2010 Media Releases

Date:

April 6, 2010

For More Information Contact:

Steve Schwab, City Arborist, 402-441-7035

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Lincoln Is Tree City Usa For 33rd Year

Lincoln has been named a "Tree City USA" by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the 33rd consecutive year. Tree City USA awards will be presented at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 6 at the Nebraska Community Forestry Conference at the Holiday Inn Downtown.

To qualify for the Tree City USA designation, a community must meet four standards established by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters. They include having a tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per City resident, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

City Arborist Steve Schwab said Lincoln was again the only community in the U.S. to achieve all five Tree City USA designations. The other four:

• The City has earned the Tree City USA Growth Award for the 19th consecutive year. The award is provided by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service to recognize achievement and to share new ideas for improving community tree care. Schwab said Lincoln excelled in several categories to earn the growth award:
  • Continuing education for forestry managers and tree board members
  • Recycling wood created from tree removal and trimming, stump grinding and holiday tree recycling programs
  • A program on hazard trees with training in assessment and survey techniques
• Communities earning the growth award for ten years receive the Sterling Tree City USA designation, which Lincoln and 26 other communities initially received in 2000.
• The Lincoln Electric System has been a Tree Line USA utility for five consecutive years by meeting these standards: proper tree maintenance; annual worker training for utility line clearance involving trees; community tree planting and public education about planting trees and power lines; tree-based energy conservation programs; and Arbor Day observance and participation.
• For the past two years, both UNL and Nebraska Wesleyan have earned the Tree Campus USA award for their promotion of healthy trees and student involvement.