Tree City to lose key urban forester

POST FALLS – The first time the city of Post Falls held a free tree giveaway four years ago, the traffic backed up Seltice Avenue and police officers had to be called in.

That year, 400 trees were handed out.

Now, four years later, the tree giveaway has blossomed into a highly anticipated annual event. Last month, the city gifted about 3,000 trees, bringing the total to nearly 8,900 trees since the event’s beginning.

It’s a slice of the legacy Post Falls city forester Linden Lampman will leave behind. After seven years with Post Falls, Linden recently announced she is taking a position with the Seattle Department of Transportation. Her last day with the city is May 11.

Since coming on staff as the city’s third forester, Lampman has helped bring stability to the urban forestry program and promoted education about caring for plants and trees, her colleagues said.

Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin said Lampman is leaving a “very special pair of shoes to fill.”

“She’s done an incredibly outstanding job,” Larkin said. “Her heart is really in taking care of the trees and the forest, and she’s so professional and personal about how she does the business.”

During her time at Post Falls, the city has been repeatedly honored for its commitment to trees. Post Falls recently was named a Tree City USA community by The National Arbor Day Foundation for the 10th year in a row.

The city also has been awarded a Tree City USA Growth Award for showing progress in its community forest program, including tree-care workshops, tree planting and maintenance and education.

“If it weren’t for her enthusiasm and integrity, our urban forestry program wouldn’t be what it is now,” Larkin said of Lampman.

Lampman promoted community and youth education, such as holding pruning workshops, hosting tailgate sessions with local landscapers and bringing fifth-grade students on park field trips.

“She helped the program grow and helped us get onto that direction we needed to go,” said Dave Fair, the city’s director of parks and recreation.

Lampman, 51, said her departure is bittersweet.

“I thought I would retire here,” said Lampman, who previously worked in Sandpoint. “It wasn’t without consideration and prayer that I made this decision.”

She’s getting married this month to the senior urban forester for the city of Seattle’s parks department, she said, which is pulling her to the Seattle area.

With the Seattle Department of Transportation, Lampman said she will work with the city’s tree planting program and community outreach.

“Now I’m looking forward to the new challenges,” she said.