The president of the Arbor Day Foundation calls on U.S. residents to
advocate for effective management of community forests. Studies have
shown that for every dollar spent on careful selection, proactive planting, replacement, and maintenance of street trees, the benefits that it provides
are as much as five times greater.

Tree City USA, a program that provides the framework for community forestry management, was launched in 1976
by the Arbor Day Foundation with the National Association of State Foresters and the U.S. Forest Service partners, Since then more than 3,400 cities and towns have participated, allowing 140 million Americans to call a Tree City USA their home.

Since autumn is one of most enjoyable times of the year to experience the beauty of trees, the president of the Arbor Day Foundation Dan Lambe took the opportunity to remind us that properly managing our community forests, especially street trees, is vitally important.

"We all have experienced a neighborhood with abundant, well cared-for street trees," he recently wrote. "In these places of resplendent natural beauty, we are calmed, we are refreshed. These positive emotions are brought forth by a healthy tree canopy and the benefits it provides – higher property values, decreased energy costs, cleaner air and water, reduced stormwater runoff, and more beautiful environments...all because of trees."

Lambe points out that street trees – those planted between the sidewalk and the road – as the most visible portion of any community forest, have a value that is far reaching.

"U.S. Forest Service scientists have found that for every dollar spent on planting and caring for a street tree, the benefits that it provides are as much as five times that investment," he states.

"Given a limited budget, the most effective expenditure of funds to improve a street would probably be on trees," adds Allan Jacobs, a professor of city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley, in his book
Great Streets.

And it is not just large cities with professional staffs that can institute the Tree City USA program. Lambe says that the 40 years of growing the program has shown that smaller towns with qualified, committed volunteer citizen tree boards are able to take an effective, efficient and comprehensive approach to municipal tree care.

He cautions that, "The need for effective community tree care and management is more important today than ever due to greater threats of drought, storms, and insects. In this increasingly challenging time, proper pruning, careful selection and proactive planting, replacement, and maintenance of our street trees is paramount to the continued success of our nation's urban and community trees."

And Lambe reminds us to reach out to our local elected and appointed officials and encourage them to give high priority to investing in urban and community forests.

"As we experience the arrival of fall, as the leaves change and we celebrate the joy of bright autumn colors, let's commit ourselves to appreciating the trees for all they give us and to recognizing their importance," Lambe concluded. "Please join me and thousands of others as we continue to encourage appropriate investments of time and money in our communities so that we may plant trees whose benefits will be enjoyed for many seasons to come."