One of the biggest pressures about tree removal decisions in the Hudson Valley is the feeling of responsibility to your community.
Trees are important to communities. Many of our local towns and cities are certified as Tree Cities, meaning that they keep track of their trees and are actively trying to increase the number of trees that can be responsibly planted.
But if you are not thrilled with your tree, whether its placement, its species, its threat to hurting people or damaging property, its vulnerability to invasives, or other factors, you may be hesitant to cut it down out of a sense of duty.
But if you replace it with a tree that you’re thrilled with, and place it in safely in the exact place that it belongs, then you’re doing a great service to your community.
And generally in the Hudson Valley, we are blessed to live in communities that have plenty of trees already that can pick up the slack while you replace your tree with something else.
Using American Forests’ Tree Equity Score data, we can actually rank local towns by how many trees they have per person and how much of the landscape is covered by tree canopy. That gives homeowners a clearer sense of:
- Whether their neighborhood is relatively tree-rich or tree-poor
- How much pressure trees may be putting on older homes, foundations, roofs, and septic systems
- When it might be time to remove a problem tree—and what to plant instead
This post walks through eleven Hudson Valley towns Expert Tree Service frequently works in. If you are ready get your trees removed or trimmed by some of the most trusted experts in the Hudson Valley, give us a call at 845-331-6782.
Tree Rankings: Most Trees per Person, Town by Town
Trees per person is a helpful way to compare how tree-dense different communities are. Below is a ranking from most to fewest trees per person, with overall canopy cover for each town’s urban area:
| Rank | Town | Trees per person | Tree canopy cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Grange | 37.1 | 64% |
| 2 | Hyde Park | 31.8 | 74% |
| 3 | Saugerties | 25.4 | 57% |
| 4 | Hurley | 24.6 | 57% |
| 5 | Ulster | 22.1 | 48% |
| 6 | Lloyd | 21.8 | 61% |
| 7 | 19th Congressional District | 19.3 | 56% |
| 8 | Catskill | 19.1 | 54% |
| 9 | New Paltz | 16.0 | 66% |
| 10 | Wawarsing | 10.3 | 48% |
| 11 | Poughkeepsie | 8.7 | 52% |
| 12 | Kingston | 7.6 | 52% |
Remember: these numbers are for the urban areas in each town, not the entire town including deep forest. But they still give a solid snapshot of how tree-rich each place is.
1. La Grange
The Town of La Grange in Dutchess County leads the way with 37.1 trees per person and a very high 64% tree canopy cover of 64%.
2. Hyde Park
Hyde Park has 31.8 trees per person and a 74% tree canopy cover. According to our blog post about permits needed to cut down Hudson Valley trees, they have some guardrails in place to protect trees along right-of-ways.
3. Saugerties
In our hometown of Saugerties, we can boast that we have 25.6 trees per capita and a 57% tree cover rate. In a previous blog post, we found that tree removal laws in Saugerties are robust to help protect public trees, park trees and right of way trees.
4. Hurley
In Ulster County’s town of Hurley, there are 24.6 trees per capita and a tree cover of 59%. This is despite a recent blog post on tree injuries finding a brutal 100% fatality rate for ash trees in West Hurley due to the ash borer.
5. Town of Ulster
The Town of Ulster has 22.1 trees per capita and a tree cover rate of 48%.
6. Lloyd
The Town of Lloyd in Ulster County has 21.8 trees per capita and a high cover rate of 61%. According to a recent blog post, they have a high number of oaks, maples and birches.
7. 19th Congressional District
The 19th Congressional District, used as a stand-in for the area as a whole, has 19.3 trees per capita in urban areas and a 56% tree cover rate. These numbers represent a general baseline for the region.
8. Catskill
In the Town of Catskill in Greene County, there are 19.1 trees per capita and a cover rate of 54%. A recent blog post found that some of the most common trees in town are the Norway maple, the Bradford pear, and the Silver maple.
9. New Paltz
In the Town of New Paltz, there are 16 trees per capita and a 66% tree cover rate. According to a recent blog post, this Certified Tree City USA’s most common trees include the Norway Maple, the Sugar Maple and the Eastern Red Cedar.
10. Wawarsing (Including Ellenville)
In the Town of Wawarsing in Western Ulster County, there’s are 10.3 trees per capita with a 48% cover rate.
11. Poughkeepsie
Hudson Valley cities, with more people and less open space for trees, are understandably at the bottom of the list. Poughkeepsie is no exception, with 8.7 trees per capita and 52% tree canopy cover. Owing to its density, Poughkeepsie has some simple tree removal laws that help people remove trees before they endanger pedestrians and motorists alike.
12. Kingston
The City of Kingston has 7.6 trees per capita and 52% tree canopy cover. The tree removal laws may be changing soon, and from the last tree survey, their most common trees were Norway Maple, Thornless Honey Locust and Ornamental Pear.