LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Nothing looks obviously out of kilter on a crisp winter day in Lakewood’s tony Clifton Park neighborhood, where beautiful mansions command stunning views of Lake Erie.

But Cuyahoga County’s newest urban tree canopy assessment, released last month, shows that the neighborhood has suffered one of the highest levels of tree losses in the county over the past decade.

Clifton Park is a snapshot of what tree advocates are calling an emergency for climate resilience, natural habitat, property values and human health

Lakewood topped all 59 Cuyahoga communities with an 18.5% loss in its tree canopy, according to the assessment, which analyzes data gathered in 2017 to determine rates of change since an earlier report based on 2011 data.

Clifton Park shows up as a bright red hot spot in the Urban Tree Canopy Viewer on the new county webpage brimming with navigable maps and data about the county’s growing bald patches.

A screenshot from the new online Cuyahoga County Tree Canopy Viewer depicts the Clifton Park neighborhood in Lakewood as a hotspot for tree losses in 2011-2017. Lakewood lost 18.5% of its tree canopy during that period, the highest rate of loss in the county.Cuyahoga County Planning Commission

The neighborhood accounted for 20% of Lakewood’s losses between 2011 and 2017. That amounts to 37 acres of tree cover out of 182 acres lost in the city, according to a local report by Lakewood’s urban forester, Chris Perry.

Overall, the county’s tree canopy — the layer of leaves, branches and trunks of trees that cover the ground when viewed from above — fell from 37% to 35% of its land area.

That’s a loss of 6,600 acres — the same as 5,000 football fields.

Causes for the decline include the age of trees, diseases, and more frequent violent storms sparked by climate change. Superstorm Sandy, as well as the emerald ash borer, whose larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, contributed to the losses between 2011 and 2017, the county report said.

Clear-cutting for suburban residential and industrial projects was another big factor.

The report cites 16 places outside Cleveland that had clear cuts measuring 10 acres or more. Those areas totaled 248 acres and accounted for the loss of roughly 18,000 trees. The report doesn’t identify the properties or owners involved.

In Cleveland, tree cover decreased from roughly 19% to roughly 18% of city land area, or 4.8%, between 2011 and 2017.

Only two communities, Euclid and Cuyahoga Heights, posted slight gains in tree canopy cover of just over 2%.

Bentleyville, with 74% tree coverage, is the greenest community in the county. North Randall, with a 10% canopy, is the grayest.

A graphic ranks Cuyahoga County communities from greenest to grayest, with Bentleyville at the top, and North Randall at the bottom.Cuyahoga County Planning Commission

Numerous studies show that trees absorb carbon dioxide; improve air quality, human health and property values; and soak up storm runoff.

Studies also show that the absence of trees, which is especially prevalent in neighborhoods redlined historically through racist housing practices, creates urban “heat islands,” with deadly consequences during heat waves.

No turning point reached

Efforts by the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County since 2011 have yet to slow the tree losses, the report shows.

“It’s not good news,” said Sandra Albro, a research associate at Holden Forest & Gardens and co-chair of the Cleveland Tree Coalition, a group of more than 30 local government agencies and nonprofits working on solutions.

The coalition states in a news release that the county’s tree canopy cover falls below the U.S. average of 39% for urban areas. The county canopy is also shrinking faster than the 1% national rate for urban areas.

Communities are responding, but not quickly enough, Albro said.

Cleveland adopted a 25-year tree plan in 2016, and the Cleveland Tree Coalition has been planting about 2,500 trees a year since then, Albro said.

Mayor Frank Jackson pledged in 2019 to spend $10 million, or $1 million a year for 10 years, to improve the city’s tree canopy. The city is studying how best to start spending the first $1 million later this year, said Kristin Hall, the city’s director of sustainability.

The city will also spend an $80,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant to plant 200 to 300 trees in the Bellaire-Puritas and St. Clair-Superior neighborhoods this year, she said.

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish proposed spending $5 million, and the county has already handed out nearly $1 million in grants for 26 tree programs.

The promises and projects don’t match the pace and scale of the problem, said Rich Cochran, president and CEO of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.

“When people hear $15 million, [they might think] ‘Wow, we’re done,’ ” he said. “Not even close, unfortunately.”

The tree coalition’s nine-member executive committee has set a goal of raising $100 million over the next decade to plant trees. But that may not be enough, Cochran said.

Some 50,000 trees — at $500 per tree — need to be planted to halt the downward trend, he said. Reversing the losses would require planting an additional 35,000 trees a year over the next decade, at a potential cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We’re trying to figure out ways to do it more economically," he said.

It would take such a mobilization to make Cleveland’s tree canopy surpass 30% of its land area — a tipping point at which improvements could be measured in air quality, climate resilience and health, he said.

Crunching numbers

The county gathered data for its tree canopy assessment from sources including the federal government’s satellite-based National Agriculture Imagery Program, and through LIDAR, an airplane-based laser technology that measures and analyzes terrain and tree heights.

9 Cuyahoga County tree canopy assessment update details losses

The methodology can’t “see” young trees shorter than 8 feet or less than 30 square feet in area. That matters because the report doesn’t show the impact of the 2,500 trees a year the tree coalition has been planting.

Recently planted trees won’t register in satellite and laser scans until the next tree assessment in six to 10 years, Albro said.

The best way for municipalities to reverse the current downward trend is by adopting and enforcing ordinances requiring developers to preserve or plant new trees, or pay fines, Albro and other experts said.

“Too often, contractors and development folks simply cut every tree down, scrape the land and start building back,” said Brent Eysenbach, program manager for the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District.

Lakewood Mayor Meghan George said the city has rebooted its citizen-based tree committee and may re-examine its development ordinances.

The top issue, though, is persuading homeowners to plant more shade trees in their yards.

“We’re known for our tree-lined streets,” she said. In light of the loss of trees cited in the new report, “the only thing we can do is replace them as quickly as possible,” she said.

Human benefits of trees:

Studies show that trees absorb carbon dioxide; improve air quality, human health and property values; and soak up storm runoff.

The absence of trees in city neighborhoods creates urban “heat islands,” with deadly consequences during heat waves.

Details of Cuyahoga County Tree Canopy Assessment Update, 2019: