Despite a current decline in Guadalupe’s tree cover, residents can expect to see an increase in trees over the next 40 years.
With grant money from Cal Fire, Guadalupe committed to adopting an urban forest management plan and increasing canopy cover by 10 percent. It’s an ambitious goal, Engineering Technician Dayanira Cruz told the Sun, but one that’ll provide environmental benefits, community well-being, and economic value.
“A lot of times it’s really easy to see trees as a nuisance, or as a cost, and so we’re trying to figure out ways to flip the narrative on why trees are actually really beneficial,” Cruz said.
At the Jan. 13 City Council meeting, environmental consulting firm Dudek presented an updated draft of the plan with results from a citywide tree inventory and community surveys that Guadalupe conducted last fall. The draft—and a brief summary—remain open for public comment until Feb. 16, and then it’ll appear before the City Council for approval, Cruz said.
While Guadalupe started developing its management plan, Cruz took the step to become a certified arborist. The engineering technician passed the exam in late 2025, bringing formal expertise to the city about the plants on a cellular level, harmful diseases, and the ways trees interact with the urban environment.
“We have a certified arborist on staff now, which I know was a big thing that Cal Fire was really wanting,” Cruz said about the city’s grant from the agency.
The plan will help the city’s canopy recover after a recent reduction. Between 2018 and 2022, Guadalupe lost 12 acres of canopy cover from a bird’s eye view, Kevin Cullinen, an urban forest planner at Dudek, explained at the City Council meeting. There were approximately 500 trees lost in that time, and 92 percent occurred on private property.
“We found the city does have declining urban canopy cover right now,” Cullinen said.
Results from the 2025 public tree inventory identified 735 living public trees and 74 unique species, Cullinen added. However, the majority are young plants and aren’t providing significant canopies yet. The management plan will help the new trees grow and remain healthy, an investment that’ll pay off in the future.
While the city has already hosted virtual focus groups, administered a community survey, and organized a tabling event, staff is considering ways to further educate the public. Residents seem enthusiastic about urban forestry, and there are 38 public vacant sites in Guadalupe that are ready for planting, Cruz said.
“If we create a tree planting community event and try to get people to see the benefit of having trees and educating them when they’re out there, that could also help out,” Cruz said.
Community members can contact Cruz with questions by emailing dcruz@ci.guadalupe.ca.us and submit comments on the draft urban forest management to Dudek at ufmp@dudek.com.
This article appears in January 22 – January 29, 2026.