OPINION: Oregon City should follow the lead of its 'Tree Hero'

On Wednesday April 17, the city of Oregon City recognized Nancy Broshot who was awarded “Heritage Tree Hero of 2024” by the Oregon Heritage Tree Program, which is overseen by the Oregon Travel Information Council. She was honored by Oregon City Commission for her efforts in amending municipal code with regard to tree preservation.

She cataloged a list of trees appropriate for planting in the municipality. She amended the code to protect our tree canopy with the Natural Resource Committee (NRC). Members of the community who came to acknowledge her efforts were Samantha Wolf, chair of the NRC, Pete Walter, planning manager of the city of Oregon City, and members of the Oregon City Parks Foundation.

Members of the community should be aware of the professionalism and expertise Ms. Broshot brings to Oregon City. For many years she was a professor in environmental studies, biology and health sciences at Linfield College. She was a consistent advocate in protecting the trees in our urban residential areas. My intention is to make her efforts known to the community and encourage our community to further her legacy.

Our neighboring town in West Linn is known as “The City of Trees.” They take extra initiatives, such as penalizing wasteful tree removal and not building above their tree canopy. As a planning commissioner, I see infill increasing and, as a result, our tree canopy is getting cut down. In the future, I implore us to carefully consider and implement Ms. Broshot’s amendments to code when evaluating development applications and city projects. The future of Oregon City is at a crucial point and, as a community, I encourage you to let your voices be heard. Please give citizens feedback on land use developments, park master plans and other city projects.

We thank Nancy Broshot for years of kindness and service to Oregon City in improving our tree canopy.