Neenah's Tree Replanting Starts in Riverside Park and Reaches Your Street Last

Neenah's tree recovery is already underway, and it runs in a set order. On October 8 the City published a multi-year replanting plan for the more than 400 public trees damaged or removed after the July 27, 2026 tornado. That count covers trees in parks, on street terraces and in other public spaces. Riverside Park got its first trees in September. The parks along the lake follow in 2027, and the terrace trees in front of houses come last, in fall 2028.

More than half of Neenah's current public trees are maples, and the City's plan cites an urban forestry guideline that no single species should make up more than 10% of a healthy tree population. The trees going in over the next few years are being chosen with that limit in mind. When the parks and terraces fill back in, the mix will differ from what stood there in July.

Riverside went first because it lost the most

In early August, Parks and Recreation director Michael Kading gave FOX 11 rough estimates of the damage park by park. He expected that 60 to 75 percent of Riverside Park's trees would not be standing the following year. His estimate was 50 to 60 percent for Kimberly Point Park and about the same for Doty Park. Riverside's estimate was the highest of the three, and Riverside is where replanting began. Neenah News reported that about 35 trees went into the park last month, with about 70 more scheduled there next spring.

So Riverside gets two rounds of planting, about 105 trees in all, before the other three affected parks get their first. The National Weather Service in Green Bay classified the storm as an EF-3 with estimated peak winds around 140 mph. It moved south through Fox Crossing and Menasha before it dissipated over Lake Winnebago. FOX 11's report on the damage-path maps traced the track across the eastern half of Doty Island and over Smith Park, then on over northern Lake Winnebago.

NBC 26 reported on July 31 that Neenah had closed Riverside, Kimberly Point, Doty and Fresh Air parks until further notice while crews cleared debris. WBAY reported on August 26 that every city park had reopened. Parks and Recreation was still warning about hanging limbs at the time, and arborists were still working at Doty Park. You can walk these parks again. Their canopy will come back on the City's schedule.

The schedule, phase by phase

The City calls the schedule tentative. Here it is as published:

The four phases add up to about 345 trees. That is fewer than the 400-plus public trees the City counts as damaged or removed. The plan describes the full effort as running in phases "during the next one to five years," so fall 2028 is the last date on the current calendar, and the work may run past it.

Doty, Kimberly Point and Fresh Air share one phase of about 80 trees, which works out to roughly 27 trees per park if the City splits them evenly. Riverside gets about 105. For Kimberly Point, where FOX 11 reported that few trees, if any, came through undamaged, the earliest new planting on the schedule is late summer 2027.

Kimberly Point has a separate project underway that has nothing to do with the trees. WBAY covered a September 10 groundbreaking for a Kimberly Point Lighthouse preservation project that includes repairing rotted wood and adding new bathrooms. WBAY's report does not connect that project to the storm. The lighthouse and the trees around it are on separate timelines.

Why your terrace waits until fall 2028

Street terraces are the strips between the sidewalk and the curb. They come last on purpose. The City says terrace replanting is set for fall 2028 so property owners have time to repair their homes, garages and yards without having to protect newly planted trees or work around planting contractors. If a roofer, a concrete crew or a dumpster still needs to reach your driveway next summer, a young tree on the terrace would be in the way.

The waiting period also covers the programs residents have used to plant on their own. The City suspended its Trees for the Living and Private Street Tree programs for at least two years so staff time and funding can go to storm recovery. The Forestry page says the Street Tree Planting Permit has been suspended until further notice as of September 15, 2026. For now, the City is not taking requests to plant a memorial tree or a terrace tree of your own choosing.

The plan does not say how residents will learn when their own block is scheduled. Its only answer for now is the fall 2028 timeframe, and the Parks and Recreation Department at 920-886-6060 is the contact for questions.

Spring 2027 will show more damage

The count of more than 400 trees may not be final. The City says its tree assessment will continue for about six to 12 more months. Crews are looking for trees that need safety pruning or removal, including trees that "may appear sound now but could show storm-related failure as they leaf out next spring."

Those trees will show up in spring 2027, the same season Riverside gets its second round of about 70. So next spring could bring new plantings and new removals in the same parks. A tree that looks fine along the path at Doty this fall could be marked for removal once it leafs out next spring. That fits Kading's August estimates, which were about how many trees would still be standing "next year," not how many had already fallen.

The new trees won't be mostly maples

This is the longest-lasting part of the plan. The City will choose species for climate resilience, disease resistance, species diversity and long-term canopy value. The same paragraph says more than half of the current public trees are maples, while best practice says no single species should exceed 10%. The gap between those two numbers is large. A single replanting won't close it, but every tree the City picks is a chance to narrow it.

The City has not published a species list for the storm replanting. What does exist is the City's standing recommended street trees sheet. It suggests hackberry, Turkish filbert, Kentucky coffeetree, oaks and lindens for large terraces. For smaller terraces it lists serviceberry, hornbeam, hawthorn, crabapple, ironwood and Japanese tree lilac. That is a general recommendation, not the City's plan for this replanting. It does show the range of trees the City already considers suited to Neenah's terraces, and maples are only part of that range.

Kading tied the plan to the city's identity in its announcement. "Trees are an important part of Neenah's identity, environmental health and quality of life," he said in the City's announcement. "This plan will help us thoughtfully restore the public tree canopy while accounting for the needs of residents still repairing their homes and properties." Neenah has been a Tree City USA community for more than 40 years.

How residents can help

There are three ways in, and only one is open right now.

1. Donate a public tree. The City suggests $500 per tree, which it says covers about the cost to buy, plant and care for a public tree through its first year. You can give through the City's online donation portal or in person at the Parks and Recreation Office, 211 Walnut Street.
2. Volunteer planting days. The City says these are coming, but its fact sheet does not list dates yet.
3. Community forestry events. These are also listed as future opportunities without dates.

Other people have been helping with cleanup for months. Neenah News reported that Neenah High School football players have cleared fallen trees and brush from homes on Doty Island, Limekiln Drive and Hunters Point Road. Once the City announces planting days, there will be a set time for residents to put new trees in the ground, starting in the parks and moving to the terraces in 2028.

If you're wondering what the terrace in front of your house will look like by 2028, or how the replanting schedule fits with repairs you're planning, the team at Kelly Davies Homes is happy to talk through what we're seeing across Neenah's neighborhoods. Contact Us anytime.