The City of Oxnard’s Tree Program Review provides a road map for the City to plan for the future of its trees. Dudek used a comprehensive approach to address issues associated with deferred maintenance, declining tree health, species diversity, out-of-date City tree policies, and infrastructure conflicts to develop the Tree Program Review.
The Los Angeles County Metro Area Plan (LAMAP) is a comprehensive planning effort for seven community planning areas within the urbanized core of the County of Los Angeles (County). Dudek helped the County prepare the plan, including a Historic Context Statement to inform and enhance the larger MAP project as it relates to historic resources.
Urban forests play an important role in reducing surface temperatures, improving air quality, conserving energy, and increasing quality of life, amongst many other benefits. A sustainable urban forest must contain healthy, well-maintained trees with high species and age diversity. Creating such a robust urban forest can be complicated for cities and municipalities and is best
In California, the past 20 years have been the driest in over 1,000 years, but a deluge of storms in January and February 2023 brought more than 24.5 trillion gallons of water to the state. “In the past several years, we’ve said, ‘We welcome every drop we can get,’” Dudek hydrogeologist Jill Weinberger said. But
Perhaps inspiring Murphy’s later pronouncement, mathematician Augustus De Morgan said, “Whatever can happen, will happen if we make trials enough.” At some point, your flood infrastructure will be tested by a storm event equal to or larger than the event it was designed to withstand. The chance in any given year that a storm occurs
California state law requires jurisdictions to integrate considerations for climate change and associated risk into General Plans, Climate Adaptation Plans, and Local Coastal Programs. The law also incentivizes the integration of adaptation in Local and Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plans. Collectively, these plans guide the development of long-term community vision, infrastructure investments, community health and safety,
Tasmanian blue gum eucalyptus (eucalyptus globulus) are ubiquitous in California. The species was imported as seeds from Australia during the Gold Rush during the mid-1800s, in the hopes that the fast-growing trees’ wood could be used for construction, furniture making, and railroad ties. They were unsuitable for that use due to the propensity of the
Drought and pests, as well as tissue and root damage, put many trees at risk for internal rot and decay, which can pose a risk to property and public safety in the event a tree fails. Sonic tomography allows municipalities and developers to efficiently detect and accurately map tree decay in a non-invasive manner, especially
Climate change has already impacted communities across the US, however, even with sophisticated models, the where, when, and how severe future impacts will be is still uncertain. For this reason, some municipalities, especially those that lack staff or funds, may be hesitant to undertake highly specific climate resilient projects or implement climate change policies. “No
Planning for Trees Improves Climate Resiliency As the climate changes and the earth warms, extreme heat days (temperatures over 95°F) have increased in frequency and wildfires fueled by dry vegetation burn bigger and for longer, negatively impacting air quality both locally and nationally. While unable to completely cancel out the impacts of an extreme heat
