*2026 Update: We are currently in the litigation process of determining if funding will be returned. Stay Tuned! What Is It?The Stodden Park Hazard Tree Abatement and Sustainable Urban Reforestat

*2026 Update: We are currently in the litigation process of determining if funding will be returned. Stay Tuned! What Is It?The Stodden Park Hazard Tree Abatement and Sustainable Urban Reforestation Project is our newest project here in Butte-Silver Bow Urban Forestry that we will be taking on starting in the Summer of 2024. The purpose of this 5-year project is to remove hazardous trees that pose a severe risk not only to park visitors, but to neighboring houses and other public property as well. During a tree risk assessment conducted back in May of 2023, it was determined that 170 trees had High or Extreme risk ratings in relation to the safety of the public. The removal of high-risk trees is and has been a primary priority of the BSB Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP), which gives this project the utmost importance. This project has been made possible with funding from the USDA Forest Service Inflation Reduction Act Grant. Trees to Be RemovedHere is a current map from our Tree Inventory that displays all trees that make up the entirety of Stodden Park. For the sake of this project, the trees that are to be removed due to High or Extreme risk ratings are indicated by either green or yellow dots. The green dots represent the Cottonwood (Populus) species and the yellow dots indicate the Willow (Salix) species.What Can You Expect to See in the Future?Given that the Stodden Park Project is an expected 5-year project, we have established a year-by-year plan that will help keep us on track for success. Each year, our goal is to remove 35 of the highest priority High or Extreme risk trees. In addition, we intend to plant at least 50 sustainable replacement trees each year to increase the diversity of the tree species found within Stodden Park. Apart from the removal and planting of trees, we plan to conduct public outreach each month. We also intend to host a public event at Stodden Park each year to educate and inform the public on the progress of the project. We hope that these methods of outreach will encourage public engagement not only in the Stodden Park Project itself, but in the process of diversifying Butte-Silver Bow's Urban Forest as a whole as well.2024 Winter Tree RemovalsThe process of removing trees has officially begun! For removal, we are first prioritizing the most hazardous cottonwoods given the state of decay they are in. Many of these mature cottonwoods are experiencing severe internal rot to the extent that they are nearly hollow. The internal rotting seen within these trees is leading to progressive trunk failure causing many of these trees to splinter. This fragile state makes these cottonwoods very hazardous to the public, hence why removal is necessary. Below are some pictures to display how the rotting has impacted these mature trees.2025/2026 UpdateIn 2025, the Stodden Park Project was terminated until further notice. In the time that we were able to tackle this project, 72 hazardous cottonwoods were removed! Roughly 150 trees were purchased and planted with the funding that remained available. In addition, we have purchased more equipment that will help us become more efficient in our urban forestry work. As of 2026, we are currently in the litigation process of determining whether we will receive our funding back, so the project is still on hold for now.Updates on the Stodden Park ProjectUpdates on the ongoing project will be posted here as well as on the Butte-Silver Bow Urban Forestry social media pages listed below:BSB Urban Forestry Facebook PageBSB Urban Forestry Instagram Page