Cheyenne’s Tree Team Nabs Wyoming’s Top Urban-Forestry Honor for 2025

The original story by Denise Mestas for Wyoming News Now.

Rooted in Cheyenne just earned the state’s highest nod for city trees, and it’s hard to argue they haven’t put in the work. The Wyoming State Forestry Division, in partnership with the Wyoming Tree Academy, has named the nonprofit the 2025 Outstanding Wyoming Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Program — a mouthful of a title that boils down to this: Cheyenne’s grassroots tree effort is the model the rest of the state is watching.

Launched in 2017, Rooted in Cheyenne has planted more than 1,900 street trees across the capital — quiet infrastructure that cools sidewalks, soaks up stormwater, buffers wind, and makes neighborhoods feel like neighborhoods. What set the program apart, according to state foresters, isn’t just the raw numbers. It’s the ecosystem they’ve built around those trees: an army of volunteers, tight coordination with the City of Cheyenne Urban Forestry Division, and an intentional focus on biodiversity so the urban forest can withstand pests, drought, and the wild temperature swings Wyoming is famous for.

“Rooted in Cheyenne has become a model for community forestry in Wyoming,” said Jacob Mares, Urban & Community Forestry Program Manager for the Wyoming State Forestry Division. “Their focus on outreach, education, and biodiversity shows what can be achieved when citizens and municipalities work hand in hand to care for the urban forest.”

That citizen-municipal handshake is the whole point of the state’s U&CF mission: helping every Wyoming town plan, plant, and care for trees that improve quality of life, strengthen local ecosystems, and deliver benefits that last decades. Programs like Rooted in Cheyenne prove the formula works. Volunteers do the door-knocking and the digging; city crews bring professional know-how and long-term maintenance; donors and partners help pay for saplings, stakes, watering bags, and education. The result is a more resilient, healthier, better-shaded city — one block at a time.

The award was presented during the 2025 Wyoming Tree Academy in Sheridan on Sept. 25–26, where more than 125 arborists, planners, parks staff, and community leaders swapped best practices on tree care and biodiversity. State foresters used the moment to spotlight Rooted in Cheyenne’s consistency: years of Saturday plantings, neighborhood outreach, and species-diverse selections that guard against the risks of over-relying on a handful of trees.

It’s also a win for the partners who’ve been in the trenches: the City of Cheyenne Urban Forestry Division, local sponsors, and — most importantly — the volunteers who keep showing up with shovels and gloves. The Wyoming State Forestry Division tipped its cap to all of them, saying Cheyenne’s example shows how local leadership can lift the statewide U&CF mission.

Curious how to get involved, request a street tree, or support future plantings? Rooted in Cheyenne keeps it simple and transparent. Learn more at www.rootedincheyenne.com.