This is what the city wants to do to save its tree canopy

Dave Green can't help but notice the orange spray-painted mark around elm trees in Kildonan Park – a sign they will soon be cut down due to Dutch Elm Disease.

"You just think it takes a long time for a tree to get to that size and for a tree to become that valuable and we're losing a lot of them," said Green, who is with Trees Please Winnipeg.

The advocate for green space and trees says Winnipeg needs to do more to protect them.

It's a warning being heard at city hall. A new report says a quarter to half of Winnipeg's tree canopy could be lost by 2065 due to invasive pests, disease and drought.

"In a general sense, we are removing more trees than we are replacing, particularly in boulevards and in parks," said Martha Barwinsky, a city forester.

The report outlines a strategy to reverse that course over the next 20 years.

It calls for the city to significantly cut down the pruning cycle for street trees from 31 years to seven, and 12 years for park trees.

It also recommends replacing trees on a one-to-one ratio whenever a tree is removed.

But it comes at a cost. In order to achieve this, the report says 41.7 new full time equivalent positions are needed for planting and pruning. The whole strategy is estimated to cost $16.2 million a year starting in 2024, ramping up to $19.7 million in 2028.

"It's a lot, but that's what it's going to take to really achieve those targets and meet the goals of the strategy," Barwinsky said.

The mayor says it's good news there is a report calling for investments in the tree canopy, but he also says the costs are significant

"I'd like to have questions answered around the capacity of the private sector right now in tree pruning and in planting. I'd like to see ways that we could work with local groups," Mayor Scott Gillingham said on Tuesday.

The strategy doesn't go as far as a plan from city council and mayor Gillingham which aims to replace trees on a two-to-one basis. The report says that would cost an extra $6 million and the nursery industry is not equipped to deal with that demand.