By James R. Fazio National Arbor Day Foundation, reprinted from Arbor Day May/June 2007
May 7, 2007

The mayor of any community is an essential force behind trees and urban forestry. In fact, when the idea for the Tree City USA® program was proposed in 1976, The U.S. Conference of Mayors was one of the founding partners in this landmark concept. This organization represents 1,139 of the nation’s cities and is still a major proponent of the Tree City USA program and the many benefits it provides to residents and businesses.

Today, The U.S. Conference of Mayors Community Trees Task Force is calling for increased participation in Tree City USA by member cities. In addition, thanks to a recently-formed partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, a grants and award program has been established to recognize “mayors and their respective city’s nonprofit partners to further the goal of promoting healthy communities through tree planting and the management of the urban forest.” The mayors of Baltimore and Norwalk (CT) won the first place honors in the first year of this new program.

How do progressive mayors view trees in their cities? Gastonia (NC) Mayor Jennie Stultz makes a direct connection to her city’s status as a five-year member of the Tree City USA community. “Being a Tree City USA is a vital component of our commitment to livability in Gastonia,” she said. “The social, environmental and economic benefits of trees are foremost in our planning of urban spaces and neighborhoods. A community without trees is a community without character.”

In Boise (ID), trees are at the very heart of the city’s public image. Mayor David Bieter says, “As our logo (and city flag) declares, we are the ‘City of Trees.’ We are the stewards of this great legacy, and we’re responsible for ensuring that Boise remains green for generations to come.”

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz enjoys planting trees on Arbor Day and has been a champion of tree care. At the last Arbor Day celebration he said, “It is with great pride that we accept the Tree City USA designation. The city of Miami has had to deal with the ramifications of the barrage of hurricanes over the past few years. The storms have made an incredible impact on our community’s tree canopy. Our city is aggressively taking on the challenge of restoring and maintaining a sustainable urban forestry program that will positively impact both the environment and our citizens’ quality of life.”

Where does your mayor stand on trees and support of your community forestry program? A first step to finding out might be to visit arborday.org to see if your city is a Tree City USA community and if the utility company that serves you holds the Tree Line USA distinction. If so, a sincere ‘thank you’ would be most appreciated; if not, a gentle nudge from a constituent like you may be all that is needed to have your mayor join colleagues nationwide who are vital partners in the team that keeps Tree City USA moving forward.