“Putting a price on old-growth trees” (Sept. 5, 2026)

Have you ever wondered what value we should attach to old growth trees that enrich the New Orleans landscape? According to this New York Times article—”The Latest Wealth Flex: Big Trees” (Sept. 5, 2026; gift link)—”tech moguls and hedge-fund titans” are giving us answers in hard dollar expenditures for trees uprooted and relocated to their estates: $250,000 each for a couple of banyan trees; $500,000 for a single African baobab; and a “privacy screen” consisting of 100 American holly trees each 18 feet tall worth “more than $1 million.” Consider the wealth that this City owns—that we citizens collectively own—in trees growing in public rights-of-way along our streets, avenues, and boulevards. If your ancestors had left you a centuries-old asset that had grown to incalculable value, wouldn’t you feel obligated to protect that wealth, to preserve it and grow it for future generations? Well, they did exactly that, and we do have that obligation. Tree Canopy NOLA launched three years ago with a call for stronger laws in the City Code to preserve and protect our invaluable tree canopy. That’s still the mission in 2026.