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About Save The Elms Program

The majestic American and English elm trees are the dominant, most historical and visible of Sacramento's trees. Elms represent a remarkable legacy spanning generations; many of our elms are over 100 years old and climb as high as 130 feet into the city sky line.

But they've been in trouble for a while. Dutch elm disease (DED), a fungal disease with no known cure, has been plaguing these elms since the 1990s. The disease continues to ravage our elm population, a problem only exasperated by the current five-year drought.

Replacing this elm canopy and the rich and varied benefits provided to our community simply is not possible. For this reason taking every possible action to increase their health and longevity is worthwhile and, in some ways, a responsibility that spans arboricultural, urban forest and societal values.

The Sacramento Tree Foundation believes our elm canopy is critical to Sacramento’s urban forest history and community priorities. We are working with the City of Sacramento to develop a corps of volunteer community scientists to monitor the remaining public elm trees in order to slow the spread of DED.

Become a Community Scientist 

Help the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the City of Sacramento protect our remaining public elm trees! From May through October, our Save the Elms Program (STEP) community scientists will monitor local elm trees for symptoms of the problematic Dutch elm disease (DED), a fungal disease that has taken the lives of thousands of our elms since the 1990's. Watch this online training to learn how you can help, and then email our Volunteer Coordinator if you'd like to participate in summer monitoring.