Vancouver to remove a fraction of 160K Stanley Park trees it originally estimated

The City of Vancouver has significantly reduced its estimate of the number of trees that will need to be removed from Stanely Park.

In November of 2023, the Vancouver Park Board estimated that up to 160,000 trees that had been killed by a hemlock looper moth infestation would need to be cut down for safety reasons.

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But in an estimate released this week, that number has been significantly downgraded.

“So we are suspecting we will likely be removing anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 in the park, only those that are causing the most risk to public safety,” Joel McLeod, associate director of urban forestry told Global News.

“We will be leaving the majority of the trees that are dead, especially those that are out of high-use areas.”

While this is the first time the city has presented an alternative estimate for the number of trees to be removed, McLeod said the 160,00 figure was only considered “very early on” in the process.

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He added that many of the dead trees are small, or do not pose a serious safety risk for other reasons.

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“But I think it’s fair to say that that has never really been the case that we are planning to remove all 160,000 trees park,” he said. “Only 20,000 of the trees exceed 20cm in diameter.”

McLeod could not say when the city’s estimate changed, and it was not immediately clear why the 160,000 figure was left to stand publicly for nearly a year.

There have been other transparency concerns around the tree removal process.

The number of trees that had actually been removed from the park only came to light in June, and in an email sent only to park board stakeholders.

And in September, a confidential memo obtained by Global News revealed an $11.1-million budget increase for the work.

Michael Caditz, a member of the group Save Stanley Park that has taken the city to court over the operation, said there has been a pattern of obfuscation from the city.

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“This whole operation is suspect, has failed in so many ways with respect to transparency, with respect to democracy,” he said.

“What’s happening now with this confusion and uncertainty around how many trees is just underlining the concerns that I and other people in my group and I believe many citizens in Vancouver have around the sort of willy-nilly unscientific nature of this entire logging operation.”

It’s an assertion McLeod disputes, saying the plan has been carefully crafted in consultation with biologists, foresters and risk assessors, all with the aim of balancing safety and the city’s values around the park.

“We value the resource of Stanley Park as much as the community does, we recognize it is a real jewel for the people of Vancouver as well as the 20 million people that visit Stanley Park annually,” he said.

“I just want to reassure the public we do have the long-term stewardship of Stanley Park in our hearts and minds and are dedicated to maintaining this reverential space.”