Tree City USA

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you about the Arbor Day Foundation. We are proud of the organization and the record it has achieved since its establishment five years ago. The Foundation is a non-profit organization made up of all the diverse interests who share a common interest in trees.

Stuart Udall serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. John McGuire, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service is chairman of our resource committee.

The Foundation was organized:

• (1) To properly and officially recognize the Centennial of Arbor Day in 1972 and the anniversary of this international celebration each year thereafter;

• (2) To create an awareness and appreciation among all peoples through all forms of communication for the fundamental role that trees play in man’s day-to-day existence. Our Advertising Council endorsed public service ad campaigns have generated literally thousands of requests for additional information on trees and tree planting;

• (3) To recognize achievement among all elements of society through an annual Awards Program for contributions made to the understanding, appreciation, conservation and wise use of this renewable natural resource. We would invite you to compete next year;

• (4) To initiate programs that encourage the planting of trees and endorse those resource management efforts that will assure the perpetuation and growing abundance of this basic resource. Our TREE CITY USA which I’ll be telling you more about in a few moments promises to be a great contribution to America the Beautiful;

• (5) To establish and maintain a National Arbor Day Center at Nebraska City, Nebraska, the birthplace of Arbor Day. The center will serve as a demonstration and education facility as well as an historical repository. It will include an arboretum which will feature trees from throughout the world. You will be pleased to know that thanks to monies from the Historical Preservation Act and the contributions of concerned citizens, the land has been secured and plans are being drawn up for this important center of conservation activities.

Now if I may, I would like to tell you about TREE CITY USA. You know, when you say trees, you’ve just got to smile. And there’s lots to smile about when a town qualifies as a TREE CITY USA. The National Arbor Day Foundation, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and participating foresters of the National Association of State Foresters is prepared to recognize towns and cities all over America who meet the standards of the TREE CITY USA program.

When you think about it, every community in America is a mini forest. All you have to do is fly from one place to another and you can see that. In many instances, however, on closer observation, you discover that that “forest” isn’t being managed as well as it could be. Trees are planted haphazardly. Dead trees aren’t being removed. New trees are not being planted or cared for.

Generally, about half of all the trees are on public property, along streets, in parks and around public buildings. It is important, therefore, that an ongoing community forestry program is initiated.

TREE CITY USA has been designed to recognize those communities that are effectively managing their tree resources. Just as important, it is geared to encourage the implementation of a local tree management program based on the TREE CITY USA standards through the professional leadership of participating state foresters of the National Association of State Foresters. To date, State Forestry offices from New York to Hawaii are actively participating in the program. Thanks to our Public Service Advertising we have had inquiries from communities and individual citizens from all across the nation.

Public Law 92-288 of 1972 gives the state foresters authority and responsibility for providing technical services for the “protection, improvement and establishment of trees and shrubs in urban areas, communities and open spaces.”

The TREE CITY USA standards are pretty basic. Many communities are already eligible for recognition since, according to the standards, they:

• — Have a legally constituted tree body (a department, board, commission or other authority with statutory responsibility for developing and administering a comprehensive city tree program).

• — Have adopted city ordinances or statutes providing for tree planting, maintenance and removal according to proper municipal forestry principles.

• — Have an active, comprehensive community forestry program, supported by a minimum one dollar per capita public funds.

• — Have a formal Arbor Day proclamation by the Mayor and have a commemorative tree planting each year.

A word about the standards. They are designed for a TREE CITY USA award to be made to the community that has a workable program in urban/community forestry. The award is not simply for pretty trees, but also for the program that makes them pretty. The standards are also designed to be as objective as possible. Standards 1 and 2 provide for an urban/community forestry program structure in a town or city. Standard 3 requires the program to have demonstrated success based on the judgment of the state forester’s office. Standard 4, the actual Arbor Day observance helps create a new awareness and appreciation of trees among all the residents of the community.

State forestry personnel will evaluate applications from individual cities and forward such evaluations to the National TREE CITY USA committee no later than December 31 of each calendar year. Communities that will receive the award will be notified by January 31 by either the Arbor Day Foundation or the state forester.

In closing, I might quote from one of our public service magazine ads. It says, “A town without trees is like a town without a tomorrow. The whole world seems grey, even when the sun is shining. But life doesn’t have to be this way, even in the concrete canyons of our bigger cities. With a little tender loving care, trees will grow to bring joy to everyone who beholds them, plus a whole lot more. Trees purify the air we breathe, protect and improve the environment and provide each of us with food and a variety of products.”

The Arbor Day Foundation has since its inception encouraged individual Americans “to plant a tree for tomorrow”, no matter who they are or where they live. Now, through TREE CITY USA, it is urging large and small communities all over America to care for their trees too. We are delighted with the response to our program. The participation of the State Foresters, the involvement of individual communities, and the concern of individual citizens. Thanks to their involvement, TREE CITY USA will make a lasting contribution to a better, greener America.

• © 1976, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.