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Tree canopy coverage creeps upward in city By DYANA BAGBY dyana@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs’s tree canopy has rebounded slightly over the past two years, says a recent city study. The Geographic Information System department said the city had a 56.3 percent tree canopy coverage across 13,980 acres in 2025. That’s a bump up from 2023 when the canopy coverage was 54.5 percent over 13,564 acres. GIS Manager Bridget Lawlor told the City Council at an April 21 work session the city uses high-resolution aerial photography and artificial intelligence to measure the canopy. “With the AI data, we generally have a greater than 95 percent accuracy,” she said. Council members said they were pleased with the news, but they expressed some skepticism. Construction of mixed-use developments such as Hillcrest, adjacent to City Springs, and
Solis Sandy Springs near the MARTA station took their toll on trees. The city’s tree canopy lost nearly 100 acres during the major reconfiguration of the I-285 and Ga. 400 interchange, according to the study. In 2017, trees covered 106 acres from Mount Vernon Highway to the eastern city limits and along the Glenridge Connecter to Pitts Road. In 2021, the coverage fell to 22 acres and in 2023, the number dipped further to 20 acres. In 2025, the canopy grew to 27 acres. “I am surprised [by the 2 percent increase] because I feel like lots of trees are coming down,” Councilwoman Mary Ford said. Willie Park, the city’s Urban Forester coordinator, said during many major developments, the trees being removed are skinny “edge” trees that don’t add a lot to the canopy. Behind the skinny trees are other trees waiting to branch out, he said.
See CANOPY, Page 11
CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED
Seasonal state burn ban runs through September FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The state’s annual burn ban for 54 North Georgia counties starts May 1, adding to the 91 counties in South and Central Georgia under a 30-day ban to prevent wildfires. State law prohibits the open burning of yard and land-clearing debris in Metro
Atlanta between May 1 and September 30. This is in addition to the year-round state ban on the burning of household garbage. The ban is enacted to lessen the likelihood of wildfires and to enhance air quality in the dryer months. Whether it’s before or after May 1,
open burns for the disposal of yard debris are not allowed year-round in parts of Milton that aren’t zoned agricultural. The burn ban coincides with the majority of Fulton County experiencing an extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, despite recent rainfall.
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Wildfires continue to break out in counties across South Georgia after the burn ban was implemented April 22. The two largest wildfires, the Pineland Road Fire and Ga. 82 Fire, have burned nearly 55,000 acres combined. — Hannah Yahne
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