by Nathan Boddy
The day began with a touch of rain, but by mid-morning, the sun was falling on a gathering of volunteers ready to roll up their sleeves and put new trees into the ground. The coordinated effort was part of Enterprise Mobility’s Urban Tree Initiative, which aims to improve urban tree canopies in areas that may lack adequate environmental investment or have been impacted by natural disasters. Trees in both Missoula and Hamilton took heavy beatings by the wind storms in July and August last year, but thanks to the efforts on Tuesday, May 20, Hamilton’s urban canopy will become a touch greener.
In 2006, the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, along with the Arbor Day Foundation, announced their 50 Million Tree Pledge—a goal of planting 50 million trees in areas of greatest need by 2056. Hamilton was selected to receive some of the benefits of this project due to damage caused by the 2024 storm, which Hamilton Parks and Urban Forestry Director, Amy Fox, estimated to have impacted at least 25% of the town’s trees.
Patrick Plantenberg with the Montana Urban and Community Forestry Association (MUCFA) helped coordinate the event along with Fox. He gave volunteers a briefing on proper tree planting, something he knows a lot about after a career with the state in mining reclamation, soils and plants. During a short break, he explained that the storms of 2024 essentially drained municipal funds that would have been available for planting trees, requiring those funds to be redirected to emergency clean up instead.
Patrick Plantenberg gives a demonstration on the proper way to plant a tree during the volunteer effort on Tuesday, May 20. Photo by Nathan Boddy.
“They’re still cleaning up from last year’s storm,” he said of Missoula and Hamilton. “This grant came at just the right time. Without philanthropic organizations like Enterprise, there wouldn’t be any trees planted this year in these two cities or other cities across the country.”
Plantenberg went on to explain that the federal Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022, included $1.5 billion for urban forestry throughout the country, but that those funds are currently frozen by the federal government under cuts by the Trump Administration.
The tree planting initiative includes more than just the trees themselves, Plantenberg explained, adding that a five-year maintenance program will help ensure the trees get off to a good start.
“Over 90% of trees planted in Montana don’t get maintained properly,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve had a grant that includes five years of maintenance. That’s when the tree really develops its structure.”
The tree planting began at the Ravalli County Courthouse, where a crew from Trapper Creek Job Corps had already prepared multiple planting sites. Their involvement was essential to the day’s success, said Fox. “We wouldn’t have been able to get this accomplished without them.” In addition to digging tree holes, the group also completed concrete work for the county. “They really showed up for us.” Students from the Job Corps had also been involved with the emergency tree clean up following the 2024 wind storm.
Volunteers get a morning briefing before diving into the work that will eventually lead to 30 new trees within the City of Hamilton. Photo by Nathan Boddy.
Fox has also informed the city council that she applied for and received a grant from DNRC to update the tree inventory for trees in town. The grant of $20,000 is expected to be channeled into replacing the 2011 tree inventory, and will allow the city to make better informed decisions about the future of its urban forest.