Arbor Day Foundation Offers Ways People Can Help Forests Devastated by Mountain Pine Beetle

Nebraska City, Neb. (Feb. 19, 2009) – Ski Country in Colorado looks different to the thousands of visitors who travel to the high country for winter recreation and relaxation. Gone are nearly 5 million acres of breathtaking lodgepole pine trees which greeted visitors in years past.

The culprit is the mountain pine beetle, which is feasting on lodgepole pines throughout the Rocky Mountain region from New Mexico up into Canada.

The Arbor Day Foundation is encouraging people to make a positive impact, making it easy for everyone to help plant trees in national forests, including those in Colorado that have been devastated by the mountain pine beetle. In honor of every person who becomes a new member of the Arbor Day Foundation with a $10 membership contribution during this campaign, the Foundation will plant 10 trees in a national forest that has been devastated by insects, disease and wildfire.

The Arbor Day Foundation has worked with the U.S. Forest Service since 1990, helping to plant more than 13 million native trees of diverse species to improve the health of our nation's forests.

To learn more about how to help plant trees in a national forest, and about the Foundation's programs, go to www.arborday.org.

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About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at arborday.org.