Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.
Which U.S. counties branched out with the biggest growth in tree cover in recent years?
To find out, LawnStarter looked at tree cover changes across 3,119 U.S. counties between 2000 and 2020.
Explore our following ranking to discover the top counties with the most tree cover growth. To learn how we ranked the counties, see our methodology at the end.
Notes:
- 1 kilo hectare (kha) = 2,471 acres.
- Tree cover data from Global Forest Watch includes all forms of vegetation higher than 5 meters (roughly 16 feet).
17. Kit Carson County, CO (tie)
- Overall Score: 73.89
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 17
17. Box Butte County, NE (tie)
- Overall Score: 73.89
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 17
17. Castro County, TX (tie)
- Overall Score: 73.89
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 17
17. Hockley County, TX (tie)
- Overall Score: 73.89
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 17
16. Broomfield County, CO
- Overall Score: 73.90
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 16
15. Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK
- Overall Score: 74.04
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 15
14. Kimball County, NE
- Overall Score: 74.07
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 14
13. Swisher County, TX
- Overall Score: 74.43
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 13
12. Dillingham Census Area, AK
- Overall Score: 74.47
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 12
11. Aleutians East Borough, AK
- Overall Score: 74.52
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 11
10. Imperial County, CA
- Overall Score: 74.62
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 10
9. Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK
- Overall Score: 74.66
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 9
8. Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK
- Overall Score: 74.98
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 8
7. Northwest Arctic Borough, AK
- Overall Score: 75.02
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 7
6. Hale County, TX
- Overall Score: 75.50
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 6
5. Gaines County, TX
- Overall Score: 76.22
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 5
4. Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK
- Overall Score: 76.50
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 4
3. Chugach Census Area, AK
- Overall Score: 76.86
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 3
2. Yoakum County, TX
- Overall Score: 77.47
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 2
1. Lea County, NM
- Overall Score: 95.15
- Tree Cover Growth Rank: 1
Top County Insights
With population changes, decreasing farmland and ranching practices, and revegetation of orphaned oil wells, tree canopies are growing in some prairie and grassland regions.
- Lea County, New Mexico (No. 1), is among the 25 largest U.S. counties by land area, with plenty of space for saplings to spread. It borders Texas’ Yoakum County (No. 2) and Gaines County (No. 5) — these High Plains counties are major oil producers in the Permian Basin.
- These three counties have the highest changes in tree cover by percentage of growth: 1,300% for Lea County, 310% for Yoakum, and 240% for Gaines. This jump in growth seems dramatic because these counties started off with small canopies in the first place.
Methodology
For 3,119 counties with available data, we gathered data from 2000 to 2020 for the net percentage change in tree cover and net change in tree cover (in kha).
Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each county to determine its rank in each factor and overall. A county’s Overall Score is the average of its scores.
The highest Overall Score ranked “Most Tree Gain” (No. 1).
Add a Comment