Casey Trees gives DC's trees a B grade; Washington, DC; 4/28/09

Casey Trees gives DC B grade Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
Casey Trees, a D.C.-based nonprofit founded in 2001, gave the city a B grade under its first annual tree report card.
The rating, the only independent evaluation of D.C.’s trees, is based on five tree metrics of coverage, health, planting, protection and awareness.
Tree health – the overall condition of D.C.’s tree canopy – got the only A grade.
Tree protection – regulatory and voluntary efforts to preserve existing trees – received the lowest grade of a C. The three other areas each received B grades.
According to Mark Buscaino, executive director of Casey Trees, the urban tree canopy goal “gives all partners an overall annual planting target, and we’re pleased by Mayor Fenty’s leadership endorsing this goal as part of his DC Green Agenda.”
The city has said it will attempt to plant more trees to increase its canopy from nearly 35 percent to 40 percent in the next 25 years — the equivalent of about 8,600 new trees each year, for a total 216,300 new trees.