Most people know that deforestation happens in the Amazon Rainforest, Indonesia, and other forest hubs. However, most people don't know that deforestation happens in urban and suburban areas. In Everett, Washington, a suburban area, forest loss and deforestation are occurring at a fast rate. It's occurring from riparian zones along creeks to large tracts of green space. In areas such as North Creek and Swamp Creek, the forest loss has shown considerable effects. These ecosystems, once rich in biodiversity, have suffered from both direct tree removal and indirect stressors like sedimentation, pollution, and temperature rise due to canopy loss.
Everett's tree canopy covers only about 25 percent of the city, while impervious surfaces like concrete, asphalt, and buildings cover around 43 percent of the city. This imbalance creates more stormwater runoff, higher temperatures, and fewer natural habitats. Meanwhile, vulnerable communities face increased flood risk, reduced air quality, and loss of recreational or cooling green spaces.
Native peoples, such as the Tulalip Tribes and other Coast Salish communities, have links to the lands and waters of Washington based on their lineage. Many indigenous peoples are experiencing considerable disruption in their customs or their ability to execute their traditional practices due to the issue of deforestation. A current, meaningful example is the 2024 legal rights initiative to the Snohomish River watershed in the Everett area. The legal rights initiative will allow community members (including tribes) to pursue legal action on behalf of the river when its ecosystem is threatened.
Everett neighborhoods with more low-income residents have way less tree cover than neighborhoods with more wealth. Trees are good for mental health, lower urban heat islands, and filter air pollution. Unfortunately, too many low-income and communities of color live in neighborhoods with relatively no mature trees compared to other neighborhoods due to historical underinvestment, redlining and other factors.
Friends of North Creek Forest protected a 64-acre urban forest once slated for development through partnerships with UW Bothell and youth-led restoration ecology efforts. The Snohomish Conservation District and City of Everett are expanding the Urban and Community Forest Program, with a goal to plant 7,000 trees in underserved neighborhoods by 2028.