- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Parks & Community Services Department
- Hanford Goes Green
- Urban Forest Management Plan
Urban Forest Management Plan
What is an Urban Forest?
An urban forest is all trees in the City, like those that grow on private property, streets, parks, and commercial properties. Urban trees that grow within communities help Hanford residents adapt to more extreme weather such as heat, storms, and flooding by providing shade, cleaning air, and reducing stormwater impacts, and supporting local animals.
Why does Hanford Need a Plan?
Healthier and Safer Trees: A comprehensive plan helps us maintain the health and diversity of our trees, ensuring trees are thoughtfully planted and maintained to serve the coming generations minimize the risks trees present to life and property.
Environmental Benefits: Trees provide shade, absorb pollutants, reduce stormwater runoff, and combat climate change by sequestering carbon. An Urban Forest Management Plan will help the City leverage trees strategically to address challenges faced by the community of today and the future.
Community Well-being: Hanford’s parks and green spaces promote physical and mental health, offering places for recreation and relaxation. The City’s UFMP will help guide the City toward growing and maintaining Hanford’s urban forest so that everyone in the community has equal access to trees and the benefits they provide.
Economic Value: Well-maintained trees can increase property values and attract businesses, boosting our local economy. The Urban Forest Management Plan will create strategies for enhancing and preserving these valuable community assets. A well-maintained Urban Forest also provides more opportunities for workforce development in the green jobs sector.
UFMP Working Group: A working group made up of members that represent Hanford will be assembled to help guide the Vision, Goals, and Strategic Plan for the UFMP. There will be a series of three working group meetings from June through August, and members are expected to review the administrative draft of the UFMP in July. If you are interested in being on the Working Group please contact Brian Johnson.
The Draft Hanford UFMP is Open for Public Comment!
The City has just completed a draft of the Hanford UFMP and we want to hear what community members think of the plan’s proposed vision, goals, and recommended actions. The public comment period for the draft UFMP document will be open from January 19 to February 19, 2026. Please provide any comments you have on the UFMP plan by emailing us with the email title “Hanford UFMP Comments." You can access the draft UFMP, Executive Summary, and Appendices using the links below.
Contact
Have any other questions or input? Please contact Brian Johnson.
Project Schedule
The development of the UFMP will take place over the next several months, with a public draft expected to be released for community input by August 2025. The community survey will be open from April through June 2025, and other community engagement events will take place from April through August. The Final draft of the UFMP is expected to be completed by September 2025.
Funding Acknowledgement
Urban Forest Management Plan development is funded by a grant from the United States Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.