Austin's Urban Forests

Austin Energy works to protect and expand the tree canopy throughout our city. These efforts are widely recognized as contributing to the health of our urban forests.

Both directly and through programs like NeighborWoods, Austin Energy funds the local planting of more than 6,000 trees a year.

The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Austin Energy a Tree Line USA utility since 2002. The Tree Line USA program recognizes the best practices in utility arboriculture.

We Follow Best Practices to Prevent Oak Wilt

Austin Energy’s Certified Arborists and Foresters recognize the danger oak wilt poses to our urban forests. To combat its spread, they follow trimming best practices, including all procedures currently recommended by the City of Austin and the Texas Forest Service.

To help prevent the spread of oak wilt, we:

• Make every effort to avoid trimming red oak and live oak trees between February and June when oak wilt is more likely to spread — except when we must trim to prevent imminent outages, restore power and ensure public safety.
• Conduct limited trimming on oak trees during the oak wilt window in areas that are experiencing frequent vegetation-related outages or emergency situations.
• Prioritize oak trimming outside of oak wilt window (August-January).
• Sterilize all trimming equipment before performing any work on oak trees.
• Paint all trimming “wounds” on oak trees year round.