Mission
Founded in 2023, Tree Canopy NOLA advocates for the trees of New Orleans.
Just over 18% of the city is covered by a canopy of live oak, cypress, magnolia, and other species—compared to almost 33% before Hurricane Katrina (2005).
We envision a time when the canopy will cover half the parish, and the City’s expenditures on forestry will double—finally matching the national average of $2.5–3.5M annually.
We’re here to fight for a precious commodity under siege from climate change, human error—and inadequate municipal laws.
This website provides news and documentation about our work to strengthen weak City Code provisions that were enacted in 1956—and have not been amended since.
Timeline: Development of the draft tree protection ordinance
Sept. 4, 2026. TCNOLA continues to champion meaningful ordinance reform and a vigorous public debate about the draft ordinance that we first distributed in March of 2024.
February 24, 2025. The Council’s Quality of Life Committee held a public hearing on the ordinance. The Committee approved an ordinance drafted by Parks & Parkways that tree advocates criticized as lacking in substance. Despite opposition testimony from four tree canopy organizations, the Quality-of-Life Committee urged and the City Council approved in March an inadequate ordinance that was described by tree advocates as “vacuous.” It has failed to protect trees in the public right-of-way. December 16, 2024. We finally brought all parties to the table.
October 7, 2024. The City Council’s Quality of Life Committee held a public hearing on the draft ordinance proposed by the Department of Parks & Parkways. (This is the City’s version of the ordinance.) The P&PW ordinance was criticized for its inadequacies by many speakers, who criticized its lack of transparency, insufficient penalties, and feeble enforcement procedures. Watch the meeting video. Meeting minutes and link to online public comments.
August 6, 2024. At a press conference, TCNOLA joined with other advocates to form the Save Trees with Ordinance Protection (STOP) Coalition, issuing An Urgent Call to Action (.ppt) to the City Council.
March 22, 2024. TCNOLA circulated its draft tree protection ordinance to City Councilmembers. (This is TCNOLA’s version of the ordinance.)
What you can do
Write to contact@tcnola.org — ask for email updates to stay informed.