Nebraska City, Neb. — A record 97 United States military installations, including three in Germany and one in the Republic of Korea, have earned 2000 Tree City USA status from The National Arbor Day Foundation. Installations so honored include 63 Air Force, 19 Army, and 14 Navy bases, as well as one Marine base. Overseas installations earning 2000 Tree City status are the 235th Base Support Battalion, Ansbach, Germany; 417th Base Support Battalion, Kitzingen, Germany; Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany; and Osan Air Base, the Republic of Korea.
Tree City USA recognizes communities that have a program in place for planting and caring for trees. The 97 honored installations join more than 2,700 U.S. towns and cities as Tree City USA communities. In order to be recognized as a Tree City USA, communities must meet four requirements which include: having a designated tree board, forestry professional or city department responsible for the care of trees in the community; passing a tree care ordinance; having an active forestry program in place with an annual budget of at least 2 dollars per capita; and proclaiming and hosting an Arbor Day celebration.
“The Tree City USA award makes people more aware of community tree planting and care,” said John Rosenow, president of The National Arbor Day Foundation. “People become more personally involved and take pride in planting and caring for their trees.”
Tree City USA was created by The National Arbor Day Foundation in 1976 to help promote community forestry. Military installations first joined the program in 1986, and overseas U.S. installations were first recognized in 1997. In 1991 the Foundation created the Growth Awards program to recognize communities that demonstrate a greater effort in tree care by going beyond the four basic requirements for participation in the Tree City USA program. This year 17 military installations have been honored with a Growth Award.
The National Arbor Day Foundation is a million-member nonprofit education organization dedicated to tree planting and environmental stewardship. More information on the Foundation and its well known programs like Tree City USA, Trees for America, and Conservation Trees is available by visiting the Foundation’s website, www.arborday.org.
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