Buncombe County is losing trees at breakneck speed. Rapid development and large-scale projects continue to wreck our county’s greenspaces, and there is currently no law to protect the county against tree loss. A 2018 study showed that just within Asheville City limits, 891 acres of trees were lost in the prior decade. Tree loss county-wide is likely far worse. While the City of Asheville passed a Tree Canopy Protection Ordinance and Zero-Net Loss tree policy in 2020, no such policies exist in Buncombe County. A Buncombe County Tree Canopy Protection Ordinance and Zero Net Loss policy are urgently needed to protect the remaining tree canopy and mitigate past losses. 

Trees are not just nice to have. They provide many tangible, irreplaceable benefits, including providing shade and evaporative cooling to lower temperatures, reducing energy costs for buildings, absorbing carbon emissions to fight climate change, intercepting water to prevent runoff and flooding, protecting steep slopes from erosion, and contributing to residents' social and mental enjoyment and health. We know trees serve these vital functions, and yet deforestation continues accelerating. We lose hundreds of acres of trees each year from our landscape.  Without tree protection, preservation, and replacement, our county will increasingly experience significant environmental, health, and property damage consequences. Lost to clear-cutting, acres of trees cannot be recovered and newly planted saplings take generations to grow -- if they even survive to adulthood.

Tree protection ordinances exist all across the US at the state and local level, including many counties. Such ordinances allow communities to set clear standards for the management and protection of trees and ensure sustainable development practices. Absent a protective ordinance, Buncombe County will witness continued deterioration of our tree canopy and contention around large-scale developments.

We call on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to pass a Buncombe County Tree Canopy Protection Ordinance and a Zero Net Loss Policy. These laws should be enacted soon, as the North Carolina General Assembly is poised to pass a law at the state level (HB 496) that would BAN any municipal law that protects trees. Demand a sustainable future for Buncombe County. Demand tree protection and replacement with a county-wide protective ordinance.