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Department of Transportation Urban Forestry Records, 1973-2007

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Ellis, Liz
Title
Department of Transportation Urban Forestry Records
Dates
1973-2007 (inclusive)
1993-2006 (bulk)
Quantity
4.2 cubic feet, (11 boxes)
Collection Number
8108-02
Summary
Urban forestry and streetside planting records of the Seattle Department of Transportation's City Arborist, concentrated in 1993-2006
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) was formed by combining transportation planning from the former Strategic Planning Office (SPO) with the former Seattle Transportation Department (SeaTran) to bring a more comprehensive approach to transportation service delivery. A major element of SDOT's creation was the establishment of the Policy, Planning, and Major Project's division, which is charged with transportation system planning and providing increased control and influence over major projects under construction in Seattle. SDOT is currently organized into eight divisions. The Director's Office, Human Resources, and Communications constitute the Executive management division. The Capital Projects and Roadway Structures division includes the Transportation Capital Improvement Program and operation and maintenance of the city's bridges and other structures. Street Use & Urban Forestry provides permitting for all work including planting, pruning, and removal of trees. Responsibility for long-range transportation planning, and developing transportation policy for the city of Seattle falls to the Policy & Planning division. Initiation of large projects and program development is lead by the Major Projects division. Financial oversight of the department, information systems and administrative support is directed by the Resource Management division. The Street Maintenance division has responsibility for street resurfacing, cleaning and general maintenance and Traffic Management is responsible for operation of the city's street system, and neighborhood and operational programs. This department has had a long evolution beginning with the Department of Streets and Sewers which was responsible for planning, construction, repair, and cleaning of the City's streets, sidewalks, and sewers. City Council appointed Seattle's first Street Commissioner in 1875. The position came under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Works in 1890. The position of Superintendent of Streets, Sewers and Parks was established in 1896; authority over parks was removed in 1904. In 1936 the Engineering Department assumed the responsibilities of the Department of Streets and Sewers and the Traffic Department and the Department became the Maintenance Division of the Engineering Department. An ordinance creating a Department of Transportation was passed in July 1971.The legislation provided for the appointment of the Director of Transportation, specified the duties of the Transit Advisory Board, provided for the Seattle Transit Commission, and transferred all remaining operational aspects to the newly organized department. The Seattle Transportation Department was created the traffic and transportation functions of the Engineering in 1997 when Department were consolidated. By June 2002, SDOT and SPO consolidated to form a newly organized department which absorbed responsibilities for maintenance and operation of streets, bridges, retaining walls and seawalls, and traffic control systems in the City. An ordinance passed in 2004 changed the department's name to Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

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Content Description

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples of the Salish Sea region have stewarded the lands now known as Seattle. When white settlers arrived in 1851, the area was covered in old growth forest. Settlers cut and sold the forest for lumber. By 1890, just a few stands of conifers remained in the present-day city limits. Early attempts to restore Seattle's canopy included a 1903 city approval of the Olmsted Brothers' plan to create a network of parkes and boulevards. In 1930, Seattle hired its first City Arborist. Then, in 1967, the city formally placed the development of street tree programs under the Seattle Engineering Department (SED). From the 1990s through the early 2000s, SED employee Liz Ellis expanded her department's impact on the urban forest. Ellis leveraged limited resources by training volunteers, applying for grants, and building coalitions.

The scope of this series is centered around Liz Ellis's tenure as an arboriculturist and tree stewardship program coordinator, with most records in the years 1993-2006. Ellis was heavily involved in training volunteers, partnering with citizens, and doing education and outreach. During Ellis's employment, the City of Seattle underwent departmental re-organization. Her office began in the Seattle Engineering Department (SED), later re-organized into Seattle Transportation (SeaTran), and finally, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

Series includes printed and handwritten records, photographs, and drawings related to the planning and care of Seattle's street trees and street side plantings. Includes volunteer trainings and public-private partnerships created by City of Seattle employee Liz Ellis, mostly from 1993-2006. Includes records from many special projects, including the volunteer training Tree Steward Program (TSP); the public-private partnership TREEmendous Seattle; Springwood Press and Neighbors' Gardening Circular newsletters; the Urban Forestry Coalition (UFC); Seattle Tree Advisory Board (STAB); Urban Forestry Outreach (UFO); Seattle Environmental Education Committee; Sustainable Seattle; Global ReLeaf; Ag in the Classroom; ReLeaf Seattle; Re-Greening Seattle; Trees Across Washington; Heritage Tree Program; Open Space Advocates; Earth Day; Arbor Day; Arbor Month; and the Streetside Garden Contest. Funding for some of these programs came from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods' (DON) Small and Simple Grants; the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC); or the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Includes records of day-to-day operations of the forestry division of the Seattle Department of Transportation, including urban forestry master plans, budgets, sampled work orders, and correspondence.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Department of Transportation Urban Forestry Records, Record Series 8108-02. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Content is arranged by subject into subseries, and then in chronological order within those subseries.

Subseries 1, Tree Steward Program, 1991-1997

Subseries 2, TREEmendous Seattle, 1991-1997

Subseries 3, Newsletters, 1994-2004

Subseries 4, Urban Forestry Coalition, 1994-2002

Subseries 5, Short-term Special Projects and Partnerships, 1990-2007

Subseries 6, Streetside Garden Contest, 2002-2005

Subseries 7, Traffic Circles, 1981-2005

Subseries 8, Neighborhood Initiatives, 1992-2001

Subseries 9, City Arborist Administrative Records, 1973-2006

Related Materials

For earlier materials on urban forestry in Seattle, consult Seattle Municipal Archives record series 2620-01, Seattle Engineering Department Street Trees and Landscaping Records, 1957-2001.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Oscar McNary
2022

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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