did not respond to Dispatch questions about a strategic plan mentioned in the climate plan or about a working relationship with the environmental organization.

And Jessica Keith, associate director of marketing for The Nature Conservancy, told The Dispatch, "We actually don’t know how we ended up being mentioned" in the city's climate adaptation plan.

Rachel Holmes, an urban forestry strategist for the The Nature Conservancy, said she spoke with city officials in March 2018 about the Branch Out program, but has not had contact with them since.

"I gave them some basic feedback on the (tree) plan, but I have not had very much engagement with city personnel around their tree planting goal," Holmes said. Strategy and resources were not discussed, she said.

When Cervenec was asked about the tree-planting information, he said, "That information was actually provided to us by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department."

Environmental advocates have expressed frustration at the lack of progress made with the city's tree-planting goals.

"Unfortunately, the city of Columbus can't plant enough decent trees to ever catch up with the thousands that have been already removed nor keep up with what continues to be razed by developers to make way for sprawling commercial projects," David Roseman, chairman of the Sierra Club’s Central Ohio Group, said in an email.

"Sadly, nothing much has happened in the last year on the city’s side of things," said Laura Fay, secretary of the board of Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW).

Columbus has canopy coverage of about 22 percent, which is lower than many other cities. For example, Pittsburgh has 42 percent and Cincinnati 39 percent.

Other cities are also working to increase canopy coverage. Orlando, which has about 23 percent tree canopy coverage, offers free trees to residents and guidance on planting and care. About 7,000 trees have been planted since the program's start in 2015 with a goal of the city reaching 40 percent canopy coverage by 2040.

The Orlando Utilities Commission "has been the primary sponsor for this program since its inception, and as a result there haven't been any taxpayer funds that have gone into this program to date," said Karyn Barber, a spokeswoman for the city of Orlando, which has about 280,000 people.

In Columbus, the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District offers a $50 rebate to residents who plant native trees.

bburger@dispatch.com

@ByBethBurger