Mayor Suttle announced today that the City of Omaha has filled the position City Forester, a position that has been vacant for several years. John Wynn, a Parks Department employee since 1997, will take on the role.
The City Forester is responsible for the care and maintenance of the city’s tree canopy comprised of over 4000 lane miles of right of way and over 250 city parks totaling more than 10,000 acres.
“John’s experience in the Parks department and his experience as an arborist give him the skills our City needs to ensure that we take the best care of our natural resources,” said Mayor Suttle. “His tremendous knowledge will bring the highest assurance for the health and safety of our city’s canopy, a vital part of the high quality of life in Omaha.”
Filling the City Forester position is also part of an organizational shift within the Parks Department. Tree maintenance, which had been aligned under city code enforcement, will now be part of Parks Maintenance. “This change will provide a more holistic approach to maintaining the canopy,” said City Park Director Melinda Pearson. “We can expand work from primarily along the right of ways to take in the parks system and canopy as a whole in managing the health of our trees.”
