Natural areas are managed by the City of St. Albert in alignment with the City's Natural Areas Management Plan. As part of the plan, staff reduce active management of natural vegetation to the minimum extent necessary with a primary focus on reducing risk to human safety and property. Natural areas are assessed as part of the five-year cycle for tree maintenance, and may result in management needed to ensure public safety. This includes ensuring that areas that the public frequent are kept safe from hazard trees, and trees with the potential of causing damage to homes/property are managed.

Management of these urban natural areas helps to promote new growth to help sustain the forest into the future. While it will look more open in the beginning, as new vegetation moves in, the area will return to a more natural look and feel and will fill back in again.

City Service Level

• Pruning or felling trees that present risk or liability to the public.
• Removing badly broken, dead or dying trees that may pose a risk to people or adjacent properties.
• Leaving as many trees as possible still standing at various heights for use as wildlife trees.
• Felling trees so they are laying at ground level to allow absorption of moisture to speed up decay and nutrient return to the soil, and reduce the fire hazard.
• Considering potential sites for 'speeding up' regeneration with additional plantings of native trees and shrubs by local community groups.

Reporting Damaged, Broken or Diseased Trees

If you would like to report a tree that needs to be trimmed or if it is damaged, broken, or diseased please report the issue online or call 780-459-1557. These requests are recorded and sent to the appropriate section. They will then be inspected and scheduled for repair based on their level of severity.

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Related Pages

Planting & Removal ›

Tree Diseases and Insects ›

Tree Care ›